Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
I have a problem and I’m hoping you can help me. Recently I’ve been put in situations where children, children who are not my children, want to come over for dinner. And lunch. And everything in between. Now, I love feeding people, particularly kids, particularly kids who like to eat everything I make them without bribing, cajoling, or mild threats. But I’m wondering: how often do you have your kids’ friends over for dinner?
Do you have an etiquette that you follow? Example: “Before you tell your friend Charlie it’s taco night and invite him over, please ask me first, because the last time Charlie came over for dinner he ate 10 tacos and got sick on the cat.”).
Do you set a limit on how many guests your kids can have over?
Do you only allow friends on weekends?
Did you ever have to tell a kid that he couldn’t stay for dinner (for whatever reason)? How did you handle it?
And how often does your kiddo eat at their friend’s dinner table?
Are there certain households you just don’t let him go to because the mom serves Ho-Hos for dinner?
I’m eagerly awaiting your thoughts, and don’t worry, you can come over to my house for taco night anytime.
I’m always really big on having a “kid’s table” that is separate from the grown-up table. I lay it with plain white paper and put out plenty of crayons, so the kids can sit there, eat, color, and entertain themselves in the hope that the grown-ups will be able to eat a meal and get through at least one uninterrupted conversation. So I’m pretty much the-more-the-merrier when I’m entertaining and having people with kids over. On regular family dinner nights, though, I like to keep it just us…..but that’s just me!
I can relate! However instead of it just being my daughters friends its my younger sisters and brothers too! I and my husband are in my twenty’s and my sibblings are in their teens so apparently its cool that they get to hang out at our place. Plus they and their friends are all amazing with my daughter. I just embrace it. I ask for some notification, and in the school year its a weekends only thing. But I would rather them be here and supervised then off doing who knows what. I like being the “cool mom/sister”
OK–you sound like the coolest big sister EVER.
I’m a firm believer in encouraging my children to have their friends over and if that involves meals or snacks…so be it. I think it’s so important that children have an opportunity to socialize in a healthy way (not hanging out at the mall, etc.) and what better way than around the dinner table? Right now I have 8 14yr old boys playing nerf battles in the backyard and I am just about to put out snacks for them and make them “punch on the porch” (fruit juice and grenadine)…If they are at your house, and you are paying quiet attention, you get to hear what they are really up to, you get to know their friends better and learn more about your child…stuff they wouldn’t normally share with you! Also, it makes for great memories for your kids. I’ll have kids over anyday for lunch or snacks but dinners I’d prefer to be on Friday or Saturday nights but anything is up for negotiation. Unfortunately, there is only one other family who has the boys over but I figure, it’s their loss! They are kids for so short a time and before you know it, they are grown up or away at University…enjoy ‘em while you’ve got ‘em!!
fruit juice and grenadine??tell me more…
Punch on the Porch:
Put 1 or two cubes of ice in a tall glass
Fill 1/3 full with Mango/Citrus 5 Alive
Add 1/3 organic orange juice (less bitter, I find)
Add your choice of Sprite/Ginger Ale/Water/Sparkling Water to top up the glass
Here’s where the magic happens: Add a dribble (tablespoon)of grenadine and slowly let it sink to the bottom of the glass where it delicately shades the glass from red to orange to pale orange from bottom to top.
Add a cherry and there you have “Punch on the Porch”. You can also add peach slices, orange segments, banana coins, whatever you have on hand. Makes for a nice surprise at the end of your drink. We make this ALOT!