For many families, spending extra time together at the dinner table during the holidays is the highlight of the season. Eating family meals together is a tradition that conjures up images of candles, steaming dishes of delicious food, laughter, and generations coming together. 

When you have small children, however, more time gathered around the dinner table is not always that exact movie scene. Sibling fighting, bored kids, and the inevitable food messes… it’s sometimes the furthest thing from a “silent night.”

This December, the Urban Infant staff (during an office brainstorming session) devised a set 15 engaging questions to make your mealtimes on-topic with your kids (of all ages) this holiday season.

Bonus Tip 1: 
Turn your mealtime conversations into a game by writing each question on a slip of paper and keeping them in a jar or bowl at the dinner table. Then, let kids take turns pulling out questions and being the “asker.” Have the asker decide which answer is their favorite, and let that person be the next to pull out a question! 

Bonus Tip 2:
You can also pull these out to change the subject the next time your Aunt Martha has a little too much Christmas punch and starts asking everyone who they voted for!

15 Holiday Dinnertime Questions: 

1. What is one thing your family does together during the holidays that you enjoy?

2. What is your favorite holiday movie?

3. What smell reminds you of Christmas?

4. Whose house has the funniest holiday decorations?

5. What is your favorite memory from last year’s holiday season?

6. Red and green are the traditional Christmas colors. What other colors would you pick if you got to decide what colors represent Christmas? Pink? Rainbow? Sparkly Stripes?

7. What are some fun homemade things we can make together for gifts?

8. Describe one of our family traditions that you’ve noticed is different from other families you know.

9. If snow could fall in any flavor, what flavor would you choose?

10. If Santa could take you in his sleigh, where would you like to go?

11. If we make cookies this holiday season, which cookie (or cookies) do you want to make?

12. If you could invite any famous person (or cartoon character) to our house for our holiday dinner, who would you like to invite?

13. What is something that happened this year that you’re thankful for?

14. If you had a million dollars to plan a family vacation to go on next December, where would we go and what would we do? 

15. What’s your favorite holiday book (or movie) and why? 

Concluding Tip 3: Keep a Notebook Nearby 
You never know what kinds of silly, meaningful, or outrageous things your kids will say when you start asking questions around the dinner table. Be sure to keep a notebook nearby and write down any answers you know you’ll want to remember! This is also a fun way to keep track of how your children’s answers change from one year to the next.