Valentine’s Family Dinner 2012

How was your Valentine’s Day?  Did you do anything special?

I almost let it slide this year.  Every year I like to plan something but this year I was really not feeling energetic enough to think about it… until the day of!  Serenity was my little encourager.  She enjoys planning things as much as I, so she was an inspiration for me to get going.  So a little planning, a little cooking and everything came together and we had a special evening.

Here’s how it went.

As soon as Audrey saw me preparing for our special meal, she wanted to make something, too.  So she got out her ingredients to make “jelly rolls”.  Instead, she ended up using sugar and cinnamon on her dough and she even cleaned up her mess when she was done.  Blow me down(!) but I sure do get excited when that happens.

For our special Valentine’s meal, I decided we would have the various courses in different rooms like we did a few years ago.  We had fun with that one and I thought it was worth a repeat.

So Outback Steakhouse Walkabout (Onion) Soup was served in the living room.

I took the picture frame that I had painted and made into a chalkboard  from my Winter Mantle and wrote the message…

 “You Are Sweet”.

In the little jar I placed individual pieces of paper on which I had written the meaning of someone’s name in the family.  After they drew a piece of paper from the jar, they had to guess who in the family it was and then say why they appreciate them.

 Some of the kids couldn’t figure out who they drew.

Then we played boys against girls Pictionary for a few rounds – just long enough for us girls to know we had the boys whipped soundly. 🙂

The next course was served in none other than the master bedroom.  A lovely green salad was the fare – made similar to our Thanksgiving one that we thought was so DELISH! This time we used a Raspberry Vinagrette with a dollop of plain yogurt added on the side.

For our activity we played Taboo.

 One of the few pictures with me in it.  I’m usually the one behind the camera. 🙂

Our main part of the meal was served in our dining nook. (sorry, no pictures)  The menu consisted of:

• Meatloaf (this definiately does not have a lovely presentation to it, but it sure tastes good)
• Mashed Potatoes
• Grilled Zuchinni
• Grilled Asparagus
• Rolls

We.were.full.

Ahhh, but everything was so yummy that I wished I could have ate more.

For our last activity, the kids each drew another red slip of paper from a jar.  This time I had written on it small clues, like “Tis so sweet” and “Hot Household Appliance.”  The kids had to figure out what it meant and then find their treasure.  Moolah was the treasure – various amounts ranging from $1 – $6.

Then it was dessert time.  Waffle bowls made by Martha (my niece), a sliver of banana, a few scoops of ice cream, berries and some hot fudge for those who wanted needed their chocolate fix.  I’m NOT mentioning any names.

A delicious ending to a sweet evening.

xoxo,

Elisabeth