Back to school dinner...

Check out this year's back to school dinner.

I decided I wanted to try something new this year to commemorate going back to school. I came across several (NieNie Dialogues in particular) families that had special back to school dinners and I knew that I wanted to try it out this year. Steve and I talked about what "theme" we wanted to introduce to our kids as they start a new school year and we settled on "Be Grateful" (our kids are still young, but we thought this was something they could grasp and improve upon). We chose the scripture, "In everything give thanks" to go along with the theme.

Hunter and Hallie chose the menu completely: white sauce macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, garlic bread and mint brownies. (some sophisticated taste buds we're working with here!) I set the table fancy; any time we use a tablecloth with our kids it's considered a fancy dinner! And a fancy dinner isn't complete without some sparkling cider. Hunter's eyes lit up when he saw the glasses on the table. "We get to use the glasses like when you and dad go out on dates? That's awesome. I love those glasses". I'm not sure what restaurants he thinks we go to that we drink out of goblets on our dates but he was excited either way!

In creating an atmosphere that was special and different, our kids acted differently; more mature and ready to participate in the discussion we had. Those with young kids know just how hard meal times can be, but we were pleasantly surprised with their interest; aside from Bennett who we let roam in and out of the conversation and meal to keep him happy. We plan on spending one day a month, either during a meal or for a family night, focusing on this theme to continually remind the kids what we're working on as a family. Hallie happily claimed after dinner that this was an awesome tradition. Looks like we'll try and do it again next year!