Nora eating one of the courses in the Wacky Dinner

Wacky Dinner Activity

For Nora’s 11th birthday, we hosted a “Wacky Dinner.” Here’s how we did it in case you are interested for your own families. It’s a great activity for a family dinner on a weekend or parties.

We first learned about Wacky Dinners from our friend Francine about 20 years ago. I could not remember how to do it exactly, so Francine coached me. Thanks Francine!

So here’s the concept – you give the guests a menu that has all the items written as riddles. On the menu, the guests write which menu items they want to receive with each course – and you can have three or four courses.

Here was our menu:

Menu ItemClue on the Guest Menu
Goldfish crackersSwimmers
Snack MixNora Can’t Stop
Cubes of cheddar cheeseSquares
California rolls sushiWish They All Could Be
Deviled EggsWicked Breakfast
Mini pizzaBig Enough for a Chipmunk
Tuna Salad on a CrackerNever Swim with a Bicycle
Hummus and Pita CrackersSmooth as a Baby’s Bottom
Macaroni and CheeseCurly Squirty
Shrimp CocktailGoing for a Dip
Carrot sticksUnderground icicles
Cucumber slicesRound and round
ApplesaucePulverized with Love
StrawberriesNature’s Hearts
GrapesNot Quite Wine
Red pepper slicesLike a Lipstick Smile
GherkinsImportant for Every Meal
Square of SeaweedFrom a Mermaid’s Notebook
Tomato SoupBubbling Lava
Birthday CakeWhy We Came
Vanilla ice creamJack Frost
Jello in a cupJiggly Wiggly
Rice Krispie squareChewbacca
Square of Hershey’s ChocolateMissing His Friend Graham
Chocolate SyrupMud in the Rain
Raspberry Yogurt PopsiclesSun-burned Yogurt
Whipped CreamI’m Beat!
Butter CrispsTry Not to Explode
Petit Ecolier Cookies (Shortbreads with Chocolate on them)Petit Écolier or the Little School Boy

That was actually too much food – the girls got too full. I would cut it in half. We just had so much fun coming up with the clues, and we thought the servings were so small, they would need a lot of stuff.

Also, we found plating the first few courses was a bit stressful with 10 items in each course – better to have something like five.

Plating in the kitchen
Plating in the kitchen

Nora did this sketch of the Wacky Dinner and I love it so much:

Wacky Dinner Sketch by Nora
Wacky Dinner Sketch by Nora – isn’t it great?

She also did a sketch of the girls at the mall doing a scavenger hunt – another activity the girls enjoyed.

Nora's Sketch - Birthday Guests at the Mall Scavenger Hunt
Nora’s Sketch – Birthday Guests at the Mall Scavenger Hunt