Planning the Perfect Playdate

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Plan the perfect playdate!  East Valley Moms Blog

What’s not to love about a playdate? Kids get to play and socialize with other children their age and moms get to talk to an adult about something other than Paw Patrol and potty time. With just a little planning you can host a fun and easy playdate that everyone will enjoy.

Over spring break I hosted our annual Easter play date. This year we had kids ranging from 12 months to seven years old there. After everyone left I thought about what a fun, stress free play date it was. The other moms texted me that night saying the same thing. It got me thinking about what made this play date stand out from the others.

Plan Ahead: 

Since it was an Easter theme I put together a fun, festive, and easy lunch for everyone. The kids had PB&J sandwiches (I used a cookie cutter to cut them into an egg shape), bunny shaped crackers, fruit kabobs and a little Easter treat. The adults had chicken salad sandwiches and fruit kabobs. Everything could be eaten with their hands, no utensils needed! I filled up a bucket with juice boxes and water so everyone could help themselves.  I prepared everything the night before so that I could enjoy playing and catching up with everyone rather than being stuck in the kitchen getting lunch ready.

A little bit of structure:

Since it was an Easter playdate I thought it would be fun to incorporate an Easter activity. I picked up a little bunny painting activity for each child to work on. The Target dollar section is a great place to look for inexpensive crafts.  We couldn’t believe how much the kids (of all ages) enjoyed it. We got a good 25 minutes of silence while they painted their little hearts out, it was bliss!! It was a gorgeous day so we painted and had lunch on the patio. I bought an inexpensive plastic table cloth to put on the table, it made clean-up a cinch. When the playdate was over I just rolled up all the craft supplies and lunch leftovers and threw it away.

Be Prepared:

The weather was great so all the kids played outside the whole time (yay of no messes inside) so I made sure to have plenty of water available as well as sunscreen. Some other things that are helpful to have handy are trash bags and baby wipes. Taking a little time to prepare and plan ahead will ensure that everyone enjoy themselves and the host isn’t running around the whole time. Most importantly, relax and have fun and everyone else will too!

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