(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Top Comments: Seasonal 2022 Part III (Holiday Dinner Conversation Starters) Edition [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2022-12-19 I made keto peppermint marshmallows recently! Recipe in last Friday's Kos Diabetes Group post! Every year since 2010 I’ve done a series of December diaries focusing on a variety of seasonal topics ranging from music to food to ugly sweaters. (Full disclosure: I did ONE Seasonal diary in 2008, and 2009 was the first December K2 was with us so I was a little distracted :-)). You can find them all, tagged with #seasonal, and yes I have a spreadsheet so I know what topics I’ve done recently! It’s time to do it again here in Pretending Everything Is Normal But We Really Know It’s A Hot Viral Mess Out There 2022! Don’t worry if Christmas isn’t your thing- while my personal December perspective is primarily secular but culturally Christian-based with a vibrant dose of earth-centered Winter Solstice mixed in with Unitarian Universalism, these diaries are NOT meant to be siege locations in the War On Christmas. In other words, if there’s a holiday in December that makes you happy, that you mark differently than all the other days, or that involves negotiating who brings what food and whether or not everyone did their rapid-antigen test… or even if there isn’t... this is a place for you and I really hope you’ll bring yourself to the comments! We kicked off the 2022 Seasonal Series with a look at the traditions we keep and those we change (or is that begin for the first time?). Then we considered Wish Lists. Which brings us to this week… With Hanukkah happening now and Christmas coming this weekend, there are bound to be countless family gatherings. Like Thanksgiving, this often entails sitting down for an hour or four with people you don’t normally converse with, in an atmosphere where alcohol flows as freely as opinions on the Internet. We all dread the ritual of going around the table being asked “So what’s new with you these days?” and its younger-generation equivalent, “so how’s school going?” What we all need are conversation starters! I’ve been thinking about this topic since a friend mentioned she’d heard something interesting on Science Friday, and said “they suggested we use it as a holiday family meal icebreaker!” And so you can use it too, here’s something SURE to involve everyone: female snakes have clitorises and they’re important for reproduction. Hrmm, you think that might do in both Grandma and your easily-mortified teenager? I’m sure we can brainstorm other things to talk about while passing the potatoes! I asked Mr. Brillig, who said “It sounds odd, and elicits a variety of comments, but quantum physics gets people talking!” I went to The Google, and can say after looking at the first few hits for “Christmas Dinner Conversation Starters” that I never want to eat at any of those tables. ‘What made you smile recently’ or ‘What’s the worst gift you’ve ever received’? I’m going to focus on every single green bean on my plate rather than talk. I can however think of topics sure to elicit… erm… spirited discourse. Among them: - Should some books be banned? - Is ‘The Media’ slanted left or right? - What’s your favorite musical genre? - What do you think of Dry January? What would YOU want to talk about? Give me either serious or snarky options! And remember, you can ALWAYS discuss the most recent set of Tops! [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/12/19/2142833/-Top-Comments-Seasonal-2022-Part-III-Holiday-Dinner-Conversation-Starters-Edition Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/