I’m 21 years old and still a proud member of the kids' table when it comes to holiday dinners with the family. It’s strange that when you’re a kid, you’re itching to get to the adult table and be a “grown up,” but as soon as you reach that age of adulthood, you’re dying to go backwards. Lucky for me, I have such a big family; we all don’t fit at one table. Just inches away from the big, bad adults table stands the cousin’s table, where all the fun really happens.
1. Better Conversation
Politics, money, work, and the dreaded relationship status conversations? I’ll pass. The kids' table calls for goofing off, making fun, reminiscing and a whole lot of eating. Your cousins don’t care about the adult worries of the world, they just want to eat good food and laugh; what’s better than that? Give the younger cousins some insight or let them give you some -- you’d be surprised how much talking about things with your cousins vs. with your aunts and uncles can differ in results.
2. More Food
Let’s face it, moms will always make sure that the kids have enough food. The kids' table gets the best and usually the first servings. You can go back for seconds -- or fifths -- and you won’t be judged for it.
3. Less Responsibility
If you’re at the adult table and you’re the youngest, you’re basically like the interns on "Grey’s Anatomy." You have to do the dirty work like cleaning up, passing the butter, and refilling the drinks. When you’re the oldest at the kids table, you balance the playing field or dominate it.
4. No Judgment
Whether it’s sipping on that fifth glass of champagne or unbuttoning that top button of your pants, your little cousins won’t be judging (if they even notice). All the kids table cares about is being happy, who’s happier than a full and drunk 21 year old home for the holidays?
5. Refreshed Mindset
We could all learn a thing or two from the younger generations, whether it’s your cousin who’s a year younger who just seems to have her head a littler more clear than you do. Or it’s your 6-year-old cousin who comes up with the funniest and smartest things you’ve ever heard, you’ll leave the kids table with a new mindset. A happier mindset, a mindset refreshed with rainbows and unicorns, or just a whole lot of stupid jokes and childhood memories.
6. No Rules
You don’t have to eat your veggies and you don’t have to converse with that entitled old family member that everyone really dreads making conversation with. At the kids' table, it’s a free for all -- talk gossip, talk games for after dinner, or talk poop for all they care. Literally anything goes and you know you’ll have at least one laugh attack from the immaturity, which rules.
Overall, you get to be a kid again at the kids table, which is what us college students are striving for every weekend anyway. Embrace the denial of acceptance into adulthood while you can, you’re guaranteed a lasting smile after a dinner at the kids' table.
