Anniversary Dinner--family style

Our anniversary hit on a weeknight this year.  I still wanted to mark the date, but getting a babysitter and going out, just wasn't a realistic option, that night.  I was reminded of my parents' anniversary celebrations from when I was growing up.  They never had much money and Mom maintained that she preferred her cooking to that of restaurants, so their anniversaries were often spent at home.  But, as we did with each other's birthday celebrations, their eight children would sometimes get involved in making it a memorable event.  We would help set up a table for two and be their waiters.  We would put on a program and sing the songs from their wedding and courtship.  My favorite was the year my two younger sisters dressed-up like my parents, because they looked so much like the parent they were portraying and that devastated the sister who was dressed like my dad (just add mustache!).

The reason for this trip down amnesia lane, is that I thought my children should have the opportunity to help us celebrate our anniversary this year.  I went to Fresh & Easy and purchased a lot of easy to make food (luckily there was a lot that was marked down--I love that F&E does that!).  I bought myself flowers for the ambiance, and a fun sparkling lemonade.  I had the kids help me set up a make-shift table in the living room (away from the kitchen), with our nicest furnishings.  Wait...something's missing...

...much better!

I got the food prepared to a point and coached my 9-year-old on plating and serving.  She was a little more concerned about getting her hair in a bun and making her name tag.  :-)  Both kids really got into serving us each course.  My son was hilarious with his very proper waiter manners, until he asked if he could have a grape off of our plate.  (That always happens in fancy restaurants, right?)  :-)

They brought out the appetizer tray (top pic) along with oil and vinegar, and pesto to go with the baguette, Cesar salad for the next course (that my 5-year-old was able to mix up from a kit), our main course of Parmesan Tilapia with herbed potatoes, and of course, desert for two...

Here is our Fresh & Easy chocolate gelato, served in a fancy goblet!  Yum! (Btw, Fresh and Easy hasn't compensated me in anyway for anything nice I say about them...but I wish they would!  Free groceries for a year would be nice!  :-))

Have you ever thought about including the kids in your anniversary celebration?  Do you ever set up a table in a different part of your house to mix things up?  In case, you are wondering, we did get to go to a nice restaurant--just the two of us--the following night, and that was nice, too!