How to Make Frugal Meals Feel Special
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Are you bored of the same cheap meals that your family has been eating for a long time? Here are some great ideas on how you can make meals special!
How to Make Frugal Meals Feel Special
You work hard preparing meals for your family, but sometimes it’s nice to make them a little bit out of the ordinary. When you are on a budget and/or a big meal planner, special and fancy meals usually don’t fit into your plans. And especially when you are on a budget, it’s hard to be able to eat out for a special occasion.
So today I want to share with you some ideas on how to make those “boring” frugal meals into something special. Because sometimes you just want new or sometimes you really need to celebrate a special occasion.
How to Make Meals Special
Serve Your Meal With a Special Drink
Now you’ve probably already gathered that we don’t drink alcohol but that doesn’t mean we don’t like to have a fancy drink with a meal once in a while. Sparkling Apple or Sparkling Grape juices are our favorite and the kids love indulging in this special treat as well. Grab a couple of wine glasses to enjoy this in from the dollar store and you’ll really look like you’ve upped your game!
Set the Place and the Mood
It’s amazing what a pretty tablecloth or a few well-placed candles can do for a meal. We love putting some taper candles into my Mason Jar Candle Holders and turning out all the lights to make supper a special time. If you aren’t quite trying to get this fancy with your meal, just a nice tablecloth that you don’t pull out often will change things up. Try something with bright colors.
Serve at the Home Restaurant
Even if you are serving the same thing you make every Friday, switch up the way that you serve it. Try putting it on a different serving plate that you don’t use often or you could even put each individual plate together in a fancy way like they might at an upscale restaurant.
Change It Up
This is a fun one that we don’t do often but my kids really love. Change the place where you are eating the meal. Maybe serve it in a different room or make it a picnic outside (we’ve even done indoor picnics on the floor!). A change of “scenery” will really help the meal to feel different and special and I bet it won’t be forgotten for a long time.
Invite New Faces
Sometimes the best part of the meal is those that are gathered around the table. If you want to make your next meal special, invite someone to join you! They will enjoy being asked and your family will enjoy the fellowship and stories that another face will bring to the table.
Make Dessert
I don’t often make dessert, but when I do, it always dresses up the meal! It’s also a wonderful incentive to get the kids to clean their plates. 🙂 Something like my Recipe for Red Velvet Cake or the Crustless Chocolate Cheesecake would be great for fancy dessert!
Ask Questions With Long Answers
When I’m writing I often think about the type of question I’m asking, “Does this have a long answer or a short (yes or no) answer.” For your next special meal, try asking more “long answer” questions. Get the family talking about something new and interesting. This is a perfect way to deflect from the fact that you are serving beans for the 3rd time this week!
Get the Kids Involved
No matter if you are making something you make all the time, or something new, let the kids (or one of the kids) make part of the meal, perhaps a side dish or dessert. This is a great way to get the kids involved in the cooking and gives them bragging rights at the table (aka: “Those are my baked carrots!”). If you are generally the one that does most of the cooking, this can be a great way to make the meal a little more special.
Live Up the Birthday
In our home, birthdays are a really big deal. We don’t usually cook meals that are out of the ordinary though. Here’s what we do. The birthday person gets to choose all 3 meals of the day; breakfast, lunch, and supper. This automatically makes every meal of the day special, not because of what it is, but because it’s the choice of the birthday person and you know it’s one of their favorites.
Remember, that even if you aren’t making a meal “special” every time, those affordable meals that you are making are always special because they are a work of the heart. You don’t have to bake and cook everything from scratch in the convenient world that we live in, but when you choose to do so, it’s an act of love and that will always be special.
How do you make meals special in your home?
Where did you get your candles that fit inside your mason jar?
We buy them in bulk from a lady that makes them in Montana. Normally we have them in our store, Homesteadmade.com but we are currently waiting for her to make a new batch. (should be here around the end of the month). They are 6 inch taper candles.
I love your suggestions! We are currently on vacation, and I just remarked to my husband that one of the nice things about this week away is not having to think of fresh ways to serve the same old thing!! Very timely post! Thank you!!
Merissa, agradezco enormemente tus consejos, comentarios y recetas. Comparto la mayoría de tus opiniones y desde que formamos nuestra familia, 47 años atrás, hemos practicado tu modo de vida, simple pero muy lleno de cariño y respeto por todos. Gracias .
Dalia
¡Gracias por sus amables palabras! Me alegro mucho de que hayas podido utilizar las ideas de mi blog. 🙂
Since it’s just me, I try to put a little extra effort in for meals because it’s so easy to slump in the living room and eat in front of the TV. At this point, I only do picnics on the living room floor to avoid that temptation. The picnic is served on a pretty tray in courses, and I put down a comfy blanket to make me feel more celebratory.
I like to dress my dining table for the season. Right now it’s fall-themed with leaf placemats and table runner, and gold candles. In winter I do blue/silver/white decorations, and spring and summer have floral patterns and fresh flowers from the garden. Changing things up keeps them fresh and means I don’t get bored looking at the same thing all year round. I bought everything I use over the years on sale, and maybe add one new thing now and then or swap something around.
I also got some really fancy 60s placemats and napkins that I use on special occasions like my birthday. They’re a Luther Travis print with grapes, and really pretty. I found them on Ebay a while back and grabbed them because I love grape table things.
Thank you for sharing these tips!
Thank you, Merissa! I love your blog and appreciate your generosity in sharing so much of your life and what you’ve learned along the way so others might benefit. There’s alway something interesting and encouraging in your blog posts.
Blessings to you and your family 🙂
My son doesn’t have much interest in cooking, as much as I’ve tried to encourage it. But he has always loved to dress up in fancy clothes, write out the night’s menu and serve as waiter for his daddy and I. It’s a fun way to get kids involved who may not enjoy the cooking part.
Hi, Merissa,
Have you ever tried beef in a can? I was given a can as a gift and thought you might have
a recipe I can try. I know there is chicken and tuna in a can. But, beef in a can.
Hope you know what to do with it, I thought I would try taco’s. Let me know if you have any
ideas.
I’ve had home canned beef which I’m thinking is similar? Unless it’s ground beef, you should be able to find some ideas on this post: Leftover Pot Roast Recipes – How to Stretch a Roast
Sometimes when I’m serving something we eat a lot of I may change the ingredients a little. I have a taco soup that I make pretty regularly which calls for hamburger, onions, corn, beans, tomatoes and taco seasoning. For the burger I may use straight beef burger and other days I may use turkey burger or half and half burger and sausage. I’ve used kidney beans, white beans or black beans. Sometimes I’ll throw in slice olives or fresh herbs. Changing the ingredients can make a dull routine meal more special.
I absolutely loved that this was shared again. We’re still doing quite a bit of isolating in regards to the pandemic (we have a 9yr old at home and aging parents that we are primary contact for), so we have def gotten into a funk from time to time with meals and meal planning.
I second the “picnic” idea, even if it’s in the backyard or on the living room floor! We also have bought new blue floral drinking glasses from the dollar store JUST because we’ve been at home for most of the last 18 months. We usually dont splurge on frivolous things but treats have been a nice way to break up the monotony. Thanks for the inspiration, as always. 🙂
These are great tips! I need to get my DD involved in helping with food prep more often. I also have to get back to meal planning. We are eating the same thing over and over again.
Thank you for the great ideas!
We live 200 miles from our grandchildren. So my son makes a snack or lunch date with us on FaceTime. We enjoy talking with the girls while we all eat together. Changes things up for the them and we feel a part of their lives.
When we were young, times got really hard. My Mom served mashed potatoes ( no milk or butter) but colored one bowl red and one blue! We loved it and clamored for some of each! She also improvised and made homemade syrup with white sugar and green food coloring! We loved it so it became a standard!
I know that arranging food on the plate can make a different as well. Add special garnishes that you pick from the garden! Even certain weeds can make a dish more festive!