Thursday nights are special.   Not that they’re anything out of the ordinary.  As a matter of fact, every Thursday night is pretty much the same, every week.  It’s the night when we shine up our Grandma and Grandpa badges, because our daughter and son-in-law, and our three grandkids, come to eat supper and spend the evening.  I love Thursday night!  It’s busy and it’s noisy, just like when our kids were smaller.  The house is bustling and full of laughter and fun.  So, yes; it happens every week, just the same as the week before, but it’s special.

Gettin' silly and havin' fun on Thursday night! The grandkids and Aunt Rissa are enjoying Coke floats!

This particular Thursday, I knew with the way my afternoon had gone, supper would need to be fast and easy to put together.  On the other hand, I also knew that it had to be “supper at Grandma’s” special.  Hmmm.. Easy AND special for 3-, 5- and 6-year-olds — Pizza and Coke!  Wait!  Let’s make it over the top and surprise the kids with Coke floats!  Sweet!  This was definitely a good plan and one that would net us the Grandkid Seal of Approval on Thursday night supper.

I made one stop at our local thrift store, before heading out to Walmart for some supper groceries.  I hadn’t been in the thrift store in awhile and with the holidays approaching I like to keep up on what new things may have come in.  Plus, I always check out the dishes and glassware — just in case.   Our Christmas Eve tradition is to attend services at church, drive around to look at all the houses decorated with Christmas lights and then come home to eat ice cream sundaes for supper.  We have a special set of glasses that we have used for this, since our kids were small.  As we have added family members, over the years, I watch for extras to turn up at garage sales and thrift stores.  As luck would have it, I found one, plus two other soda glasses that were similar enough that I grabbed them, too.  I can’t wait for Christmas!

At the thrift store, I scored three more soda glasses for our collection. These are part of a special family Christmas Eve tradition. And you KNOW I love bargaining, so I managed to get all three for for only 75 cents each, instead of the $2 marked on the one in front. Yahoo!

After my successful, thrift store visit, I headed to Walmart to grab what we needed for dinner.  (If you would like to see my whole shopping experience, thrift store and all, be sure to check out my Google+ album with the complete pictorial story.)  I was momentarily sidetracked from my original plan, because as I turned to the deli, where I normally grab the Marketplace pizzas, I spied rotisserie chicken — butter and garlic rotisserie chicken, plus original and lemon pepper.  For the briefest instant, I registered that for Grandpa, THIS would be a much more special supper.  After a moment of wavering, I determined to stick to the plan and save rotisserie chicken for a Grandma and Grandpa date night.  Pizza it would be!

Rotisserie chicken, you cunning temptress. You almost diverted me from my mission!

I LOVE the selection of varieties available in the fresh Marketplace pizzas at Walmart.  I’m also pretty fond of the fact that they taste great and no place else can come close to their price for fresh pizza.  I always check for their Featured Pizza of the day.  It’s only $6.98 for an absolutely GIANT 16″ pizza.  Today, that’s pepperoni and sausage on thin crust, which is actually our favorite Marketplace pizza crust.  Score!  Now, all I need is ice cream and Coke for the sodas.  The kids are going to be SOOOO excited!

Walmart Marketplace Take and Bake pizzas. Tasty and a great value!

I grabbed a bucket of vanilla ice cream and headed for the chip and soda aisle.  I actually found Coke in three places — the main chip and soda aisle, on an endcap at the end of the detergent aisle and in an island display in the store’s central aisle.  I’d say I’m not the only one who enjoys a Coke now and then, and then and now, and more often than not, at least one more time.  :)  Coca Cola and I are pretty chummy.  We go places together.  The relationship works for me.  :)  But, I digress.  This is about the grandbabies and a special dinner to surprise them on a plain old Thursday night.  I better get home to get it ready, before they arrive.

Those are the smiles of anticipation that make a Grandma's heart sing! And yes, those are the special Christmas Eve ice cream sundae glasses. They seemed fitting for our treat, tonight.

For those of you who weren’t sure of it before, I can tell you that without a doubt, something as simple as pizza and Coke floats really can make Thursday night something special.  Look at those smiles!  Anticipation can be a very good thing and while the pizza baked, we made ice cream sodas.  After all, this IS Grandma’s house.  I can serve dessert before dinner, if I want to.  I’m pretty sure there’s a rule about that in the handbook.  :)  The food was delicious and the time together was so much fun.  We certainly can’t eat pizza and Coke floats every night of the week, but what a fast, easy and yummy way to make a weeknight dinner extra special.  I’m pretty sure that this simple “Grandma magic” could work for you, too!   How do you take an ordinary meal and make it something special for your crew?  What special treats put dinner “over the top” for your family?

Yup! Simple can be special. Pizza and Coke turned everyday supper into a family celebration!

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