What Do You Really Need for A Kids Play Date?
I have to admit, Mamas. I’m not one for hosting play dates. I always have lots of great ideas. I just never seem to have a clean enough house… (No, seriously!) But I’m going to finally do it. I’m going to host our first (hopefully annual) Summer Play Date. Besides, Summer is perfect because we can spend most of the time outside of our messy house! Want to plan a play date, too? Here’s a kids play date planning checklist that might help you get ready…
Kids Play Date Planning Checklist
- Theme – A theme isn’t essential, but it sure is fun! Picking a theme can help give you a starting point and inspiration for all of your other play date plans. And the possibilities are endless. How about a sensory play date, a Kool Aid play date, or a food drive play date? I think we’re going to go for a fun messy play date!
- Location – The location might depend on your theme and your kids. We’re having ours at home. But since we’re going with a messy theme, we’ll be (hopefully) taking it outside. But also consider a neutral location like a local park or a play center.
- Play Date Day & Time – Make sure to consider the ages of your kids and guests and their nap time schedules when deciding on a time for your play date fun.
- Invitations – Invites can be as informal or formal as you’d like. You could call your closest friends, create a Facebook Event, or print and send fun invitations. It’s up to you, Mama!
- Kids Snacks – The last thing you want is hungry, cranky kids. So make sure to have some yummy snacks (maybe even theme related) on hand. There’s so many ways to make food fun for kids: flower snacks, cute animal snacks, a fun taste test activity…
- Play Date Games and Activities – It’s a good idea to at least plan a couple specific activities or games in case the kids have a hard time cooperating or getting along during free play. You can find tons of awesome kids play and learning activities on The PLAY Group’s Pinterest Board. Of course, ours will involve some mess making!
- Clean Up – Having a plan and the supplies you need ahead of time will make cleaning up after a play date (especially a messy one) lots easier.
The Clean Up Plan for Our Play Date
Since we’ll be hosting a messy play date, I want to make sure I am all set on the clean up front. I’ll make sure to let my guests know to bring swimsuits, towels and changes of clothes for the kids (and maybe the moms, too). And I’ll have a bucket or soapy water, lots of wipes and paper towels on hand, too. I’m looking forward to trying out Kleenex Hand Towels in the bathroom, too. With these one time us towels, my mama friends will be assured that their little ones will be drying their hands on a clean, sanitary towel each time instead of our typical family cloth one.
Win Your Own Kleenex Hand Towels to Try!
Wanna try out a box of Kleenex Hand Towels at your play date? If you’re a US resident, you can enter here…
I’ll be sharing more about our messy play date plans and how we made out with our Kleenex Hand Towels in the next couple weeks. Are you going to host a play date, too? I’d love to hear about it in the comments…
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