Should I invite ‘nice man’ to Christmas dinner despite my daughter’s COVID concern?
Q. I have been dating this nice man for about two months now. He works in the same building as I do, but for a different company. He has two almost grown children. One is in college and one is a senior in high school. I invited him for Christmas dinner. I told my daughter and she got upset because naturally they are invited, too, and she is concerned about the possibility of him exposing them to COVID. So she asked me to disinvite him. Naturally that upset me. So, I am caught between a rock and a hard place as they say. I hate to disinvite this guy because he will be by himself then on Christmas Day, and he is not much of a cook. I know we are all in this weirdness together, but how do I gracefully solve this problem?
A. You nailed it. Yes, we are all in this “weirdness” together. However, the “together” does not mean “actually” in every respect. It is more “we are all in this ‘weirdness’ virtually.” Your daughter’s concern is not only real but valid according to the experts. All of our lives have changed for the time being at least, and we have had to adapt to the situation in many different ways. We all hope we can soon return to some kind of normalcy in our lives. Your “nice man” is going to understand your daughter’s concern and also understand when you tell him you have to disinvite him. You can, however, make the disinvite more palatable, by offering to give him dinner by making it “to go.” You could use small containers and put them in a pretty basket with a beautiful bow. He could then pick it up from your porch. You would not have to feel guilty about him not having a nice Christmas dinner since “he is not much of a cook.” There should also be a time after dinner when the two of you could talk by phone.
Q. I found the cutest little votive candles, but they are the kind you turn on with a switch underneath and not light like a normal candle. I would like to place one at the top of each place setting for a 6 p.m. dinner on Christmas for my immediate family. I have some large beautiful candles in my table centerpiece which I will light and I am going to dim my chandelier as low as possible. But, can I mix in these little votive candles with real candles or is that tacky?
A. Yes, you can include these little votives. They will make a beautiful extra little glow to your table.