How about turning this ordinary spaghetti night in to a crazy fun family Valentines dinner? "How?!", you say...
By using these menus to make a Valentine Mystery Dinner!(Click on either image to download and print)
If you've never had a Mystery Dinner before, the names of all the menu items (utensils, too!) have been changed to silly Valentine-inspired names. Everyone gets a menu, writes what they want for each course, then they get served a mixed-up dinner. The kids loved it because one of my daughters got an Ice Cream sundae for her first course....however she didn't have a spoon to eat it with.:)
Here's what you need:Puppy Love (Crush soda)
Cupid’s Arrow (toothpick or wooden skewer)
Love Trouble (jam)
Rising Love (roll or biscuit)
Melted Hearts (pasta sauce)
Angel’s Coiffure (cooked angel hair pasta)
Kissing and Hugging (spoon)
Girls Best Friend (Carrots...get it? "karats"...)
Persuader (fork)
Cold Shoulder (Ice Cream Sundae)
Heart Breaker (knife)
Snuggles (napkin)
Lots o’ Pick-up Lines (shredded cheese)
Mystery Dinner Menu
Directions:
Gather all your dinner ingredients and keep on the counter, away from everyone's eyesight. (Note: If you want to get fun with your rolls or biscuits, you can make them into simple heart shapes. I just took a can of Grands biscuits, cut a triangle out of the top of each one, then pinched the bottom to make a heart shape. Bake as directed.)
Gather all your dinner ingredients and keep on the counter, away from everyone's eyesight. (Note: If you want to get fun with your rolls or biscuits, you can make them into simple heart shapes. I just took a can of Grands biscuits, cut a triangle out of the top of each one, then pinched the bottom to make a heart shape. Bake as directed.)
Place a menu, pencil, and plate for each person on the table. Have everyone fill out the menus, gather them up and serve the first course with everyone's requests written on them. After everyone has eaten for a few minutes, serve the next course and continue until everything has been served. Enjoy laughs together while everyone eats their mixed-up dinner!
(Note: once a person ordered a utensil or napkin, we let them keep if for the rest of the dinner.:))More Valentine ideas to come! Hope you can all enjoy a fun family dinner this VDay!
17 comments:
LOVE IT!!! :)
what a fun idea!
Mandy you are like the mommy everyone dreams about having.
I have my first sponsored give away on my Bacon Time blog if you want to check it out from Charm Facotry.
really cute...thanks so much for the inspiration. Your family is so blessed to have you and vice versa.
it's a great idea! seems pretty time consuming though, and do you get to eat with your family, or are you just the chef?
I love your blog! Thanks for sharing all your amazing recipes!
Cute idea and one happy child!
Kristi
Melissa, it does take a little more time than just putting everything on the table, but honestly not much. I get everything out on the counters then just serve it up! Or, you could grab an item (pasta, for example) and just walk around the table serving it to the people that ordered it. Hope that helps. :)
I love you great ideas. Following you from Loveland, Colorado!! :)
I love this post! Would you consider linking it or another favorite food post of yours up with us on The Executive Mom, Burnt Toast theme?
http://www.theexecmom.com/2011/02/burnt-toast-heart-themed-party-food.html
I love this! However, I'm having trouble printing the menu. Page 2 does not list the actual menu items, just where they fill in the blanks. The menu choices are just black lines. Has anyone had any trouble with this or have any insight?
Thanks,
Chellie
Chellie, oh no! I opened it and it seemed to work fine. One side should be menu items with numbers next to them and then under each course should be black lines where they write in the name /number of the menu items they want for each course. Drop me an email and I can send you the file manually if it's still not working for you.
-Mandy
mandyheaston(at)gmail(dot)com
i love this idea. so what do you do if they order the pasta but with out the sauce during that course? Or the jam without the bisquits?
Hi Heather,
I put the pasta sauce in little dixie cups to serve (so they could use it anytime during the dinner) and served a dollop of jam on their plates when they ordered it. Little H ate her jam before she got her biscuit, though. :)
We did this for 12 kids at our church's kids' club. Oh, my what a blast! My son got a toothpick, a napkin and a spoon for his first course. You should have seen his face! Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you so much for the fun idea. I did it for Valentine's Day dinner and my kids absolutely loved it. The expressions on their faces were priceless. We all laughed so hard. I reposted the idea on my blog.
THANKS! You always have the best ideas!
We did this sort of thing, with a million different themes, at summer camp. So fun!
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