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You put all this effort in to make your food look presentable, but no one notices. Most of the time, your family grabs their plate, scarfs their food down, and goes back to whatever they were doing. This can make dinnertime duller than the subsequent dishwater. Although you previously enjoyed cooking and watching people eat, things have changed. So, how can you make dinnertime more exciting for you and the rest of your family?
Eat Together
Once upon a time, you only knew dinnertime as a chance to eat together as a family. However, as your kids have gotten older or you and your partner have discovered new hobbies, this activity is more fractured, and you’re often lucky if you get to eat with one another.
If you’re yearning for the nostalgic wonders of family dinnertime, try encouraging everyone to eat beside one another. This doesn’t have to be every day, but a couple of nights each week, especially at the weekend, can help you reconnect and learn more about each other.
Take It In Turns to Cook
While you were happy to make dinner for everyone back in the day when your kids were too small to hold a spatula, things have changed. You should not hold all the responsibility for cooking, and you can make dinnertime more exciting by encouraging your kids (and/or partner) to take turns cooking meals.
This may be met with some resistance, but it will be for everyone’s benefit. You get a break from cooking and it will teach your kids how to cook, which prepares them for then they finally fly the nest when they get their own place or depart for university.
Try New Recipes
Even if your kids aren’t old enough to cook, at least not by themselves, you can still make dinnertime more exciting by trying new recipes. If you’ve fallen into the same old routine of meat and carbs of varying sources, your kitchen could do with a kick that re-energizes your pots, pans, and stove.
You will never feel like you’re wanting new recipes. Whether you try a Thai curry or perfect sauteed shrimp with garlic butter to impress your family and any guests, you’ll learn new skills and flavor combinations to improve your cooking.
Make It a Game Night
Dinnertime needn’t just be about what you eat. You can combine it with a game night that gets everyone involved in the fun. Board games or video game tournaments, especially Mario Kart and similar games, are a fantastic way to add some spice (and good-natured drama) to those tired evening meals.
Again, you don’t need to do this every night, but making it a weekly or monthly activity gives everyone something to look forward to, and it’s a great reward after standing over a hot stove for an hour preparing something delicious.
Delicious Fun
There are plenty of ways for you and your family to make dinnertime more exciting. Not only can you introduce an \array of new tastes and flavor sensations, but you can also teach essential life skills and even get to know your family a little better.