summer-picnic

Last Updated on July 1, 2019

When my children were young, I had a friend whose children were mostly all college aged.  She shared with me that she very rarely said no if her children wanted to have friends over.  Having her home be “party central” was not only a great way to keep up with what her kid were doing, but allowed her to observe and get to know their friends.  I loved watching her enjoy her children and their friends, and purposed to be the same way for my own children when they grew up.

Thankfully, I have been able to do just that!  God is always giving me new ideas of how I can draw these wonderful young people in.

Just last week my son asked me if he could invite a bunch of friends over for the first bon fire of the summer.  He ended up having a group of about 15 kids over.  It was so much fun!  The next day I was thinking about how I could be more prepared for these spontaneous parties!  I jumped in the van and headed to stock up on supplies!  Here are some things I now have in my pantry, ready to pull out whenever my kids want to have friends over this summer!

  • Three big containers: one with a variety of marshmallows (did you know they have flavored marshmallows now?!), one with graham crackers, and one with mini chocolate bars.  We are now ready for smores any time!
  • 3 plastic beverage dispensers.  There are so many cute summer designs!
  • Several containers of powdered lemonade.  I fill them with ice water and  lemonade,
  • Plastic cups
  • Two big Tupperware containers filled with cheese popcorn!

We are ready for a party!!

Another idea I recently had, while at a Chinese buffet, was to order some scripture fortune cookies, and keep them in a big container on my kitchen table.  They are not very expensive, and you can buy them in bulk.  I am looking forward to passing them out whenever we have people sitting around our table, opening them up, and sharing the verses!

There are so many ways we can love our children and their friends.  Be prepared ahead of time to throw parties with your kids this summer! They are really neat people!!

How are you preparing for impromptu get togethers this Summer?

Gina Smith has served alongside her husband at a small Christian college right outside of Washington DC for almost 20 years, where she serves as the Dean of Women. Gina previously dedicated her days to serving her family, but now that her children are both college students she fully enjoys her calling to mentor to women and young women in person and on-line with her blog Keepin’ It Real! Gina has been a mom for 21 years and she and Brian have been married for 23 years.

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3 Comments

  2. I enjoy being the ‘go to’ house. However I am on a VERY limited budget so buying S’more makings for 15 kids is out of the question. But what I do is there is a counter where I put food that the kids are welcome to eat. The food is inexpensive large quantity that I buy at Costco. They usually bring their own drinks, but I do keep powdered Lemonade that I mix up. We have a firepit and I provide the marshmellows and graham crackers, they bring the chocolate. I wish I could do more, but they understand and pitch in. Seems to be a win/win situation.

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