Mealtime

I don't know if any of you are like me, but mealtimes at my house have been known to be, shall we say, stressful? The whininess due to lack of food...the hyperness due to everyone being together...the unorganization due to lack of time....the list goes on. So, in my new and ongoing effort to make mealtime an event to be celebrated rather than a necessary evil to be endured, here are a few things and ideas to help!

• Make mixes ahead. Once a week, I make a bunch of dry mixes for things like pancakes, rolls, breadsticks, etc. Why does this help you ask??? I have 3 very sweet, well-meaning children who are like bugs to a light when it comes to helping with mealtime. So if I can cut out some of the steps to make it more simple not only for them, but it also cuts down on the mess and chaos for me.


• The kids each get to pick a meal a week and help me (or Bryan) prepare that meal. They get so much personal satisfaction out of knowing they created something, but they are also learning to cook...I love 2 for 1's!


• I borrowed the idea for this game from my sister-in-law, Danelle. We play "Would you rather___" at the dinner table. Someone starts out and asks someone else, "would you rather go skydiving or scubadiving?" That person answers the question, and then they ask someone another "would you rather" question. Even my little kids get into this, and it has developed into some very interesting conversation.


• When it's a less involved meal, like breakfast or lunch, I will read scriptures to them, or we'll discuss a scripture story. One time, we were talking about 3 Nephi in the Book of Mormon, and how after the earthquakes, the land looked different, and they got asking what it would look like here if the same thing happened. Kind of a fun conversation to have with a 6 year old, a 4 year old and a 2 year old :)
• Prepare for dinner. When I make that extra effort to make the table look nice, get the dishes all done and focus on the presentation of the meal, that feeling carries over into the meal, and the children tend to be more subdued... well, more subdued than usual.
• Have an etiquette dinner. I have the kids all dress up...this is a risk on my part because it is almost a sure bet their clothes will get stained :) I have friends who do this at restaurants, and I love that too, but I love having this kind of experience at home as well.
• Have a mixed-up dinner. This idea came from www.ywconnection.com. There is also a variation of this idea on www.mormonshare.com. I make a menu..include utinsels, salt, butter, water, ice....everything! Only write everything in either a foreign language, or in code (ie. salt could be listed as "ancient preservative"). Divide the meal into 3 or 4 courses, and have everyone pick a maximum of 3 or 4 things (depending on what you're having). It can end up pretty hilarious what you can end up with! This is great for older kids and even teens. Younger kids LOVE it, but will need adult help with the reading and filling out of their menus.
• Johnny Lingo Dinner. Make hawaiian haystacks or hawaiian pizza. Throw a blanket in front of the TV and eat and watch Johnny Lingo for dinner. For dessert have ice cream sundays (ice cream is from a cow...get it?!? hahaha)
• For older kids or adults, have a mystery dinner (also from www.ywconnection.com). You can also do the scripture version. This is a BLAST!
• Do a dutch oven dinner.
• Okay, so this list is short, because I definately need more ideas. Send them my way!!!