National Men Make Dinner Day is coming, are you prepared?

Have you ever heard of National Men Make Dinner Day? It takes place on the first Thursday of November, and if this is the first time you’re hearing about it, it’s a holiday you and your family should seriously consider giving a shot.

The day’s creator, Samantha Sharkey, told GlobalNews.ca that she created this day with men who “Never set foot in the kitchen. Ever.”

Now 18 years old, the National Men Make Dinner Day has been welcomed with mostly positive feedback. “I get great emails about grabbing the fire extinguisher, or men who’ve signed up for cooking classes because they really enjoyed it, or men who say how much their wives appreciated it,” Sharkey said.

However, that doesn’t mean all feedback has been positive. Samantha’s received angry emails from men who work 50 plus hours per week complaining that their wives are now expecting them to make dinner too.

Her response?

“I write them back and tell them that it’s all for fun.”

And it’s fun for all, but don’t get too clever and think you can throw some ribs on the grill and call it a day. This holiday comes with a set of 12 rules, which is available on the official National Men Make Dinner Day website.

The rules:

1. National men make dinner day is always celebrated on the first Thursday of each November.
2. Man agrees to participate in national men make dinner day. Bonus points if he does so without seeking promise of night out with boys in return.
3. Man, completely un-aided, chooses a ‘published’ recipe from any source, or Internet. Getting the recipe from ‘her’ cookbooks is allowed, but man gets bonus points if the recipe isn’t already somewhere in the house.
4. Main meal must include minimum of 4 ingredients and require at least one cooking utensil other than a fork
5. Man goes shopping for ‘all’ necessary ingredients. Bonus points if he takes inventory of cupboards and fridge first, before shopping trip. So you don’t end up with two 64 ounce jars of pickled pimentos.
6. Man organizes all necessary ingredients in order of importance on kitchen counter. At this point, he may need to make a phone call or shout out the word ‘honey’! Followed by a question. This is not allowed.
7. Man may, if desired, turn on radio or his favourite CD. Man agrees not to be within 30 feet of TV remote during cooking process. At this point, spouse and any other family members should not be anywhere near kitchen. (unless smoke detector goes off!)
8. Following recipe carefully, man starts to cook dinner! Apron is optional, (bonus points if recipe includes one of the following : capers, saffron, or the word ‘scallopini’).
9. Man must use the ‘clean as he goes along’ rule! Following each completed use of utensils, cookware, half-used jars of anything, spice bottles, etc., everything is rinsed, cleaned and put away
10. Man sets table, candles are lit, beverages are poured, no ketchup bottles, sour cream containers, or big boxes of salt on table.
11. Spouse and/or family members are served! This is an opportune time for a photo. Man is ‘allowed’ to gloat no more than three times during the meal. Family is encouraged to congratulate man on job well done. Family dog is not allowed to be secretly fed man’s cooking.
12. After meal, table is cleared by man, dishwasher is loaded. Man returns to table for stimulating after-dinner conversation. At this point, man is told how much his meal was appreciated. He, in turn, describes the joys and challenges of the experience. He is given a hug, and his TV remote is returned to him.

So go print a recipe, pick up a spatula, a frying pan, and get cooking, boys! It’s a lot more fun than you might think.