Summer Family Fun Nights

Last summer my neighbors and I threw around so many fun ideas for summer vacation. And at the end of the summer, we had followed up on very few of them. This summer, I thought of the saying from the movie Field of Dreams "If you build it they will come". I had the idea to take the month of July, find one day of the week and plan a different dinner time activity for each week. I sent out an email to some neighbors who I'm close with. I told them the four ideas and said for each week, come if you can, don't feel bad if you can't. The activities were as follows:
1) Picnic in the park
2) Weenie Roast at the Beach
3) Lemonade Stand Dinner
4) Driveway Progressive Dinner
Each week was so much fun! Here are the details if you'd like to try them yourself.

Summer Family Fun Nights- Part I

Picnic in the Park

I sent out an email with a sign up sheet for Bread, Salad, Cut Fruit, Bottled Waters, and Adult Beverages. I designated myself as bringing the main course, for which I chose Penne with Meat Sauce. I also brought paper plates, napkins, cups, and plastic utensils.
I am happy to say the Picnic in the Park was a HUGE success. The kids were tickled to have dinner with friends at the park. And once we were done, we moved over to the soccer field where the kids played until the sun went down.

 

Summer Family Fun Nights- Part II

Weenie Roast at the Beach

I sent out an email for sign-ups for chips, fruit, fixings for s'mores, kid bevs, and adult bevs. I admitted that I knew nothing about having a fire at the beach, so if some dad was willing to take the lead on that it would be greatly appreciated, and of course a great dad rose to the occasion. I brought hot dogs, buns, condiments, and paper goods. Don't be discouraged if you don't live close to the beach. Any bbq pit at your local park will do. Just for fun, I created a scavenger hunt for the kids to do while we made dinner. I took some brown paper bags and wrote several items on the outside for the kids to find such as: dry sand, wet sand, dry rock, wet rock, seaweed, leaf, piece of trash, seashell, etc. The night was so much fun.

Summer Family Fun Nights- Part III

Lemonade Stand Dinner

This was certainly my favorite night of all. I always feel so bad for the kids I see in my neighborhood having a lemonade stand. They try so hard, but I'm never carrying cash when I see them, nor have the time to go back when I do. So, I came up with this idea. What if we could create a lemonade stand and promise customers will come. A Lemonade Stand Dinner! So, kids were assigned a stand for each of the following: lemonade, chips, fruit, bottled water, dessert. My stand was pizza (I went cheap from Costco). The rule was everything you sold cost 10cents. The point of it all was not really to make money, but to simulate a customer-merchant transaction. The kids worked their stands, while the adults purchased their dinners. Then, the adults relieved the kids so that they could go through the line themselves. The cutest thing was that the kids chose not to eat on the grass picnic-style like the parents did. They went back to their stands for anyone who came back for seconds.

How to Throw a 4th of July Block Party

In years past, our neighborhood has lacked a community Fourth of July tradition. This year, my neighbor Stephanie decided to change that. She has called for a Fourth of July Block Party. The whole street is buzzing. We can't wait. We had a meeting to make sure that all of our bases were covered and that the party would be a real hit. I enlisted my "keep it simple" system that has guided me through many a grand events such as this one.

1. Pick a date. Fourth of July? Done.

2. Send out your invitations. Steph used evite. But since we didn't know all the email addresses for the people on our street, we also printed it out and delivered it in mailboxes. She included the sign up option through evite to have people bring cut fruit, side dishes, desserts and drinks.

4. Get some friends to help out. The cost of this shindig was going to add up quickly. So, we asked for everyone participating to throw in $10. That helped out with the cost of the bounce house, rentals for tables and chairs, and burgers and hot dogs for lunch.

5. Pick a craft. How cute is this? To get the kids excited for our Fourth of July Block Party, we asked them to decorate their bikes and we'll be kicking off the party with a kids parade. I also planned a couple activities to do during the party. I'll be making these adorable cupcakes I found and the kids will be decorating them with red, white and blue candies and fruits. And the teacher in me just melted over this awesome craft from one of my favorite blogs (www.teachingheartmom.blogspot.com). We'll be graphing Fourth of July Goldfish and marshmallows.


6. Designate a set up crew. We're all sending our hubbies up 2 hours before the party starts to get it all ready. Thanks in advance hubbies!

7. Show time. I'll keep you posted on how it all turns out. I'm thinking: friends, kids, bounce house, and a day off work? How can you go wrong.

 We couldn't resist renting a snow cone machine to combat the brutal heat

The neighborhood kids all decorated their bikes for a bike parade

Patriotic decorations and costumes made the day that much more fun

How to Throw an Egg Hunt

This tradition has been a huge hit in my neighborhood for years. I've simplified it to the point that I ALMOST just show up myself. :) Well, maybe that's a little exaggeration. But, I've made it pretty easy. Here's how I do it.
1. Pick a date. I always choose the day before Easter. Many people go to church on Easter Sunday or spend the day with family. You could also choose the week before.


2. Find a bunny. Shhhh...don't tell my kids, but Grandpa Mike volunteers every year. He shows up for coffee and doughnuts and with all the excitement, no one notices that he disappears for the egg hunt. Just to make sure, I ask him in front of some of the older kids if he'll run to the store for cream for the coffee. I invested in a bunny costume that hides all year long in an unmarked box in the garage. The costume can be a little pricey, but you can price hunt online and share it among friends or a local organization that might use it as well.

3. Send out your invitations. I use evite. I tend to misplace paper these days. I like online systems that I can check regularly. You can print it up for friends that might not have email, but you can't be my friend if you don't have email. Its my main way to communicate.

4. Get some friends to help out. I have a friend who runs out to pick up doughnut holes for our breakfast. My friends love to help. So, I ask someone to bring a couple cases of bottled water, someone to bring creamer, sugar packets and stir sticks, someone to bring napkins and little paper plates, some years I feel like having cut up fruit. You get the picture. I'm the organizer, I offer up my house, I don't feel obligated to do ALL the work.

5. Pick a craft. Okay. This part is the most work for me. And while I'm up all hours of the night one night getting it done, I'm a little grumpy. But, when we deliver them and the kids are so excited to get them, I forget all about the work involved. And when the egg hunt is going on and these adorable crafts surround my yard, it brings a smile to everyone's face.

6. Designate a set up crew. Don't do it yourself! Some moms on my street send the hubby's up to help set up tables and clear out my yard while they get the kids ready.

7. Show time. It runs a little something like this:
9:30-10:00 Guests arrive and we eat doughnuts.
10:15 Bunny waves from a balcony that overlooks our courtyard. The kids are giddy with excitement. We do the egg drop. Dads are around the back scattering eggs.
10:30 I go over a few guidelines with the kids, we walk around the corner, they see the eggs scattered, we line up around the grass. I let the youngest go first. Its over in about 5 mintes. :) All that work! Then, the kids sit around open their eggs and enjoy. I have a friend that I designate as a photographer and she takes pictures of all the families with the bunny.

It's one of my favorite days of the year!

Neighborhood Traditions

Breakfast with Bunny

Traditions are such a big part of growing up and many traditions we have belong to our families. But, neighborhood traditions are a great way to form life long friends for both kids and parents. We moved into our neighborhood as one of the original owners. The first year we were here, there was a community egg hunt and we decided to take our son, who was a year and a half old at the time. It was so incredibly crowded that when the finally counted down and sounded the signal to begin hunting for eggs, it was over in a matter seconds and our son never got a single egg. So, the next year, we started our own neighborhood tradition. We bought an Easter Bunny costume and my dad has been the good sport every year to wear it. We invited most of our neighborhood (as many as our yard could hold). We put out an Evite for an event we named Breakfast with Bunny. We served coffee, water, and doughnut holes which are an incredibly inexpensive way to feed a large group of people. I bought supplies for a craft that I deliver to the kids a couple days in advance to get them excited about the egg hunt and to have them help me decorate the yard. The craft is a foam egg with the letters for their name and some other foam stickers. They make it and drop it off in my mailbox the night before. I glue a stick behind it and they border the yard around the hunt. Last year we also added an egg drop because the kids are getting older and I wanted a little challenge for them. Surprisingly the parents were just as into it as the kids were. The morning of the hunt, we mingle while people arrive, eat some doughnut holes, and then hunt for eggs. All the parents that attend bring 1-2 dozen eggs and I throw in a ton myself. I know its one of those things my kids look forward to all year and I'm pretty sure the rest of the kids on the block feel the same.