Spice Up Dinnertime: Fun & Games with the Kids!

Dinnertime is more than just eating; it’s a chance to bond, laugh, and create lasting memories with your family. From grocery shopping to cooking and cleaning up, there are plenty of opportunities to make mealtime fun. Here’s how to turn your dinner table into a hub of joy and connection.

Why Playfulness Matters

When families gather around the table, the focus is often on eating healthier or getting help in the kitchen. However, studies show that the real magic happens when families embrace playfulness. Anne, a family dinner expert, notes that families who participate in playful dinners experience more conversation, laughter, and fun.

A study of 1492 children in Quebec, Canada, found that a positive meal environment—filled with enjoyment and conversation—led to higher fitness levels, lower soft drink consumption, and fewer behavioral problems among kids aged six to ten.

Creating Fun Moments

Every family meal is an opportunity to create shared, playful moments. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Grocery Adventures

Mystery Foods: Take your kids to the supermarket and ask them to pick out a fruit or vegetable they’ve never seen or tried before. Then, work together to incorporate this new food into a meal.
Grocery Scavenger Hunt: Turn grocery shopping into a game. Create a scavenger hunt list, such as finding foods that start with the first letter of their names or picking fruits and vegetables in all the colors of the rainbow.

Fun with Food Prep

Play with Shape and Size: Kids love animal-shaped pancakes and food with faces. Try cutting sandwiches into mini bites or creating fun shapes with fruits and vegetables.
Be the Chef: At the end of a meal, let one family member select one or two ingredients that must be included in the next meal. This encourages creativity and involvement in the cooking process.
Vegetable Collage: Put the elements of a salad on separate plates and let your kids create silly faces, animals, or other imaginative designs. Celebrate their creativity, then enjoy eating their masterpieces with a favorite dressing.

Games at the Table

Guess the Ingredient: Ask everyone to guess the ingredients in a casserole or new dish. This game can spark interesting conversations and teach kids about different flavors.
Plan a Big Day Out: Use dinnertime to brainstorm future fun activities, like a trip to an amusement park or a fantasy weekend getaway. You might be surprised by the ideas your kids come up with.
I Spy: This classic game isn’t just for car trips. Play I Spy at the dinner table to engage kids and keep the conversation flowing.
Close Your Eyes: Ask questions like, “How many forks are on the table?” or “What color shirt is the person next to you wearing?” This game turns the table into a fun guessing arena.
Best and Worst: A great conversation starter for any age. Ask everyone to share the best and worst things that happened to them that day.

As Anne says, “In our increasingly virtual world, cooking is one of the rare activities that involves our senses, allows us to make things with our hands, and is something we can do together. Making food is a form of play, and each of its properties can become a focus of invention.”

So, the next time you gather around the table, remember to infuse a bit of fun and playfulness into your mealtime. It’s not just about the food; it’s about the memories you create together.