Party Planning with Kids
in 4 Easy Steps
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Party Planning With Kids in 4 Easy Steps. Here are four easy ways to get the kids involved in planning your home festivities.
1 Prepare Party Place Cards
It's really handy to have place cards for any kind of a sit-down dinner, even an informal one.
Place cards eliminate the uncomfortable where-do-you-want-everyone-to-sit dance. This is a definite enlist-the-kids-project.
Have them paint the little cards gold or apply sticker decorations. You can write the names on yourself, unless your tween or teen has terrific pen-personship.
Use first and last names (John Smith), titles and names (Dr. Musto), or simply nicknames for more intimate affairs.
Place the cards on top of or in the napkin's center. Better yet, place them on the tablecloth at the exact center of each place setting.
2 Make Party Place Mats
Have kids create leafy place mats. They're perfect for fall gatherings.
Start by gathering a variety of leaves of different sizes, shapes, and textures. Position white paper place mats over the leaves. With a peeled crayon, lightly rub the top of each place mat until the outline of the underlying leaf appears. Repeat with other leaves and different colors of crayons until you have a festive pattern.
Cover the place mats with plastic and enjoy. You might want to make some for the grandparents, too.
3 Create a Centerpiece
Even if you're not eating a sit-down meal at the dining room table, a centerpiece is a lovely decoration.
You can tie it into your theme. Get your kids to help brainstorm ideas. Whether you choose flowers or fruit, your centerpiece is one of the most important pieces of your table settings.
Create or order yours well in advance, and, if you ordered it, pick it up the morning of your dinner.
As the name implies, place your centerpiece in the exact center of the table. Place your brand-new white candles at each end of the table, halfway between the places of the host and the hostess and the centerpiece. (You already knew that the host and hostess sit on opposite ends of the table.)
4 Ready the Patio
Casual parties are often outside, or else they eventually spill outside, so make sure your patio and all the
outdoor furniture is clean.
Wash off glass tables. Make sure the umbrella is operational. Put out enough chairs so that people can rest somewhere. Arrange potted plants in nice groupings.
If you're barbecuing, make sure
the charcoal grill
or the
gas grill
is clean and that you have plenty of charcoal or propane.
Position the grill in the corner where kids won't be running by. (But choose a spot where there's enough room for the grill-masters to hold court over the flames.)
Welcome Guests at the Door
The Party-Friendly Home
Guest Rules for Young Visitors
Get-Together Ready Patios and Decks
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