Kids at a separate table at Christmas? Yes or no?

The tree is decorated, presents are under the tree, and the menu is set for the big day (no small feat since my extended family is largely vegan and I am the meat eating black sheep).

So today I started to turn my attention to the table. Or tables. I’m struggling to decide whether or not to set one big table, or separate the kids and grownups. We’re having a fairly small gathering on Christmas day. There will be six adults and my two boys (ages 2 and 5). The cousins won’t descend until the day after.

So technically the boys would fit at the dining room table.

We sit down to eat dinner together every night, so I’m not afraid they will be terrors. And I have a big plastic mat that I could put under their chairs to protect the rug, so the mess doesn’t scare me either.

But for some reason I am emotionally attached to the idea of setting up a kid’s table. I think it is because I have such fond memories of getting to sit at the kid’s table with my brother and sister on big holidays. We always had so much fun.

I loved the smaller scale of our table. {adorable kids table from Room & Board $99)

I loved drinking from festive paper cups. {image via: Sweet Designs}

I loved having a butcher paper “tablecloth” that we could doodle on. {image via: Country Living}

I loved the fact that we could trade things on our plates with one another. I hated sweet potatoes, but my sister loved them. She hated creamed onions, so I helped her with those. I also loved that we could get up and go play as soon as we were done eating, without having to wait for anyone. But most of all, I loved our silly conversations, and that we could get a case of the giggles without getting scolded.

{feature photo via: Sweet Designs}

I think I’m going to ask the boys what they would prefer. But I’m curious: are you doing a kids table? Would you do one even if kids could fit at the regular table?