A new kind of Progressive dinner.

One of my goals as a mom is to make "ordinary" moments seem "extraordinary" to my children.  I never want them to doubt that I enjoy their company, so I'm constantly looking for ways to make the "everyday" seem as special to them as it is to me.  I want them to look back on their childhoods and see a Mom who gave it her best shot.  I want them to see me as someone fun and uninhibited with them, rather than "just Mom."  Sometimes I wonder if I'm just setting myself up to be disappointed when they don't acknowledge or recognize my efforts, but occasionally, I hit on something that ends up being as magical in reality as it seemed in my head.

A few weeks ago, I read a magazine article about a Mom who designed an "at-home" progressive dinner for her kids.  For the life of me, I can't remember where I read it, and I've scoured all my recent magazines to find it again so that I can give her proper credit, but I can't find it.   So, I vaguely remembered her idea and wanted to capitalize on it for my own family to help escape some of the winter doldrums.  The premise was this:  Create a dinner event in which each "course" takes place in a different room, along with some kind of pre-planned activity.  I took it a step further and created cheesy (and I mean REALLY cheesy) little clues for them to be led to the next part. 

Course # 1:  We started with a little poem (I accidentally deleted them from my computer) about how this meal would be a little different.  I tried a new recipe for crispy parmesan sticks (I don't recommend them), and I laid toothpicks out on the table with colorful mini marshmallows.  While we ate our "sticks," we sculpted with "sticks."  We used the marshmallows to stick the toothpicks together and let our imaginations run wild.  Below are a few pictures of our creations.  Snowflake, letters and house, marshmallow man, and tennis court and racquet.

Course # 2 -  When we completed our sculptures (which took place at the kitchen table), We moved to the living room with pizza roll-ups and a short episode of one of the kids' favorite shows.   This gave them plenty of time to focus on their food and kept most of the mess out of the rest of my house!  









Course # 3 - By this time, the "clues" leading them to the next part were as fun as the activities!  Our "side" dish was tater tots, in the playroom, along with a family game.  


Course # 4 - Dessert in Mommy and Daddy's bed = gummy worms while reading How to Eat Fried Worms.


So, what did this accomplish, other than a little extra mess in my house and taking an extra hour for dinner? 

I think it made us slow down.  We didn't rush through dinner, and we talked about all kinds of things!  No one was stressed, everyone was relaxed, and it was true quality family time.  I wasn't thinking about the dishes waiting for me or the laundry in the basket to be folded.  My hubby was paying full attention to all of us instead of to sports on TV.  My kids weren't jostling for position in the conversation, as we all had fun things to share with our sculptures and took turns in the game.  The cuddle time in our bed during the story made bedtime so much more relaxing and peaceful.  What we gained from it was worth so much more than what we "lost" by taking the extra time.

All in all, this was a major hit.  My daughter has told EVERYONE at school about it, and several staff members have come to find me to get more information.  Every day my kids ask when the next "scavenger hunt" meal will be.  It was a little extra effort on my part (but not much!), but it made my kids feel so special.  For those of you who don't know what to do to show your kids a little extra love, give this a shot!  You might be surprised how much fun they have....and even MORE surprised at your own enjoyment!