Day 29: Keeping Kids Busy During a Summer Dinner Party
Thanks for joining me in my “30 Days of Summer Entertaining” series. (Scroll down to the bottom for previous posts in this series) :)
When my kids were little, I tried to prepare them in advance for sharing their toys that night, and if there was anything too precious that they didn’t want to share, to put it up.
A pep talk with your kids to remind them how to treat their guests is always a good idea, too.
Kids are kids. They are constantly learning and need constant reminding of good manners.
My kids are teens now, so entertaining is WAY enjoyable with them, because they’re like mini adults. I really love the teen years! But reminiscing to earlier years, I think it’s good to pass down fresh ideas that encourage hospitality, because it just isn’t always easy with little kids.
Give the kids something to do! Ask them to come up with their own show. Magic show, talent show, music show, games, yard games, or you can even have some relay games for them to play. Ask one of the older kids to be the “leader,” or better yet, get the older folks involved.
Summer activities to keep the kids busy so the adults can enjoy one another:
1. Borrow extra scooters if you have sidewalks or a level driveway.
2. Set up badminton in the back yard or resort to bocce ball (for older kids).
3. Chalks is fun in the driveway or even the garage.
4. Have extra wood by a large tree for boys to build their own fort.
5. Make sure your pool toys are organized and towels are clean.
6. Frisbees are a blast–even the adults can play.
7. Encourage kids to come up with their own “show,” whatever that may be.
8. Have drawing, paints, and coloring supplies on hand.
9. Water balloons are a blast!
10. Encourage relays and creative fun.
Yes, when summer was in the air, we’d all have a great time.
By the end of the night when we adults would be sitting by candlelight, and kid’s bodies would be asleep on various pieces of furniture or even on the floor, or asleep in their mommy or daddy’s arms.
How do you entertain kids during summer events?
Don’t forget to enter to WIN this giveaway … a Hip Hostess Apron and a signed copy of The Reluctant Entertainer!
If you’ve missed the last 28 days of this series, you can catch up now:
Day 1: Summer Entertaining is About the People
Day 2: When Perfect Robs You of Something Good
Day 3: Who To Invite to Dinner
Day 4: Planning the Menu for Outdoor Entertaining
Day 5: Setting the Table Using What You Have
Day 6: Using One Classic Water Glass
Day 7: Napkin Options for Summer Entertaining
Day 8: When You Feel Like Canceling the Party
Day 9: Leave Your Technology at the Front Door
Day 10: Candles That Enhance Good Conversation
Day 11: Serving Flavored Herb and Fruit Water
Day 12: Leafy Greens and a Tiny Bit of Agave
Day 13: Keeping Nut and Fruits and Cheeses on Hand for Easy Appetizers
Day 14: Move Your Table to a Different Space
Day 15: Greek Salad on a Stick and Getting the Kids Involved
Day 16: Three Lies of Perfectionism that Ruin Entertaining Moments
Day 17: Be Creative When You Run Out of Linens for Your Dinner Party
Day 18: Gather Around a Fire for Intimate Summer Entertaining
Day 19: Last Minute Father’s Day Invite and Pork Chops with Glazed Apricots
Day 20: Summer Entertaining GIVEAWAY from National Pork Board
Day 21: Create a Simple Appetizer Basket for Last-Minute Guests
Day 22: How to Change the Menu When Guests Cancel & Sweet Summer Salad
Day 23: Keeping the Conversation Strong with Summer Berry Crisp
Day 24: Music at a Summer Dinner Party
Day 25: Adding Dried Rosemary to your Barbecue
Day 26: Using Accent Dishes to Compliment Your Table Setting
Day 27: How To Barbecue Salmon on the Grill
Day 28: Summer Entertaining GIVEAWAY
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Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I love that you offer up your guest bath ~ that never occurred to me, and it’s such a fantastic idea! You sound like a really fun grandma!
While our kids are adults, we have grandkids to entertain along with new friends that have young ones. I have an iris cart filled with art supplies, paper, glue sticks, chipboard, puzzlepages, and coloring pages. We also play beanbag, simple card games and sometimes split up into teams to play board games. Sometimes we ask the kids to put on a talent show or a play or I host a treasure hunt for them with simple prizes. I always tell parents of little ones to bring their jammies and after dinner and play time they are free to use the guest bath to get the little ones ready for bed before the ride home.
Oh, the kids! They LOVE coming to our house…and we really love that they get excited. We have lots to do – we’ve turned our garage into a recreation room – with a basketball hoop game, foosball table {both given to us free}, and now a ping pong table! We have kids of all ages – our church High Schoolers are here during the summer for their Bible Study. We even have everything labeled for all the kids to put away when they are done. We’ve also got our summer fun – Backyard Thursdays!
http://organizingmadefun.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-organize-for-backyard-thursdays.html
Such wonderful inspiration, Sandy! Thanks for all you do!
Becky B.
http://www.organizingmadefun.com
Organizing Made Fun
I love the long evenings, warm enough to be outside, roasting marshmallows over a fire, with white twinkle lights in the trees.
We have four kids, ages 2-8. Most of our friends have 3 kids each, so there’s lots of kids, even when we invite only one or two families over. And our house is small … 1400 sq.ft. with a smallish yard. Easily the smallest of all of our friends.
That said, we don’t usually do much to entertain them other than when we have a birthday party with activities. Usually we just set out the sidewalk chalk and bubbles, let them dig around in the flower beds, pick flowers or fruit/veggies, jump on the trampoline, play in the kids’ rooms, climb a tree or (rarely) we let them play wii. The toddler tends to splash all the water out of the birdbath, which is fine because the birds don’t visit while the kids are all out there anyway. And they come up with their own games, too; their imaginations have never let them down yet. I do love the activities you listed … I especially like the idea of setting up paints outside. I’ve thought about stapling a roll of paper to our fence and setting up watercolors on tv trays along it to let the kids paint a huge mural, but haven’t gone to that effort yet. I went to a party recently where a parent spontaneously organized races, and that was a lot of fun for everyone.
As far as cleanup goes, we just don’t use things that require much maintenance. We use our outdoor blankets for tablecloths (if we use one at all) and have plenty of wipes available when the food is sticky or messy.
P.S. The game being played in the picture looks like loads of fun and I’ll definitely use that in the future!
We recently had a few friends over where the youngest child was 8 and the oldest was 15. My boys are 12 and 15. It worked out okay but was still a little challenging. I got sidewalk chalk and they used that for a bit, and I got a few of those cheap balls that you see all over the place at this time of year for them to play dodgeball. They cooked hotdogs over the fire pit and made smores. Still, they occasionally ended up at the grownup table, which was a bit trying. The next day, as I was cleaning up marshmallow from just about everywhere, I decided that I had done the obligatory party with kids and am done for the summer. The frustrating part is that the other two families have the best yards for kids with all the bells and whistles, yet they never want to entertain. My yard is half the size of theirs, and since my boys are older, we don’t have kiddie toys outside anymore. My yard is great for adult parties, so at least for the forseeable future, either they come over without the kids or we just don’t get together.
You must always think I’m such a negative ninny when I comment, but I really do love to entertain and get together with friends, which is why I continue to do it even though my house is less than ideal for large groups. And your website is always chock full of great ideas!