5 Tips for Creating the Best Play Date Ever
- Pick a theme (Check out our Halloween and Valentine’s Day Themed Playdates).
- Carry the theme out throughout the whole playdate.
- Create theme inspired foods, craft, games or activity.
- Prep everything ahead of time and have everything set- up.
- Keep to a schedule of activities:
- 10:30- 11 arrive~ free play
- 10:45- 11~ clean up toys
- 11:00-11:30 Bingo
- 11:30- 12:00 Lunch/ Foam craft
- 12:00- 12:30 Decorate Cookies, Eat dessert
- 12:30- Goodbyes & goodie bags
Pro Tips:
Plan your play date out. Break up activities into 30- minute increments of time. Keep similar activities together, example. We played Bingo at our dining room table, everything was already set up before guests arrived. The kids were already sitting from bingo for lunch + dessert. It was a quick transition to clean up bingo and put lunch out. I enlisted the help from the other Mom’s. I also put out bowls of Foam Crafts around the table so the kids had something to do if they were done eating before decorating cookies. Then the kids decorated cookies that I made ahead of time and ate dessert. Guests left after dessert.
Keep goodie bags by the door and give out to guests as they leave.
On the invitation put a start time and an end time. Including an end, time helps with guests showing up on time and lets them know it is not and open-ended playdate that will go on for the whole afternoon.
To avoid a crazy messy house after the playdate ends. Have designated areas where guest can be. Put toys out that guests can play within that area. If guest are going to play in a playroom remove any “special toys”, toys that have many pieces or smaller parts, and reduce the number of toy bins to 2 or 3 bins.