Setting The Table Energetically For The Season To Come

Holidays mean family, friends, and fabulous meals. But they can also mean stress, energetic highs & lows, and a struggle to preserve time management… 

I always say that when preparing for a holiday (or any change in routine), everything is cadence. 

We can either set our emotional table haphazardly - or with grace, consideration and intentionality. I keep my energies in balance by adhering to the two P’s: Prepare & Preserve. 

Prepare: Food & Table

A little food prep is the catalyst for cadence! I’ll bake the sweet potatoes a day ahead, and make dessert and chill the wine the night before. Sauce is another dish that is best prepped a few days before - the flavors of a gravy or a cranberry sauce intensify & they keep well. Crossing off a few items in advance of your dinner can make a world of difference!

I also like to set the table the evening before, with fresh linen napkins, candles and placemats so that the foundations for a beautiful meal are ready to go. The best part? Mixing and matching. If you don’t have matching silverware or perfectly pressed linens, don’t stress! Play around with what you do have - a creative arrangement is always more fun.  

Preserve: Balance & Intention

Throughout the holiday week, I preserve the pillars of my healthful routine, like juicing and going for my morning run so that my mind and body remain in balance and synchronicity.

I also make time to reflect on what Thanksgiving truly means to me and to others around me, making sure to preserve a spirit of community and gratitude. 

As a Cuban refugee, Thanksgiving means so much to me and my family. Through the most rigorous of times, an attitude of abundance has always pulled us through, and once we found our footing, we always made sure to give back. 

During the holiday season, we would help another family by buying them a holiday’s worth of groceries. We kept our celebrations heartfelt & simple. We wouldn’t overstuff ourselves, and we always made excellent use of all of our leftovers. For example, I always make a soup with the remaining fowl carcass, taking the Wildatarian approach of ‘nothing wasted’. And when you get sick of your own leftovers? Trade dishes with neighbors. 

What makes Thanksgiving special is a coming together - putting aside differences and focusing our energies on a nexus we can all share: food and friendship.