If your family is like mine, time and money are precious,
and it is impractical to take many expensive trips or find time for outings due
to other activities. That’s
why dinnertime is a great built-in time where your family can have fun,
but more importantly, you can have fun at the expense of your family.
One of my most favorite and time-tested ideas always
elicits amusement for me. You can
easily fit this five-minute jamboree into any day; in fact, I have prepared for
this particular delight in the few minutes it takes for my children to
get off the bus and walk in the door after school.
(Note: I like to employ this idea a day
or so after hearing some considerable complaining about what I decide to make
for dinner.)
Find a few choice recipes that call for ingredients clearly
not in fashion anymore, or ones with horrible pictures with slices of
hard-boiled eggs as a garnish for roast beef or maybe pictures containing cocktail
wieners.
Make copies and distribute the recipes
to each member of your family.
Tell them that you are looking to expand your cooking repertoire, and
ask them to choose one or two recipes that you have selected
because of their simplicity or because “they just sound good.”
IMPORTANT: Do NOT actually make these recipes. You will poison yourself and your whole family. Our modern-day palates are
not designed for the culinary adventures a 1950’s cookbook brings. Trust me.
An example of some recipes I like to use for Family Fun
Night (please excuse the quality of photo):
These will elicit the most fun for everyone if you have
picky eaters who have not touched anything but chicken nuggets and macaroni and
cheese for three years, or if you find a new pre-teen vegetarian in your midst
who has taken it upon himself to “educate” you about the pitfalls of an omnivorous
lifestyle.
Be creative. Don’t
just stick to the outline shown here.
Family Fun Night can be any night where, as your family members breeze
in the door asking “What’s for dinner?” as you slave over a hot stove, sweat
dripping from your brow, you can point out one of the recipes that you have
circled using a red pen, or if you are really creative, some beef blood. It is most important in this scenario to keep
the illusion going as you all sit down to eat, even if you have prepared
baked chicken or beef stroganoff. The
power of suggestion is powerful, and they will think you are trying to poison
them with chicken-fried heart or liver loaf.
If someone in your family has a strong gagging reflex or temper tantrum about
“eating trash,” be sure to have a camera ready to capture the magic.
All it takes is some forethought and minor prep time for good
old fashioned family fun in the home, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Your family members
will thank you for the good times you have shown them, and the memories made will
last a lifetime.
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