Make Dinner an Event to Remember: The Top Family Dinner Night Ideas

Most families are only able to spend about 34 minutes per day together as a group. 

Is that really enough time to get your children to open up to you, to listen to your spouse vent about the latest workplace drama, or to share a new hobby with the people you care about the most? 

Spending time together over the table is a tradition that is quickly eroding — and you can’t get the time you’ve missed with your family back. 

That’s why so many people have decided to make family dinner more than a meal, but rather a fun-filled event that everyone looks forward to throughout the day. 

Stumped for ideas? 

Read on to learn about some of our favorite supper ideas — ones that go beyond the dishes alone. 

1. Assign Each Family Member a Course

Now is the time to give a whole new meaning to the phrase, “family dinner.”

Instead of just cooking everything yourself, why not involve everyone in the process of getting a meal on the table? 

Not only will this save you the headache of cooking, but it will also get your kids excited about the prospect of learning how to create tasty, nutritious meals. Plus, once they do the work themselves, we bet they’ll be much more appreciative of what you cook every night. 

A few days beforehand, have everyone pick out what they’d like to cook for their course — simple appetizers or desserts are often easiest for smaller children. 

Then, do a big family trip to the grocery store to get the necessary ingredients. 

When you’re ready to start cooking, give everyone an apron or even a silly chef’s hat to make it even more fun. 

Everyone will have a great time trying out new foods (even if they don’t match up) and it could be the start of a weekly tradition. 

2. Have a Board Game Night

Does your family enjoy a little bit of competition? Are you always ready to try out the latest board game? 

Do you love seeing your children work together to beat you and your partner, and do you like being able to hold your board game win over everyone’s heads for the next few days? 

If so, then why not incorporate your love of board games into your family dinner ideas? You can play one round before the meal, and one round afterward — switch up teams to keep things interesting, or try two separate board games. 

To make things even more fun, invite another family over, and see which one comes out victorious. 

Check out this list of the top family board games to ensure you pick a game everyone will be able to enjoy. 

3. Head out to a New Spot

As much as you enjoy a good home-cooked meal, sometimes you’re just tired of everyone asking you, “What’s for dinner tonight?”

Why not let someone else handle the menu for a change — and give your family a night out in the process? 

Scour the newspaper or the Internet to read up on a few local family dinner spots, but don’t tell the rest of the family where you’re going. This will only get everyone more excited (and help little ones make it to the car in a timely manner.)

When you’re looking for the perfect place, especially if you have young children who get restless or teenagers who always seem to have trouble putting their phones away at dinner, look for a restaurant that also comes with an activity. 

You could play in a game room after the meal, and have your kids finally explain to you what Fortnite is all about. You could opt for a meal that comes with some kind of performance, or you could even take a cooking class to brush up everyone’s culinary skills. 

The possibilities are endless, and you’ll create wonderful memories. 

4. Eat in Character 

You’ve likely heard the common question, “If you could eat dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose?”

While you may not be able to bring your favorite celebrity back to life (or convince a living one to come to your house for supper) you can recreate the experience through costumes and acting. 

Have everyone pick a celebrity, character from a book/movie, or even a historical figure they admire. Then, they should speak like them and dress up like them throughout the whole dinner. 

It’s a great way to encourage creativity. 

You could also act like your characters throughout the whole meal without the costume. Other family members can ask each other questions, and at the end, everyone can guess who you were pretending to be. 

You could even read a book to your children after dinner to help them learn about some of the most important historical figures. 

You’re Ready to Create a Family Dinner No One Will Forget

Whether you decide to come dressed as a character for dinner, or if you want to have an epic game night, we hope that you feel inspired by these family dinner ideas. 

Looking for the perfect restaurant where you can challenge your kids to play a few rounds of your favorite board game — while having some seriously delicious food in the process? 

We’d love to invite you to dine with us, so check out our menu to see what you’ll be having.

Can’t make it into our board game restaurant? 

Don’t worry — visit our online shop instead. There, you can pick up board games that everyone will love. 

After all, isn’t it time that dinner felt less like a chore and more like fun?