What’s A Fun Way To Enjoy An Italian Dinner At Home?

Children can be picky eaters, and when dining out, this can make it difficult to try different restaurants. Generally, kids like mild and familiar flavors like chicken, pasta, and pizza. Typically, an Italian dinner showcases these favorite items. Moreover, you can replicate a restaurant dining experience at home.

Why Italian Dining Is Naturally Communal

Italian culture naturally lends itself to social bonding at dinner time, and it remains high on the list of favorite cuisines. Typically, Italians view mealtime as more than just eating – it’s a chance to savor one another’s company.

With the fast pace of American culture, many families choose takeout or dine in. This frees up time from preparing and cleaning to spend time together. One way to make this time extra special is to plan an Italian themed dinner restaurant experience.

How To Create An Italian Dinner Night At Home

A key aspect of making a meal special is the atmosphere. Particular touches can help set the scene and make eating at home exciting.

1. Lighting

Start by dimming the overhead lights and lighting some candles.

2. Music

Consider playing some soft, Italian music in the background.

3. Table Decor

Get your table ready by spreading out a tablecloth. Then, create place settings using cloth napkins and fancy tableware. You may also want to arrange flowers in a vase or use a centerpiece.

4. Print Menus

For children, even older kids, printing out the Italian dinner menus of the planned meal sets the mood. Your kids can also help design or decorate them.

5. Dress Up

Getting dressed for the occasion adds extra enjoyment for both the servers and the guests.

6. Plan Games

Kids love to play games, so including a few makes the Italian themed dinner more memorable. Pizza topping bingo, guess the pasta shape name, or food trivia don’t take too much time to prepare. We’ll even give you a few fun facts about Italian food (answers at the bottom of the article):

1. How many different varieties of pasta does Italy produce?
2. Which Italian dessert is one of the most popular breakfast items in Sicily?
3. What popular bread spread did Italians invent?
4. How much pasta does an average Italian eat annually?
5. Margherita pizza’s ingredients are the colors of what symbol of Italy?
6. When do Italians typically eat salad?

Build Your Italian Menu

Of course, you’ll need to consider what food you are going to serve for your Italian dinner. Luckily, most kids love Italian food with its simple flavors and softer textures. For a successful meal, you’ll need to decide which dishes to make:

Research Italian Food Ideas

Begin by gathering recipes. You can search your local library for cookbooks or online platforms like Pinterest for ideas. As you browse, choose recipes your kids will like and that are simple to make.

Plan Your Menu

Once you’ve collected ideas, it’s time to narrow down your choices. Generally, to keep with the restaurant vibe, you’ll want to serve a 3-course meal:

Appetizers – An antipasto platter is easy to assemble and offers different choices. Other easy ideas are a simple salad or garlic bread.

Main Course – Many Italian dishes are pasta-based, one of kids’ favorite food items. Furthermore, some of these options are easy to assemble or can be prepared ahead of time.

Dessert – Since you can make many desserts a day or two early, you can choose something a bit more elaborate. Or you can continue to keep it simple with a scoop of gelato.

Prepare Your Italian Menu Items

Good preparation is the key to a successful restaurant dining experience at home. Readying your kitchen and ingredients eliminates wasted time and makes cooking easier. For example, chop all your vegetables and measure the necessary ingredients before you start cooking.

An Easier Way To Have An Italian Family Dinner At Home

Ultimately, this may seem like too much work when you’re already strapped for time. Yet, you can still enjoy a restaurant-at-home dining experience by choosing menu options from Tony’s Pizza.

Our menu selection includes many of the favorites your kids will love:

• Salads
• NY style pizza
• Calzones
• Strombolis
• Garlic knots
• Cheesy and plain garlic bread
• Boneless and traditional wings
• Hot and cold subs
• Baked ziti
• Chicken/eggplant parmigiana
• Lasagna
• Spaghetti
• Ravioli
• Tiramisu
• Cheesecake
• Cannoli
• Limoncello mascarpone cake
• And more!

Let us take care of your food for an Indoor picnic, restaurant dinner experience, or beginning-of-the-weekend dinner! We use fresh, high-quality ingredients and follow traditional techniques to ensure great food every time.

FAQS About Tony’s Pizza

Want to know more about our restaurants? Below, we provide some additional information.

How Do I Know Tony’s Has Good Food?

From our customers’ reviews! Here’s a recent one:

Best pizza, subs, and wings in the city. good prices and great food. Love their pizza but get the Italian sub most of the time cause it’s so good – Ew D.

Where Are Your Restaurants?

You’ll find us at these locations:

• 688 Bluefield Rd, Mooresville
• 1605 Galleria Blvd, Hickory
• 1530 Overland Park Ln, Hickory
• 14027 Conlan Cir, Huntersville
• 1832 Catawba Valley Blvd SE, Hickory
• 9548 Mt Holly-Huntersville Rd, Huntersville

Have You Guessed All The Answers To Our Italian Food Trivia?

1. Over 400
2. 60 lbs.
3. Italy’s flag
4. Cannoli
5. Nutella
6. After the main course

Is It Possible To Enjoy An Italian Family Dinner At Home?

Of course! For an enjoyable Italian dinner experience at home, you can’t beat Tony’s Pizza. Why not place an order right now?