Sixteen people gather around our dining room table on Christmas Eve. Some know each other well. Many don’t.

So here’s the question I’m noodling for days beforehand: How do I get that many people—across ages, families, and familiarity—truly connected?

I finally land on something I call Christmas Eve Table Talk. On each plate rests a 5x7 handcrafted card inviting each person to choose one thing to share: a story, a poem, or a song.

As people notice the Table Talk cards, I sense a little trepidation. There’s a participation component to Mrs. Riddle’s Christmas Eve dinner, they’re probably thinking. But once the spaghetti and focaccia disappear, the sharing begins.

The story prompts begin with “Tell us about…”—a book that changed how you saw something, a meal you’ll never forget, a moment that stayed with you. The poetry option points only to page numbers in a small gem of a … [continue reading...] about Not Just Handshakes—Something More