How many times have we been eating and someone burps. Or talks with their mouth wide open? This is not a post on table manners, no. This is eating at the table blunders!
Table Manners to Remember
I will be compiling a list of the faux pas and indiscretions of eating at the table and these are ones we should all avoid! We have all done this once or twice, but if you want to appear as elegant as you can when you are dining with family and friends, then I suggest trying your hardest to know what you can and cannot do while eating.
You might think this is irrelevant because you might never dine in a fancy restaurant, but that shouldn’t matter! Every minute you are with people, you are setting an example and expectations. If you are sloppy then they will assume being sloppy around you is okay.
Set the bar higher, then people around you will also start becoming more refined and elegant.
(Just like when someone around you has impeccable posture, you automatically adjust yours without even thinking!)
There will be another post on dining etiquette, but for the time being, if we fall into one of these examples then we know we should be changing our eating manners!
20 Dining Etiquette Tips Gone Wrong
1) eating loudly – chomping teeth, slurping, slapping lips
2) rushing through the meal – not breathing in between bites, shoveling in food, guzzling the drink
3) making a scene – dropping food all over around you (even on accident), being loud and using big gestures
4) eating/talking with mouth open – even worse food goes flying
5) hunching over while you eat
6) arms/hands placed on lap – instead the forearms should be gently placed on the table while you are eating
7) elbows on the table – the only time this is acceptable is when there is no food present on the table
8) not holding utensils properly – no pretending your knife is a dagger
9) placing your dirty napkin on the table while you are sitting there or when you get up – no one wants to see that
10) make a bad gesture about the food – it doesn’t matter if you didn’t like it, don’t do a thing.
11) reaching over other people to grab anything – politely ask for it to be passed
12) completely ignoring/not offering to chip in when the bill arrives – you disappear when the bill comes
13) don’t touch to fix your hair at the table
14) that also includes picking your teeth – I can’t believe I actually have to put this… this should be a no-brainer
15) don’t forget blowing ones nose
16) not sure why this ever became okay, but taking selfies or pictures your meal
17) doing too many substitutions so it can work with your diet – I understand allergies, but unless allergies, why eat there then?
18) pass only the salt or only the pepper – they go together everywhere
19) put your dirty utensil back on the table after you’ve used it – and now you’ve spoiled the table-cloth
20) verbally correcting someone on their manners – you’re not there to put people down or correct them, but just lead by example. No one liked a stuffy companion!
Now, just because I have come up with this list, doesn’t mean that I am faux pas free!
Trust me! I have had my fair share of accidents and blunders, but I learn from them and try not to make the mistake again!
If you broke a table manner etiquette:
apologize: if it affected someone. Then quit what you were doing! Saying something rude, flicking your fork around and something hit someone, anything in that manner.
ignore it: if no one noticed. If you’re holding your utensils wrong, just adjust them to the correct position and continue. Chances are no one noticed so by saying anything that will draw unwanted attention
have a good sense of humor: if it made it awkward. Make a joke of it and again quit what you were doing.
Table Manners aren’t the end of the world
If you accidentally didn’t follow all the table manners and dining etiquette, it doesn’t mean that you are forever rude and will never be invited back again! But what is important is HOW you recover! And who notices!
It’s very important to be apologetic but also laugh about it, as long as others are also laughing with you.