Hop on board and let’s have a Mexican fiesta! This night’s dinner is sure to wow the fussiest eater with its many options. “Make your own taco” night takes a little bit of prep work but is a fun interactive dinner for the whole family.

This month let’s celebrate with a special fancy dinner at home. Bring out the tablecloth, cloth napkins, special china and candles to make this a night to remember. You can have your children add their favorites into the menu choices or use the ones below. Your child can create invitations and hand them out to other family members with the time and place for this special dinner. This would also be a great way to celebrate a loved one’s birthday, anniversary or even a family Valentine’s night.

Dinner with your family is a special time. Ideally we would like to sit down each night together as a family and share our day’s story while we eat dinner. After school activities, sports, jobs and traveling sometimes make this a difficult, if not impossible, task. So make the days that you do sit down with your family special. Plan a meal together as a family with a favorite food from each person incorporated in one meal. For example- Appetizer ~Mom’s favorite mozzarella sticks. Salad~ Abby’s favorite veggies dipped in salad dressing. Dinner~ Dad’s favorite chicken on the grill. Side~ Matthew’s favorite Mac and Cheese. Dessert ~ Emily’s favorite brownies. This gives everyone a chance to enjoy a favorite.

Speaking of favorites…when you share tonight’s menu with your children there is sure to be a cheer! It’s MAKE YOUR OWN PIZZA NIGHT!

“Can I help? Can I? What about me? I wanna help!” This is what you will be hearing you when let your children know what is for dinner tonight. The easiest (and least stressful) way to cook with your children is to set up first. Do any prep work you may need to do first--like cook the meat or boil the noodles. Having three young children at home I find the best way we work is TOGETHER.
Everyone needs to have a “job” to feel like they are a part of the dinner cooking experience. Just tonight I gave my middle child the pre-dinner jobs (setting the table, filling the glasses, getting out the needed condiments and recycling any used cans, glass or plastic). My youngest was “chef” for the night and got to do all the mixing, stirring, spreading and, yes, tasting. My oldest who had her nose in a book wanted to help but couldn’t tear herself away so she got the “after dinner helper” job of clearing and cleaning while having me to herself to tell all about her book. This way each child got some special attention and worked on dinner all together. They were quick to tell Daddy that they all helped with dinner.