2021 Home For the Holidays

Page 16 2021 Home for the Holidays Lincoln Daily News November 24, 2021 oliday gatherings bring multiple generations together. Elders group off, youngsters head into another room and the in-betweens glue themselves to the television or personal devices - the generation gap. More common today is an everyone gap. In this era of mobile electronic devices and social media in-person relationships have devolved. How many times have you looked around your gatherings and seen everyone, or nearly everyone, checking their social media; LOL’ing posts of friends or sending text messages to people not in the room. Meanwhile, the opportunity to get to know family is slipping away minute by minute and hour by hour. You can reverse that trend starting this year with fun interactions that give everyone a chance to know more about each other and your family history. First, try checking devices at the door as guests arrive. You will undoubtedly be met with some opposition on this request, and if the opposition becomes too intense, then ask your guests to silence their phones and spend less time on them during the day. If they can’t give it up, then ask that they powered down their devices for dinner. After the meal, ask everyone to keep their devices powered down so you can have some fun together. It might seem archaic, but drawing from the Victorian era provides some useful direction. Draw friends and family closer this holiday season H Continued n By Nila Smith