This month’s Family Night activities was one of my favorite as a kid. It is a great memory for me, and I want to create those for my kids now. (while they are young and don’t have a choice, they haveto participate:) Here it is.
My family would pile into our huge Chevy van and head to the grocery store. When we got to the store, our parents would give us each $5 or so (we would pair up when we were younger) and then we would all go our separate ways to get something to contribute to dinner. We would all try and get weird things like braunschweiger (smoked chopped liver), Velveeta cheese, Cap’n Crunch or broccoli from my mom who wanted to make sure there was something healthy at the dinner table!
We had to hide what we purchased until we got home. Then when we arrived home, we would sit around the dinner table and show everyone what we would be eating for dinner. We had a blast eating our crazy dinner and talking to each other. I personally think dinner time is great family time. A study done by Columbia University, showed that students who ate dinner 5 times a week with family had better grades and were less likely to have substance abuse problems. If that means I gotta get the pots and pans out or order pizza as long as we are together- I’ll do it!
Another fun idea is to have a ” Fast Food Round Robin” Plan to start the meal at at restaurant for an appetizer, like salad’s at Wendy’s. Then go to the next restaurant for the entrees. McDonald’s for hamburgers and fries or Taco Bell for tacos. Finish the dinner at an ice cream shop for dessert.
A cute game to play around the table: Storytelling. Have someone start a sentence like “Mariel danced down the street in her galoshes” and then the next person says the next sentence and so on and so on until you think you are at a good “ending.” Kids love it! Check out the other post on dinner games here.
That’s a cute idea!
My kids always make us play the “add-on story” game in the car…they love it (but, it’s exhausting!). We’ve come up with some great stories!
What great ideas!!! I’m stealin them!!! THANKS!!!
Fun ideas!
ahhhhh…I can’t wait until my kids are older so we can go “shopping for dinner” LOVE IT!
Thanks for the ideas, they rock!