Eating as a family is so important. I am totally savoring the fact that right now we can have a nice dinner together almost every night. As Mac and any future siblings get older and busier, it will be harder to sit down together. But right now, we manage to have nice family dinners. I have come up with four different things we use to make dinner extra special on an otherwise normal night.

Set the Mood

Music is a great addition to any dinner. But we don’t just put on any old playlist. Spotify has an entire genre called “dinner” that ranges from a “reggae barbecue” playlist to a “bossa nova dinner” playlist. We like to try to find one that coordinates with what we are eating. So when we have spaghetti or lasagna, we turn on classic Italian songs. On another night we might listen to diner classics like Elvis and Johnny Cash while we have burgers and fries. Sometimes our music is based on other things. Mac and I listened to the entire “Purple Rain” album the day Prince died.

As Mac grows up, I would love to get her input on the song selections for the night. It would be fun to put together playlists of songs she enjoys hearing mixed with ones we adults like to listen to.

Light the Lights

This one is pretty simple. I like to light some candles while we eat, especially in the wintertime. There is something so comfy about candles on the table. It is fun to pick candles that might match our dinner theme or the season.

Dine Al Fresco

Now that it is nice out, we eat outside every night. We have a wonderful patio set on our deck with a large umbrella. As long as it is warm and not too windy, we are able to enjoy the evening. Mac especially loves to eat outside because there is so much more to look at. Some children might be too distracted to eat outside, but Mac manages to balance her gawking with her food consumption.

Real Talk

The big thing about conversation at dinner is to not force it, but keep it going. Parents tend to get frustrated when children won’t open up to them but they don’t think about the questions they are asking. There are several things to remember about opening dialogue:

• Ask open-ended questions like “What was the best part of your day?” and “What are you excited about this week?”
• Listen. Like actually listen to what they are saying.
• Give them space and time to answer.
• Make it a no-judgement zone.

Obviously Mac is too young to actually tell us about her day, but we still include her in our conversation. We lead her through a conversation by asking her a question, allowing her to answer, and then following up with what her answer is. For example:

Me: “Mac, you went to the park with Grandma today. What was your favorite part?”

Mac: Babble that makes a little sense, but mostly unintelligible

Me: “I bet you liked going down the slide.”

This way we give her the chance to talk and experience a conversation.

So, what do you do to make eating as a family special?