Family Dinner Games
Games can add fun to the family dinner experience. They make a more relaxed atmosphere and people tend to open up and communicate more easily. Dinner games encourage a healthy interest and excitement for family dinners.
Have every family member write questions they would like to know on index cards (one question per card). Put the index card in the “Family Questions Basket”. Pass the basket around the table and ask each member to pick a card. During dinner start asking your “Family Question” and have everyone answer.
Question examples:
- What’s my favorite piece of clothing?
- Who’s my best friend?
- What games did grandma play as a child?
- What was your first job?
- When can I start driving?
This will spur conversation and you can learn so much from each other.
Create a list of words or phrases about your family, vacations, or every day scheduled events. While you are eating dinner, say the word and have your family tell you the first word or phrase that comes to mind. You will be fascinated by the connections your family makes. For example, you can say the word “Grandpa”. Your family may respond with “peppermints”, “hearty laugh”, “suspenders”, and “great story teller”.
Ask your family to write down 5 to 10 of the best family moments on individual 2"x2" pieces of paper. Ask them to fold the paper and put it in a jar. These moments can include vacations, holidays, birthdays, sports games, after school fun, etc. During dinner, ask one member of the family to carefully pick a special memory from the jar so no one else can see. It is up to that family member to describe that memory without saying any words or phrases that are written on that paper. The first person to answer correctly gets to pick the next memory. It will be a great time to reminisce on wonderful family occasions.
Play a game that encourages your kids to test their creativity. At dinner time, tell your family that in order to have any of the food items passed to them they have to describe the object rather than call it by name. For example, if your child wanted the brown sugar glazed ham, your child may say “Will you please pass me the pink colored meat topped with a sweet sauce?” It will be fun hearing the way your family describes food and a way to keep your children's thinking caps on.
I know your parents always taught you not to play with your food, but let’s switch it up! Make a meal with foods that have a lot of color and can be molded. Have a competition for the family members to use the food on their plate to create a piece of art on their plate. The family will vote on which family member created the best masterpiece.