Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and like many of you I like to make a little “love basket” with a couple of fun things for my kiddos to open on Valentines. And while I haven’t met a kid that doesn’t love opening gifts, this year I decided to do something a little different. I just want to spend some quality time with them doing something that they think is really fun. Because my girls love to play restaurant and cook, fun dinner ideas for kids was the first thing that came to mind when thinking of something special to do with them this year.
As parents we spend a lot of time around our kids. But there’s a difference between being around them and being WITH them. And in my imperfection, I know that I could always spend more time being 100% present. Taking time to connect with them can really turn an entire day around. After all, we all desire to feel connected with someone we love.
Fun Dinner Ideas for Kids, the Plane Jane Way.
My favorite activities are the ones that incorporate themselves into something we already do. It doesn’t make a lot of extra work for me (let’s face it, we are tired. Why not make it a little easier on ourselves?!), and it gives us a little variety to the every day things.
And so for Valentine’s Day, my kids are going to eat at “Mama’s Little Restaurant.” We are going to dress up in our fancy clothes, they will get to order from their own menus, color their kids kit while they wait, drink fancy drinks, dine at a candle lit table, be waited on by a waitress (who also doubles as the in house chef!), and top it all off with a special dessert!
Whoah now! This is supposed to be a SIMPLE and fun dinner idea for kids! That sounds like a lot of extra work…
This is where I tell you that I have a plan to make it simple for myself, while still super fun and special for them! And I am going to show you how in 5 easy steps!
Step One: Choose a meal that is easily customizable so they feel like they have options.
I plan to make pasta with sauce choices. This only requires me to make one pot of pasta, and just put the sauce of their choice on it. I am also choosing to do garlic bread as a side dish for all. This way it doesn’t become over complicated.
Other ideas:
- Grilled cheese with different variations to choose from. (Check out how to make the best grilled cheese, along with variation ideas!)
- Traditional kid’s menu items that can be cooked at the same time in the air fryer or oven. For example, chicken nuggets, mini corn dogs, pizza rolls & fries for the side.
Step Two: Create your “Kids Kit”.
You know when you take kids to a restaurant they get a little activity sheet/book, and a few crayons. Basically I am going to mimick this for my kids kit and my home restaurant.
- Get some of those really big coloring sheets, and tape them to each child’s spot at the table. (These can double as a fun placemat too!)
- Another option: use a large roll of paper to cover the entire table. Lay crayons out and let them decorate the entire paper-covered table.
- Fill a small cup for each of your kids with a few crayons or colored pencils for them to color with while they wait for their meal.
Step Three: Decorate to make your restaurant feel fancy.
This step is just to make this dinner a little more special than your daily meal. Your decoration choices can be as simple or extravagant as you would like!
A few easy ideas for decor:
- Candles – LED are my candle of choice with little ones around.)
- Twinkle lights – Break out some of those Christmas lights!
- Soft music – The Piano Guys are one of my favorites. You could also search for a “restaurant music” playlist online.
- Small bouquet of flowers for a centerpiece – Grocery stores typically have inexpensive bouquets available. You could also use a small potted flower.
Step Four: Create a Menu for your kids to order from.
Think back to when you were a kid. Do you remember how fun it was to pretend to be a grown up sometimes? Getting to choose your own meal and order it like a grown up will be so much fun for your kids. If your kid’s are not reading yet, use big pictures so they can see what their choices are. (Canva is a great free tool, and you can put together a simple menu in just a few minutes.) If you want to go with pasta for your meal, you can download the menu I created below!)
Step Five: Play it up, and have fun with your kids!
Put on a silly voice while taking their orders, use pretend money to have them pay for their meal, check on them like a waitress would, and refill their drinks. This will be your kids favorite part of the night. Be playful! Let your inner child out.
Sometimes we get so caught up in our daily tasks, or we are just so tired, that we forget to be silly and playful with our kids. The truth is, our kids don’t really care if we always have the perfect activities planned. I notice that my kids laugh the most when I am just silly with them. When I talk to them in a goofy voice, they beg me to do more.
I think the reason this playfulness is our children’s favorite it because it comes with connection. All our kids really want is to feel connected to and loved by the people they love most in the world. (Isn’t that a little crazy to think about? Your kids love you more than any other person in the world! Despite our imperfections, all they see is perfection.)
Fun Dinner Ideas for Kids, Simplified.
I will admit, I am not the most schedule oriented person. Activities to do with my kids usually come to me on a whim, and we just do them. And while sometimes they turn out to be a big failure, many times they turn out to be a favorite that I add to my mental list and we do them again.
Over time I have learned that these simple activities really are the best ones! They don’t add extra stress or pressure to my plate, and my kids love them! I am here to remind you not to let creating activities for your kids become an area of stress for you. Activities with kids are just as much for you as they are for them. These will be the things you remember when your children are all grown up. You will laugh about the failure moments, and fondly remember the times you played restaurant at dinner.
You are amazing, and you’re doing a great job!
Let me know in the comments what kind of things you would incorporate to your fancy dinner at home! I can’t wait to hear your ideas!
