Having hosted many gatherings for adults before, I was a little bit at a loss on how to keep young kids entertained - especially when the children ranged from 0 to 11 years old! Rather than set up organized games, I needed some self-play activities that could keep little ones busy with minimal guardian effort. For the babies around Dexter's age, it was easy enough to move his toy chest downstairs. This also doubled as an obstacle in front of our widescreen TV. Definitely a win-win!
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| Yay for hand-me-downs and garage sale finds! |
What about the older kids, though? That called for a trip to my favorite party supply place... the Dollar Store! Here's what we got:
- Bubbles
- Sidewalk chalk
- Bouncy balls
- Bath toys, watering can, and water guns
The reason for all the water-friendly toys is because another mom told me a secret... at her kindergartener's school field day, the most popular attraction was a kiddie pool full of cups and water balloons! So I followed her advice, borrowing a portable canopy and strategically scattering activity stations around the backyard.
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| A couple inches of water + plastic toys = the best fun ever! |
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| Dexter didn't seem to mind getting repeatedly shot point-blank with a water gun |
The kids were ecstatic! Despite the summer heat, they all stayed outside for most of the time, while the adults relaxed inside with the central AC. I'm so glad it ended up working out... next time I'll give the parents a heads up about the kiddie pool, in case they want to pack swimsuits for the kiddos. :)
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