Stress Less: Surviving summer with kids
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One of the biggest stress inducers for me lately has been finding enough activities to keep my young daughter occupied. Structure and focus seem to be requirements to prevent afternoons filled with whining and crying. Park and pool trips, walks, craft projects, Play Doh and coloring books, and when all else fails, TV. Usually Dora the Explorer.And then there's her birthday party coming up. She'll be 3. And about 10 other 3-year-olds will be joining her to celebrate. An afternoon of whining, crying 3-year-olds would take more bottles of wine without the "h" than I can afford. So I've come up with the following ideas to get me through the afternoon sober:
- Strategy No. 1: A goal contest with a soccer ball and a Diego doll strategically placed as goalie. They can kick to their heart's content and everyone will get a handmade ribbon for their efforts.
- Strategy No. 2: Craft project. Ten foam sun visors in the same color to prevent fights for favorites. Foam stickers to decorate as well as foam letters to spell out names. Cost for supplies: $28. Value of a few minutes of peace at the party: priceless. Added bonus: the kids have a favor to take home.
- Strategy No. 3: Cupcakes. No ice cream. Save yourself from cutting and serving and scooping. Enough said.
More good news: The first two can be used any old time. And you can find more ideas here. So good luck. And hang in there until September!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-17-2008 @ 12:39PM
fanny said...
As a working mom, real simple party is somewhere else, not my house. Age 3 was Burger King they loved the playground, then we did bowling parties twice. Worried about the cost, Burger King was cheaper then having it at home and bowling was like $4 a kid. I spent more on my daughter's 5th birthday that we had in then I did on any party we did somewhere else. Anything but Chuck E. Cheese, is great cause you don't have to serve or clean up. You can even put on the invite, parent needs to stay to supervise own child. None of the parents expect food, they usually just have drinks and cake, but most places will give you for the parents too.
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