The Fool's Cafe

In 2019 we started a tradition called The Fool's Cafe. We have an April Fool's dinner with a mystery menu. We serve nine dishes in three courses, and each dish has a silly code name, so the kids don't know what they are ordering. Each year, we do this a little differently. One year, instead of a silly, mystery menu, we did a dump meal where we put all the food directly on the table (with a plastic table cloth), and had our kids eat with their (gloved) hands. They didn't like that version very much. Party poopers. 

Daisy: Not Amused

I, personally, loved eating that way because, at the end of the meal, there were hardly any dishes, and we were able to just gather up the table cloth and throw it away. We should eat like this often. It's an untapped life hack. 

One year I made everyone eat with silly tongs. Sometimes I give them random utensils (enjoy eating with your ladle/spatula/measuring cup). One year we were in California on vacation with Tim and Amber, so we forced them to join in the fun (the only time we've had guests, thus far). I'm pretty sure Amber hid some vegetables she was refusing to eat.

We have a playlist of silly songs we listen to during our meal. 

It's fun, and we make it quick and easy. I usually just find random food around the house that we need to get rid of, make up funny names, and use it as a way to use up stuff that isn't getting eaten. 

Daisy is going on a school trip tomorrow, so we had our April Fool's dinner a day early so she wouldn't have to miss it. 

This was definitely one of the fastest thrown together, low effort Fool's Cafe experiences we've had, but the great thing is, you can blame almost anything on April Fools. Our folding table was lopsided because one leg was extended farther than the other. Our table cloth didn't fit because it was a piece cut off and saved from another party. The asparagus was way overripe. We just called out "April Fools!" to it all. 

Burn the food? April fools! Drop a plate and break it? April fools!

It works.

So if you want a fun activity for April Fools, have yourself a silly dinner. Use it to clean out your pantry, and if anything goes wrong, act like it was intentional, and yell out, "April Fools!"