A 2012 Dinner Party - Ask Your Guests To Come As Who They Will Be In Four Years' Time

This dinner party idea inspires people to think about the future and who they would like to be four years from now.

If they are completely happy and satisfied in life this could mean simply coming as whom they are today - or they could come dressed as the person they wish to be.

Send an invitation to your guests stating that your dinner party will be set in 2012 and they should come as the person they'd like to be then - in 2012.

The invitation alone will ignite thought and really get people to think about what they want in the future. They will assess their life and see if any change is necessary. For some, this will be fleeting while others may spend more time reflecting. Although this might sound heavy going, it can actually be lots of fun and people are generally light-hearted in these situations. After all, it's just another excuse to catch up with your friends but with a little more creativity attached.

You'll be surprised at how creative some people will be given the opportunity. Maybe someone will come dressed in a bikini because they're hoping to travel a lot in 2012! Or maybe someone will come dressed as a flamboyant artist because they want to further explore their artistic abilities. Or they'll come in a power suit because they want to do that law degree they've dreamt of.

This gives you a greater opportunity to understand and get to know your friends more. You may never have known your friends' true passions without this night.

Dinner parties are fantastic in that as you eat, a good conversation generally flows. It's a wonderful opportunity to connect with people in a relaxed environment and without distraction. You can really focus on catching up with one-another, sharing stories and ideas and even your dreams!

By having a theme such as this, you can expect that part of your conversation will be about people's desires in the future. You may like to start off the conversation yourself but this is the idea for the night.

Or, if you want to make it more natural, as guests arrive they'll probably ask one-another who they've come as because that's the whole theme for the night.

You can be as relaxed or as formal as you'd like to be in terms of the meal itself - a three course meal is lovely in that it prolongs the evening and everyone enjoys a delicious meal. And in 2012 I don't suspect the food will be very much different from today.

How to Cook Dinner with a Clingy Toddler

My son has always been a delight in my life. Even when he was a clingy toddler and it was time to make dinner, and he really wanted Mommy's attention... now! Not Daddy. Mommy.

I always found that made it really hard for me to cook.

It's something many a parent has dealt with as children are raised. Trying to pass the kids off to the parent not in the kitchen (assuming you're not home alone with the kids) can be a real challenge. Here's how I sometimes coped.

Get supplies out to make dinner. Pick son up and show him what was going to be made. Answer half-clear questions about whatever catches his interest.

Try to put son down. Calm his tears as he insists he just wants Mommy. Try to disentangle his arms so that you can get cooking. Settle for him clinging to one leg as you prepare the food for cooking.

Decide having a child clinging to your leg is not a good idea when you're actually cooking the food. Try to distract him with a favorite toy. No go.

Pull lettuce out of the fridge and announce that you'll be having a salad with dinner. Set up a place for toddler to tear up lettuce and wash his hands. It doesn't really matter that you'll be eating a combination of almost whole leaves and microscopic lettuce particles, does it?

Toddler tires of lettuce and wants to help you cook. Tries to open oven. Fortunately, you're cooking on the stove top tonight. Remove him from the kitchen.

Back he comes. Pry him off your leg again and set up a stool for him to watch from a safe distance. He's not happy, but you can reach him and give a pat or a hug as needed. Give him the lettuce again and suggest that he could tear the leaves smaller. Watch as more microscopic portions are removed.

He wants to help mooooore! Ideally by stirring that nice pot of boiling water you have there. Time to find another toddler-safe job! Have him watch you chop more vegetables for the salad, and let him throw those in. Just keep the knife well away from those eager little fingers! And don't underestimate a toddler's ability to stretch.

Finish cooking dinner as fast as is reasonable. Hope he stays distracted long enough.

Time to set the table. Another thing clingy toddlers love to help with. Thank goodness for forks, spoons and any toddler-safe dishes you may choose to use. Allow him to help and ignore the many fingerprints his previously clean hands leave all over the place. Dirt appears to be magnetically attracted to toddlers. Hope that the salad is reasonably sanitary.

Call the rest of the family in for dinner. Hope that you get more than two bites in before your toddler demands that he be allowed to eat his dinner on your lap rather than in his chair.

Be grateful that your toddler loves you so much, even as you look forward to a little break after the kids are in bed.