Here’s how you can determine your family’s fortunes right at the dinner table! Pass around paper and envelopes to everyone at the dinner table. Then have each person write down his or her forecast for the future. In the tradition of “cookie messages,” these fortunes should be generic enough to apply to everyone- for instance: “Smile, and you will make the whole world smile with you,” or “You can expect great things from people you do not yet know,” or “You will soon meet a bear.” Next, fold and put the messages in envelopes, and have each person pick a “fortune cookie” to read aloud. Another way to do this activity is to make some personalized forecasts. Have eveyone in the family choose a participant and write down his or her “fortune” (say, “You will soon find something you thought you had lost.”) Place all the fortunes in sealed envelopes and designate each with the correct name. Then, in a couple of weeks, open the envelopes and read the fortunes aloud. Did any of the predictions come true? Perhaps your family has a future in the forturne-telling business! Reprinted with permission from Steve and Ruth Bennett’s Table Talk!: 365 ways to reclaim the family dinner hour (Adams Publishing).
