WFMW: Keeping The Kitchen Table Beautilicious

We have this mammoth, counter height table in our kitchen that we just bought last year. Our last table got destroyed by the kids, so I was determined to come up with a way to prevent that from happening again.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought enough place mats for each setting and let the kids pick out 5 or 6 Kid-Friendly place mats for them to use as well. The key here is that they can be tossed in the sink and wiped clean. I have all of the place mats as well as a stack of coasters in a drawer at the end of our island. When it's time to set the table for dinner, the kids pick out whatever place mat they are in the mood for as well as place mats for mom and dad and set the table. When dinner is over, the place mats get picked up with the plates and my table gets protected from crusted-on food from the kids. The best part is not having to wipe down the table every night after dinner (which is very hard on the wood).

There you have it! It Works For Me!