I’m sure I’m not the only one coming off the holidays who feels kind of blue. I always walk away looking back. I think about how I felt just being under the same roof with many of the most important people in my life, and how I especially enjoyed being at the same table, talking, and laughing with them in person, face to face, instead of texting or screening.

It is different. Very different. And, I miss it.

For the last seven years, on December 23rd, we have hosted an evening of family and friends for what has become one of my favorite nights of the year and a not-to-be-missed Christmas tradition: The Annual Reading of the Scripts. If you know me, you know that I love theater. I have dabbled in it my whole life, and it just may be my favorite thing in the world. So, this is how it goes. I assemble individual readers’ folders of edited and abridged scripts from classic holiday plays and movies like The Grinch, It’s a Wonderful Life, and A Christmas Carol, invite some friends who I know enjoy acting as much as I do and some good sports who are just willing to give it a shot. Martin & I prepare and serve a tasty meal. We get that out of the way. Then, we start to read. And, the table is magic. Everyone has assigned parts - like a genuine cold table-read at the start of any show or production. Watching and listening to each other take on the voices of iconic characters like Marley’s Ghost, Cindy Lou Who, and George Bailey is a howling, bonding experience. You see, the thing about theater (much like friendship), especially on a night like this, is that in order to participate, you have to be willing to let your guard down, be open and vulnerable, listen to each other, laugh at your mistakes while trying to cover up your partners’, find the rhythm, and pull together. The wine flows, and the hours grow late, we laugh until we cry, and we wish it would never end.

For the last seven years, in the wee hours of December 24th, we always say, “We really should get together more often.”  Then, we don’t.

And, we won’t - if we aren’t intentional. So, this year, we’ve set six more Meet-Ups at The Magic Table, including 2019’s The Annual Reading of the Scripts!

It’s not holiday turkey and ham we are hungry for; it is relationship we are craving. And, we don’t have to miss it!

More ideas to come on how to create your own magical Meet-Ups at your own Magic Table. Subscribe not to miss an episode.