Setting Up a Special Dinner With Children

Enjoy an occasional break from the daily dinner grind by planning a special family meal with your children. Include them in the menu selection, shopping and food preparation, and solicit their ideas for themes or decorations. Set aside one of those rare evenings when everyone is home to celebrate a birthday, holiday or family member's milestone event, or create a silly dinner party for no reason at all. Try an "Everything Red" dinner, where all the food is red, as are people's clothing and the decorations. Or have a silly hat night, where dinner guests must make and wear a goofy hat to attend the meal.

  1. Pick an Occasion

    • Decide when you want to have your special family dinner. You can select a special holiday or occasion, such as Valentine's Day or a family member's birthday. Kids might also enjoy creating their own event or reason for celebrating: Honor a child's academic achievement, his selection to the baseball team or his return from camp. You might create a special dinner to acknowledge the family's new pet, your daughter's dance recital or a parent's job promotion. Or make up your own family occasion, such as the Smith Family International Food Day or Kids Cook Day.

    Set the Theme

    • Let your specific occasion guide you in your selection of themes for the food and the decor. If the kids want to showcase their skill at making tacos and enchiladas, have a Mexican Fiesta, complete with colorful paper decorations and sombreros. Recreate a treasured family vacation with a European Food Festival. You can decorate with travel posters and souvenirs and prepare favorite new dishes discovered during the family's recent travels. And no birthday celebration would be complete without balloons and a festively decorated cake.

    A Family Affair

    • Ensure all family members feel included by giving each child a specific responsibility. Your teenager might be tasked with the main dish and another child can make the dessert. Even the youngest kids can get involved -- let them color paper place mats, make name cards or print a simple menu for the meal. Share more onerous duties, such as kitchen clean-up, among all family members to avoid complaints. If the dinner is designed to honor a particular family member, have family members prepare her favorite foods and decorate with paper goods in her favorite color.

    Special Service

    • Add a few special touches to distinguish this family event from routine, daily mealtimes. Light candles, use the good silver or serve sparkling cider in goblets for a formal dinner. Make personalized invitations for each family member and hand these out in advance of the meal. With a little help from you, your kids can "play restaurant" and serve the rest of the family as a restaurant waiter would do. The family musician or dancer can provide the after-dinner entertainment, while the child who enjoys photography can capture the event for posterity.

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