How to Solve the ‘Where Should We Eat At’ Debate

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I know I am not the only person who has that problem of deciding where I want to eat. My husband and I can go back and forth for so long, mealtime will pass and we still haven’t decided where to go. This easy DIY Restaurant Box is how I decided to solve the debate once and for all.

The Ultimate "Where Should We Eat At" Problem... SOLVED! Make this easy restaurant box and select a restaurant randomly. GENIUS!

I think my main problem is there are so many local restaurants on my list of places to try. The St. Louis area is full of amazing eateries and I love trying new spots. However, when we decide to go out to eat, I can never pick which one I want to go to. We know we want to dine out and try something new, but how do we decide where?

It can be an exhausting battle for whatever reason.

I started writing down a list of restaurants and ultimately decided to make a restaurant box. One that we can painlessly select a restaurant with the pick of a random card.

Supplies Used:

  • Metal caddy (or any bucket, jar or box on hand) – I got mine at Hobby Lobby
  • Blank gift tags or note cards (I like the gift tags with cut edges)
  • Tiny pebbles/gravel (optional)
  • Thin washi tape




Let's Dine Out Cutout

I created a vinyl cutout on my Silhouette Cameo, as shown above. You can download the .Studio3 file here. If you don’t have an electric cutter, you could also just use letter stickers or write it on the container you are using.

The Ultimate "Where Should We Eat At" Problem... SOLVED! Make this easy restaurant box and select a restaurant randomly. GENIUS!

Next, you have will need to decide if and how you are going to make categories for the restaurants. Some ways to divide your choices are:

  • Who’s going: with the kids vs. adults only
  • Drive time: within 15 minutes away vs. 15+ minutes or longer
  • Cost: inexpensive vs. more expensive
  • Dine time: quick dining vs. more leisure dining
  • Meal: dinner vs. lunch vs. breakfast

You could even have 2 categories, each divided into two. Whichever way works for your needs. For example, my main categories are with and without kids, and those are separated by drive time.

The Ultimate "Where Should We Eat At" Problem... SOLVED! Make this easy restaurant box and select a restaurant randomly. GENIUS!

Color coordinate the categories to keep them organized. I used thin washi tape on a gift tag for each main categories, then placed it in the front of my caddy. So restaurants to visit without the kids on the left and with the kids on the right.

The Ultimate "Where Should We Eat At" Problem... SOLVED! Make this easy restaurant box and select a restaurant randomly. GENIUS!

I added tiny pebbles to the bottom of the caddy for two reasons. One, so the tags would stand up easier, making it easier to randomly pick one. Two, I can push the cards in far enough to where you can’t read the restaurant name.

Now it’s time to add restaurants to the box. The best part is, you can also add new ones as you think of more.

The Ultimate "Where Should We Eat At" Problem... SOLVED! Make this easy restaurant box and select a restaurant randomly. GENIUS!

*Note: When I add a restaurant, I also write on the card where it is located.

Now, whenever we decide we are going to dine out, but don’t have plans on where to go, we can go to the box and have a selection within seconds.

The Ultimate "Where Should We Eat At" Problem... SOLVED! Make this easy restaurant box and select a restaurant randomly. GENIUS!

How often do you debate on where to dine out at? 

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