What if dinner could change your life?

The dinner table is one of the few places we have left to connect. To set down our phones and listen. To talk about topics that matter and work through problems that require attention, care, and focus to solve. To learn from another’s perspective and to consider a viewpoint that might be much different than our own. To share not only plates of food, but passions, desires, challenges and frustrations.

Holidays place emphasis on this ability to slow down and remember what life is really about. Yes, you could send an email. Yes, you could even make a phone call. But when you invite people to sit around a dining table, you also invite magic into the room. Serendipity, empathy, creativity, and generosity often arrive unannounced.

Use this guide to help you cherish the sacredness of bringing together friends and colleagues over food, or consider hosting a themed dinner on topics such as climate change, addiction, and health care.

Something in your world may shift, all because of dinner.