family dinner: making it festive

My family dinner goal is going well, but there's always room for improvement (e.g. the kids could actually eat, and I could not feel like I am going to spontaneously combust when they don't...). But all in all, not to sound too tutti frutti, they have been nice daily times to reconnect, and really pay attention to one another. Since today was the Chinese/Lunar New Year, I tried to use that as a chance to make dinner a little special. It didn't take much, and the kids were totally wowed: homemade soup (our regular dinner) + some take-out dumplings (in honor of the holiday) + today's dragon artwork on display (those are dried beans in champagne glasses-- don't ask, it was hard to figure out how to get it to stand up above the food...) + alongside the handmade ceramic box our older son brought home from school today. I noticed how excited they were to have things they made on display. Placing something they've made as the centerpiece would be easy to continue doing, and if we ever do find ourselves in a conversation lull, it's the perfect thing to ask about.