This post is sponsored by Cascade Platinum + Oxi. All opinions are my own.

Dinner time is a special time in our home like most homes as we teach our kids the importance of gathering around the table, but for many reasons including the craziness that we all endured this year, we are valuing our time together in a different way. It’s not that we don’t have the time, actually we see each other almost too much. When it came to making our traditional Fall Family Dinner special, I did a little more than I usually do with some help from Cascade Platinum + Oxi. Keep reading to learn about how it can give your dishes that deep, hygienic clean you’ve been craving now more than ever.

IMAGE - Clean dish

Even though these were small additions, I will be able to look back on the photos and memories that I keep and see how every extra step was worth it. So if you’re like us and you are looking to make your fall dinners even more special, here are a few suggestions that we love and mommas, we didn’t forget the after-dinner process. We even included how to make the cleanup process MUCH easier. Just tell me thank you later. Okay, here we go!

IMAGE 2: CASCADE + DIRTY DISH

•Pull out the best dishes and make sure they’re getting a hygienic clean you can see and FEEL by using Cascade Platinum + Oxi. This one will be appreciated by the person that sets and cleans up after the dinner. I’m assuming that's you reading this. The ActionPacs have ingredients that break down starch and proteins from stuck-on food and leftover grease, cleaning what I can see, and that invisible food residue.  Even casserole dishes come out feeling clean with no slip or grit. Plus, I have a $1.50 OFF coupon for you! 

•Make it a technology free zone. We are all distracted when we bring our phones to the table and we even like to distract our toddlers with iPads hoping they won’t throw corn across the room. I get it, but for this moment, try to be in the moment and really teach them how to be in the moment corn kernels flying across the room and all! :-)

•Get those Fall favorite candles out. We like the candles that smell of candles, peaches, or baked bread. All are perfect for setting the atmosphere. If you have small children, use the plugs-in instead for safety. 

•Choose one dish you make and allow the other family members to make a dish that they love. This not only makes things easier for you, but it encourages the family team concept we so love! And don’t forget, you have #Cascade Platinum + Oxi so you can cook up the favorites and you don’t need to worry about pre-rinsing .

•Create a small agenda. I’m all for just enjoying the time and space unintentionally. Beautiful things happen in that space, but just for this moment, try to establish doing something such as prayer over the food, then each person going around sharing what dish they made and why they chose it. Another idea could be, one memory they loved from this year or even one thing they are looking forward to next year.