Family Parties: 5 Tips for Success
Family Parties: Five Fun Tips and Ideas. These festive strategies will ensure a good time is not only had by other adults - but their offspring and maybe their parents as well. Most adult parties are boring for kids. No clowns. No balloons. They just don't get what we enjoy about talking to each other over a glass of wine or a martini and nibbling smelly shrimp and cheese. To keep kids from running wild at your soiree, take the following precautions: 1 Pre-Party Behavior Warning.Remind your children that parties are grownup events and we must use prim and proper behavior.No running. No loud voices. No roughhousing. Pretend you are a prince or a princess for the evening. 2 Damage Control.Put breakables on higher shelves.Anything that can be bumped off or into and broken will be. Move delicate possessions to higher ground until the pint-size stampede is over. 3 Fire Safety.Do not leave lighted candles unattended in bathrooms or anywhere little hands might reach.Fireplace candles or lighters go atop the mantel, not alongside the firewood in easy reach. 4 Pet Protection.Put all pets away for the evening.Yeah, they're cute, but dogs can get nippy when mauled by 2-year-olds. More fragile animals like hamsters or birds could be injured. You also lessen the risk of someone accidentally letting the pets escape if you put them in a safe place during the party. 5 Kid Zone Creation.Set aside a study or den as a play area. Equip it with a few toys, DVDs, computer games, coloring books, and crayons.The kids don't have to stay there - that would be unsocialable. But at least you've provided a kid-friendly environment where they can amuse themselves. Be sure to provide a separate teens-only space away from the little kids to make grumpy teens smile. If you can possibly find a babysitter for the event, hire one. Your neighborhood high-schooler could probably entertain the mini-masses nicely for a few hours - at a bargain rate. It's well worth your investment. It might even save your carpet.  Custom Search Grandparents Survival Guide
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