Toasting Special Occasions

Family Gatherings

Holiday toasts should first and foremost acknowledge the family member who shopped, chopped, boiled, and baked for the entire crew. Once that's taken care of, Florence Isaacs, the author of Here's to You!: Creating Your Own Meaningful Toast or Tribute for Any Occasion ($14, amazon.com), suggests giving a short toast in another language; Romance languages, in particular, have a way of making the prosaic sound elegant. She suggests "Salud, amor, y pesetas, y el tiempo para gustarlos," which is Spanish for "Health, love, and money, and the time to enjoy it." A Mother's Day brunch or dinner should always begin with a toast to all the mothers in the room. Last year one woman from Austin, Texas, saluted her mother by saying, "The most difficult people to thank are always the ones you see every day. In case I forget to say it 364 days a year, thank you, Mom." Another offered, "The only job in the world that's tougher than being a mother is being our mother. To our own personal saint!"