Crazy Spaghetti Dinner With Kitchen Utensils
A Crazy Spaghetti Dinner is PERFECT for those nights that need to be special, but planning feels like a chore. What do you need? To make it simple let's use what you ALREADY have on hand!
Plan Your Crazy Spaghetti Dinner Menu
Special Dinner Menu:
- Meatless Spaghetti: you should have noodles + sauce in your pantry already {if not, I think it's time for a grocery order!}
- Meat: try canned chicken or ground turkey for a lower fat option {keep some ground meat in the freezer for easy meals}
- Veggies: These are best fresh, but frozen and canned options are totally fine. Our family loves canned green beans and corn or frozen broccoli and cauliflower.
- To make it feel even more special serve something out of the ordinary like honey carrots, artichokes, asparagus, or sautéed mushrooms.
- Salad: The Dole kit salads use lots of cabbage and kale which last WAY longer than lettuce. Our kid favorite is BBQ Ranch.
- Bread: A bread is totally not necessary but since I rarely serve it, bread or rolls make the dinner feel fancier.
- Drink: Serve something out of the ordinary. This may take a special stop at the store. Martinelli's sparkling cider is always a hit around here. It stores well so keep a few bottles on hand for last minute celebrations.
Set A Festive Table
If you don't have a stash of paper products you might want to snag a few. It makes the table look more festive with VERY little effort AND you won't have to do as many dishes.
A quick trip to the Dollar Store, with a color theme in mind, and you'll be set for a beautiful LOW STRESS celebration.
Add The “Crazy” to Spaghetti Dinner
Now the BEST part of the evening is HOW you eat your spaghetti. No silverware allowed. Open up that utensil drawer and let everyone choose their favorite. These are ours:
Beginner: Tongs
For the beginner or younger crowd I recommend starting with the tongs. Like GIANT chopsticks they still offer a level of control. We want “Crazy Spaghetti” to be fun, not frustrating.
Intermediate: Pasta Spoon
For a slightly older crowd the pasta spoon {or fork} provides tines for easy pick-up. The challenge then is getting it out of the bowl!
As the utensils get more challenging, a mess becomes more likely. Give each guest an apron and use a plastic table cover for easy clean up.
Advanced: Wooden Spoon
The wooden spoon is an advanced utensil for sure! The flat shape and wide mouth make it tricky to get food on AND off!
This Daddy cheated a bit and had a fork as backup! Because this is supposed to be a family dinner full of laughs, allow some guilt-free “cheating” before anyone gets too frustrated.
Ready For Crazy Spaghetti Dinner
Let's play with our food! Now that you're ready for a Crazy Spaghetti Dinner of your own you have full permission to play with your food! I hope that this fun tradition of ours makes it to your table and you have as much fun as we do. If you try it out I'd love to see.
If you try it out, let me know in the comments below. And if you share, I want to see! Please tag @partieswithacause on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. We love showing off all your hard work and are so happy to be part of your celebration.
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Additional Valentine's Day Reading
- Queen of Hearts Royal Valentine Dinner
- Last Minute Valentine's Party Food Ideas
- Valentine's Day Breakfast Ideas – Giggle Living
Love this idea for “kids of all ages!” I think I’ll try this with my daughter’s college-aged friends the next time they come over!
I agree! I first tried this in college as a big group date. It was so much fun that I dreamed of doing it with a future family. I think they’ll love it too!!
Oh my goodness, my kiddos would love this!
It’s the best dinner tradition EVER! In fact at the store they shop for large utensils that might make eating spaghetti eating easier! Ha
You’re such a fun mom! I think I would’ve gone for the tongs myself.
The tongs are definitely the best way to go! But the pasta fork isn’t so bad.
How fun is this!! My kids would think this is the coolest! Thanks for the unique idea!
I first did it on a big group date in college and it was hilarious. I thought I’d bring it back and the kids have a blast. It’s really hard so fingers and “bread scooping” is totally allowed! Just don’t forget the bibs and aprons. Thank you.
This is so much fun! My daughter loves spaghetti, I have to do this!
It’s a great one because it’s awkward to eat with a fork let alone a huge kitchen utensil! And you can mix it up too. Try fettuccine alfredo or chicken penne. All super hard to eat! Thank you
This is so fun!! But I think if I tried this, my kids would want to eat dinner this way every night lol!!
Ha! They might but it’s pretty tricky so it would get old quick. But for sure we try to do it a couple of times of year and ALWAYS for Valentines.