This past Sunday, my kids and I created our own “Italian Restaurant” because well… you know, we’re bored and we miss going to our favorite places. I thought this activity would at least break up our normal dinner routine, but it turned into so much more! It gave our kids something to look forward to, plus we had fun setting everything up together, cooking together, making the menus, etc. In the end, we had a memorable night in our own cheesy way, but I think it was the intentional family time that each of us enjoyed most.
So below are fun ways to recreate your own restaurant experience using items around your house, just like we did! Plus there’s FREE editable PDFs like menus, order forms, Italy-themed “Would You Rather” questions, and a few Italian words that are fitting for a family dinner.
I hope that planning your own restaurant at home might put a bright spot in your upcoming weekends too!
Tips for a successful restaurant night-in
+ Use any tablecloth. Maybe you have a red one for Christmas – perfect!
+ Get out your finest china! What are we saving it for anyway? And better yet, if you have different sets, use a variety of plates and make it eclectic!
+ Add candles to your table. There’s something so delightful about the ambiance of candles on a dinner table. I learned this from a wonderful book The Life Giving Table by Sally Clarkson where she recommends candles at every dinner.
+ Play old school Italian dinner music! This free Amazon Prime playlist was magnifico!
Or here’s another Italian dinner music list if you prefer Pandora.
+ Do you have a play easel or chalkboard? Have your children create your restaurant sign!
+ Let your kids’ imaginations go wild on the menu! It doesn’t have to match your actual meal. Have your oldest fill out the Menu PDF, or complete it with them before printing.
+ Keep the meal simple. Order pizza or take-out to support your local restaurants, or make whatever you have on hand for dinner! We had pasta with frozen meatballs and leftover hotdog bun garlic toast, plus warm chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Nothing fancy! But our menu said otherwise. What exactly is Mac & Cheese Soufflé’ by the way? Lol
+ Take turns being the server. I gave both of our kids a clipboard with their “order sheets” and let them take turns writing down our requests.
+ Put the “Learn Italian” sheets on the table. Try to use the words as much as you can.
+ Play “Would You Rather” during dessert! We had some interesting dialogue, especially from our Kindergartner. 🙂
+ Break out Jenga, Uno, or any board game after dinner. We kept the fun going and played Jenga (The Leaning Tower of Pisa right?) and then a couple rounds of Uno of course.
Here’s the FREE editable PDF that your family can edit, print, then color! (I’m all about saving ink while providing an activity!)
Note: First download the PDF to your computer then open it using Apple Preview or Adobe Reader to edit the text areas. If you try to edit the pdf in your web browser the fonts will be wonky and it won’t save your changes.
In the end, would we have rather gone to our favorite Italian restaurant? My answer – YES!!!…..other humans and no dishes, absolutely yes!!! But for the kids, I think our little make-believe restaurant might actually win. They got to chase each other around the table, get up from their seats whenever they wanted, wear mismatched comfy clothes with bare feet, and use their outside voices after dinner…. plus have mom & dad’s full attention…
Come on now – that’s tough to beat! 🙂