8 Fun Family Dinner Ideas

Have you made dinner for your family for what feels like the last three bazillion nights?

Yeah, me too.

Are you kind of bored with the same recipes?

Yep, me too.

Are you going to lose it if your child complains about their food one more time?

Mmhmm, I’ve been there.

How to Make Family Dinners More Fun

If you answered yes to the above, you might be in a meal rut. Try these eight low-cost ideas to make your next family meal fun and entertaining.

1. Dinner By Candlelight

Take out the good stuff and make it fancy. Do you have fine china? Cloth napkins? Good tablecloths? Use it! Most importantly, turn down the lights and eat by candlelight. This is also a great opportunity for everyone to show off their best table manners. You might also want to get dressed up!

2. Fun Family Dinner Theater

Have each person prepare a short 2–3 minute show to entertain everyone at the table during dinner. Take turns doing your performances, which could include telling jokes, recounting a funny family story, singing a song, or memorizing a short skit. Have a timer out and give each person the same amount of time to entertain.

3. Take It Outside

Bring your meal outside and eat in the yard, on the deck, or on the front steps. If you don’t have a great outdoor space, bring it to the park and eat there. Burn off some post-meal energy by playing a few games afterward. Some favorite childhood games include Freeze Tag, Red light/Green light, and Mother May I.

4. Color Theme

Work together to create a dinner that follows a specific color theme, which could be:

• Foods of one color. Who in your house is brave enough to eat a plate full of green food?
• Color Combo. Maybe your favorite sports team? In this house, we would probably choose Maize and Blue, Go Blue!)
• A rainbow plate. Can you make a plate that includes one food for each color of the rainbow?

You can pick colors by doing something fun like rolling dice or spinning a wheel. This may result in a totally weird meal that may not be as balanced as you’d normally like and that’s ok!

5. Eat Family Dinner Blindfolded

Keep dinner a secret and let your kids find out what’s on their plate by smell, touch, and taste! Plus, did you know that when you remove one of the senses, the others are heightened? If you’re normally a fast eater (guilty!), you may be surprised by what a difference it makes to take your time and taste your food at a slower pace.

6. Have Dessert First

This is our favorite fun family dinner idea. Why NOT have dessert first?! Sometimes we like to do this on Sundays, and we call it Sunday Sundaes. They’re going to eat the dessert anyway, they might as well eat it first!

7. Order From The Menu

Make a menu of all the food and drink choices for the night and give each kid a copy. Let them circle exactly what they want. After each person orders, give them a unique order number. When dinner is ready, call each kid by their number. They’ll love it!

8. Kids Are The Servers

Make the kids the servers and let the adults have some fun with ordering dinner. Directions like “one spoonful of mashed potatoes”, “one bite of broccoli”, or “water in the green cup” can make this extra fun. Once you prepare the dinner, let the kids make up everyone’s plate just like they asked for it and then serve it to them at the table. Don't forget to give each kid an apron and notepad for order-taking! (Bonus points if you have a little bell to ring when orders are up!)

Which will you try?

Which one of these fun family dinner ideas will you try? What fun family dinner ideas do you do in your house?