We are in a unique situation. We are the only couple in our group of friends with kids and we love to entertain. Sometimes our toddler spends the night with grandma and grandpa but usually we have the kids here for our dinner parties and events.
I have some tips and tricks to include your kids and still have fun with the other adults at your party:
- Have food ready your kids will eat. Even though our kids eat most of the foods we eat on a normal basis, I always have some kid friendly food ready for their dinner plate. This is a great time to serve something fun like chicken nuggets, carrot sticks and dip, ants on a log, and bananas with chocolate chips for dessert. I also have some kid friendly snacks ready like cheese sticks and crackers since everyone will be snacking and eating.
- Prepare a kid friendly non alcoholic drink everyone can enjoy. Kids love to be included and they can have a “big person” drink with everyone else! Make a punch and serve it to them in a special glass with a straw. My daughter loves to copy momma and loves using straws for her special drink.
- Plan a special activity for your children. You can go searching on Pinterest for a fun busy bag idea or do something as simple as buying a few big pieces of poster board, markers, and stickers.
- This is the perfect excuse for screen time. Set up the tv tray and put on your little ones favorite tv show or movie. This allows you some time with your guests and your kids get a special treat of watching their show while eating dinner.
- Set the party time to be kid friendly. We usually invite people over around 5pm and wrap up between 8 or 9pm. That way we still have plenty of time to visit and bedtime is still the same for our kids.
Overall, you simply need to remember to have fun and that a meltdown might happen. All of our friends understand that I usually need to step out to nurse, change diapers, potty train, and play with my kids. Plus, it is always fun to have helping hands and new people to play blocks with while we entertain.
