Secret Dinner

Have you ever heard of a "secret dinner?"  It's loads of fun! Here's the basic idea: Cook dinner like normal and prepare a simple menu for your family to "order" from.  But the secret is...your family does not know what they are really ordering because you changed the names!  It's a fun way to mix-up your regular dinner night and great for parties too.

For our secret dinner, I set up a small table in the living room to look like a small restaurant so that no one could see what I was preparing or serving from the kitchen.  (You could also set up your restaurant outside on the patio instead of in the living room.)  Then my daughter contributed by making a sign for the restaurant which we named Restaurant Rumbly Diner.

{Our restaurant sign & decor courtesy of my daughter}

For our dinner menu, I made: lasagna, french bread, cooked broccoli, mixed fruit, and brownies and ice cream for dessert.

To disguise the dinner items on the menu, I used objects and activities that remind me of summertime.  (You could easily choose a different theme to disguise your menu items.)  I also included silverware, napkins, and beverage as menu items to make things a little more interesting when everyone ordered.

Here was our menu:

Summer Sunshine-----Lemonade

Rainbow-----Mixed fruit

Frisbee-----Napkin

Slip 'n Slide-----Brownies & Ice cream

Mud Pie-----Lasagna

Hopscotch-----Silverware

Birds Nest-----Garlic Bread

Wiggly Worm-----Broccoli

Once I had the dinner all ready to go in the kitchen, I invited the family to dinner.  I donned my apron and pretended to be their waitress for the evening.  When my family came in the room, I seated them at their table and gave them each a Menu.  Each person was only allowed to order 3 items on the menu at first. (Remember, my family didn't know what they were really ordering from the menu!) 

After everyone ordered the first time, they started guessing which items went with which names on menu.  I let my family order from the menu 2 more times (a total of 3 times), and each time they were only allowed to order 3 items from the menu.  This made it possible for everyone to order one of everything on the menu. For instance, nobody ordered silverware the first time so we had to use our fingers.  Even my husband, who HATES getting messy, ate with his fingers.  He was a great sport!!

It was a very fun evening.  I enjoyed pretending to be the waitress and watching the surprised looks on everyone's faces when the received their orders.  

We had a great time with this "secret dinner" idea, and we know you will too!