What better way is there to strengthen family bonds than organising a planned family dinner once in a while? The wish of every family dinner host is to make it perfect but the outcome is sometimes the opposite.
Do you want to create a magical and memorable dinner for your family? All you need is a few pointers on how to make that happen.
9 Tips On How To Make Your Family Dinner Night Perfect
1: Plan ahead
A family dinner is not something you just come up with, a day before the event. Organising a dinner, especially for a large family, requires planning. You need to shop for groceries, come up with a menu, inform those attending, check your schedules, etc. Planning ahead of time increases your chances of organising a perfect family dinner.
2: Invite extended family
Having dinner with your immediate family is fun and a good way to maintain family values, but it is also almost like every other day. You can take your family dinner up a notch by inviting extended family. This sort of family dinner that involves extended family is better fixed during a holiday. Invite the grandparents, cousins, siblings, and even close friends of the family.
3: Get everyone involved
Remember the gathering is for a family dinner, and it involves everyone. Meals are better prepped when different people are assigned to different roles. Get everyone involved, not just in the preparation of the meals but in every other activity.
4: Play games
Various games are fun and appropriate for a family dinner. One of the favourite games for family dinners is the family feud game. Thanks to the advancement of technology, you can enjoy the family feud game or any other one on your mobile device. Board or card games are also wonderful for family dinner nights.
5: Prepare a variety of nutritious and flavourful meal
Your dining table shouldn’t be boring. A great way to make your family dinner perfect is by making different delicious delicacies. There are various family dinner recipes both online and in Cookbooks, so deciding on what to cook and how to make it shouldn’t be a problem. Your aim should be to make the dinner memorable, and this can be easily achieved when the dishes prepared are outstanding and delicious. Remember to make the dinner healthy especially because of the kids and the older ones.
6: There should be music and drinks
A family dinner is as good as a party. What’s a party without drinks and music? Buy drinks based on the preferences of those coming to the dinner. Get some alcoholic beverages, soda, fruit juice, and so on. Do not forget to get drinks for the kids. Make a good playlist of songs appropriate for dinner nights. Remember to reduce the volume of the music while eating and during conversations.
7: Do not let the kids feel left out
You can easily forget about the kids at a family dinner packed with extended family and friends. The best way to ensure that the kids are not left out is by carrying them along with the activities going on. Allow them to join you in the kitchen, and give them an age-appropriate game to play while the adults play theirs.
8: Have good conversations
Start conversations that everyone can relate to. However, you need to be mindful of the kind of topics you bring up. Catch up on what has been happening since the last family gathering. Ensure that your conversations are centred around positive topics and not offending ones. The goal of a family dinner is to bring everyone together, raising offending or controversial conversations may end up defeating the purpose of the family
dinner.
9: End with a sweet treat
What is a family dinner without dessert? The thrill that comes with waiting expectantly for dessert after the main dish is always amazing. You can either keep the treat as a surprise, and make the family guess what it is, or tell them what it is to make them look forward to it at the end of the meal. Ice cream or pie are both great for family dinners.
Conclusion
While trying to make your family dinner night perfect, also remember to have fun and create memories. Who says you cannot have fun and still create a perfect dinner night for your family? With the 9 tips listed in this article, you can organise a perfect and fun family dinner night.