A Fun Twist on Sunday Night Dinner

The other day, PJ had a genius idea to switch up dinner and make it more fun for the kids.

It was Sunday, nap time and all three kids were sound asleep. PJ turned and looked at me and asked what we should make for dinner (since we’re trying to eat at home more). I had taken a few chicken breasts out of the freezer and was marinating them in the fridge, but that was as far as I had gotten. Anything was game at this point.

As we were talking, we were sipping on glasses of wine and munching on charcuterie that PJ had poured straight onto the island in the kitchen. No plates, no cutting boards, nothing. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. What if, he suggested, we turn the island into a giant charcuterie board and let the kids eat whatever they want off of it? No saying they have to eat this or they have to eat that; whatever they wanted to eat, they could pick up and take and just leave the rest. 

GENIUS.

Their favorite food group is chips and crackers. They could eat both for every meal and be just fine. So PJ included plenty of each, along with healthier options like strawberries, grapes, carrots, various nuts, hummus, and stuff to make a grilled chicken burrito. I made a simple creamy pesto pasta, because as Stanley Tucci says, there’s room for pasta at every meal.

After that, all that was left to do was wake the kids. In an effort to make it feel like a real restaurant, at PJ’s suggestion, we dressed in black from head to toe, grabbed a few of our cloth napkins and draped them over our arms, and woke them up by requesting their presence in the kitchen. 

They were ecstatic. They had so much fun grabbing whatever they wanted (truly no rules!) and piling it onto their plate. We ate dinner in the living room and watched the new Cheaper by the Dozen movie. And it was so nice. They were happy, we were happy, and everything was great.

PJ has been really good lately about loosening up with the kids and creating more spontaneous, fun events for them. I could stand to learn a thing or two about how to “let go” and let things be. I get into a routine and I sometimes forget to switch things up every now and then and just have fun. 

Feeling extra grateful for PJ and his wacky, fun, inspiring ideas, and feeling thankful we get to experience them together as a family.