Many thanks to The J.M. Smucker Company for sponsoring today’s post.
Last week I talked about how my family planned to turn our long-distance trip to deliver my son to college into a snackation. It was part of my strategy to prevent my nerves from being frayed during our road trip so that my son’s last memory of me wouldn’t be of a screaming, raging maniac. If you missed that post, you can read all about my Family Road Trip Snackation. I’m delighted to report that overall, the plan worked really well! No major arguments and NO WHINING during our drive time. The hotel stay was an entirely different matter and the subject of a future post.
Playdates Keep Your Kids Busy
Once we returned home from our road trip, I had a ton of work to catch up on, not to mention several loads of laundry to do. And though it may seem counter-intuitive, when I need to get a lot done, I invite more kids over. In a house absent of playmates, my children constantly seek me out to either referee sibling battles or to help them brainstorm things to do. Insert one or two playmates per child and these issues mysteriously disappear. No arguing. No boredom. Lots of productivity time for mom.
And since the kids primarily occupy themselves in the family room or library (both right outside my office) or in the backyard (which I have full view of from my desk), supervising them without being interrupted is easy. The only task I need to concern myself with is tending to an occasional scrape or scratch and providing food to keep them energized to entertain one another.
So, as I was looking at the pile of mail I had to sort through and the piles of laundry I had to do, I called the moms of my younger kids’ best friends and arranged for them to come over. I had to make a quick trip to Walmart to restock our essentials (milk, eggs, bread and fresh produce). I also stocked up on a bunch of snacks I knew the kids would like. Is it weird that I’m on a first-name basis with several of the checkout clerks at Walmart? Between regular shopping trips, last-minute items needed for a party, or stocking up on snacks for a road trip or sporting event, I find myself there a lot!
Buffet of Snacks
When my kids’ friends arrived, all four kids immediately set off to play a game of hide-and-seek. As they were playing, I started putting together a buffet of snacks.
I’m a big fan of the Jif Chocolate Flavored Hazelnut Spreads and Jif Whips. The kids feel like they’re getting dessert and don’t realize how much fruit they are eating in the process! Our favorite fruits to use as dippers are bananas, apples and strawberries. My personal favorite, non-fruit dipper is pretzel chips. The kids also like animal crackers and graham cracker sticks (not pictured since I didn’t have any in the pantry).
Tips:
- To keep bananas from turning brown after you slice them, use a stainless steel knife to slice and then immediately dip slices into orange juice or pineapple juice. Don’t soak the banana slices or they will end up slimy.
- To keep apple slices from turning brown, soak them in 1 cup of water mixed with 1 T of lemon juice OR in a can of Sprite poured into a bowl.
Snacks On The Patio
Since the kids were making the most of the great summer weather, I set the snacks up on our patio table so they could snack whenever they wanted. And yes, I see that the tablecloth needs to be ironed but the kids weren’t going to notice and since most of my readers are busy moms, I was hoping you’d understand.
Outdoor Play
As far as keeping the kids occupied, to make the most of the end-of-summer theme I was promoting, I staged some “props” to encourage outdoor play. Yes, I was trying to keep the house clean so that I didn’t have to add more chores to my list. Here’s a list of all the activities I set out for them:
- Water balloons and water guns (unfilled, next to the garden hose)
- Sidewalk chalk (which I also used to draw a hopscotch board and a four-square court)
- Assorted balls (basketball, rubber ball, soccer ball)
- Frisbees
- Cones (to set up goals or use as bases)
- Jumpropes
- Hula hoops
Tip: Make sure to call and end to play time 30 minutes before the play date is scheduled to end so you can have a “clean up” party. Reward them with popsicles (I prefer homemade ones made from frozen juice) after all the toys are put away.
Our end-of-summer snackation worked out great. The kids had fun, my house and yard were pretty much in the same condition by the end, all my laundry was clean and folded, and I got (mostly) caught up on work. You can find more snackation ideas at MySnackation.com.
Do you do anything special to celebrate the end of summer? Please share your ideas in the comments.
I’ll stay consistent by putting the information you asked for here. I’m doing what I can to push back against the corporate agribusiness domination of our food supply in several ways. At the moment, I’m promoting FedUp, the Movie, and the funding campaign to make this movie available in all of our schools this year. Google FedUp the Movie kickstarter campaign for more information, and consider helping to fund it. I’m also active in the campaign to stop Monsanto from drenching our food with dangerous chemicals. Perhaps follow sites like Eat Local Grown, as well as Bruce Bradley, a former executive of major food manufacturers who tells the truth about how this processed food that you and your fellow mommy food bloggers promote is filled with sugar and chemicals to make it addictive and profitable for the food companies, without regard for our health. It seems clear that you are well meaning, and trying to earn money for your family. But we have a serious health crisis in this country and around the world, which is exacerbated by the promotion of processed, junk food in place of locally produced whole food. I ask you to consider joining this movement for change, for the sake of your family and everyone else’s kids, too, and stop taking money to promote junk food.
Best idea ever to get the playmates to keep the peace! I agree, my kids are happiest and easiest to care for when they’re busy and happy with friends over. I also had no idea those spreads/ dips existed, so thank you, I will be trying them soon!