4 Tips for Hosting Teenagers

We've hit the milestone of having more preteens and almost teens in our house than not.  Many of their friends are teens so we're learning the ropes of hosting teens.  We had Olive and Fletcher's friends over for Valentine's Day and it was so much fun.  The kids know their friends are welcome with a little preplanning and calender consulting.  This is our 2nd annual Valentine's Day with the friends and they were talking about their plan for next year.

We tried some new things and they were a hit!

1. I took my kids to Dollar Tree to pick out candy about a week before our party.  They wanted to make a snackle box to share with their friends.  They grabbed 12 different kinds of candies and it filled up our box so well.  They candy selection and price at Dollar Tree is awesome.  It's $1.25/bag and they have tons of options.  

All the kids loved being able to pick and choose their treats.  Can you guess which candy was the most popular??  The pixie sticks!  The only candies I intentionally left out were any variety of GUM.  I didn't want to have to worry about the kids finding a trash can for their gum.

The Sour Patch Pals were also a favorite.

We assembled the box early in the day and then added the lid until we were ready to serve it.

2. A favorite things exchange!  Olive planned all the details - set the budget, valentine theme and then each girl brought enough to give everyone on of their favorite things.  Olive gave the candy heart stuffed animal, Burts Bees chapstick and a face mask.  She got those three things for each of her friends.

Fletcher opted for silly string, video games, movie and laser tag at home with his buddies.

3. I had planned to cook a big breakfast, but life happened and I realized that wasn't going to work.  I ordered a Walmart delivery order in the middle of the night to arrive at 8am.  It saved the day!  I served a cereal bar + some granola bars for breakfast.  Everyone loved it!  We used paper bowls and plastic spoons so there was almost zero clean up.  I'm definitely doing this again!  Maybe even let the kids order the cereals that they want?

4. Welcome all the friends and communicate your house rules.  My kids appreciate when I'm the "bad guy" to share the rules vs them having to tell their friends about rules.  No one really complains.  I think they appreciate the clear boundaries.

No social media.  Shoes go here.  Show them where the drinks are to grab anytime.  Give them a landing zone for their things.  And then offer food and snacks throughout the night.  You might even get asked to participate in the games they are playing, get a tour of all of their favorite things gifts and hear some stories about teen life and school along the way.  I try to be available when their friends are over, but not in the middle of everything they do.  They know I'm close if they need me and they always seem to appreciate knowing our house rules.

In case you needed it, here's your gentle nudge to host your kid's friends at your house!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a sweet Valentine's Day weekend!  The boys and I day full of parties and school festivities on Friday.  We hosted the kid's friends for a Valentine's Day dinner.  We felt the love all weekend long!

Olive made the valentine's for my class.

The boys loved picking out and making their valentines.

I got a desk full of sweet valentines from my class!

I survived a long week at school + a day full of Valentine's Day fun!  I loved this darling candy heart headband from Walmart.  I don't like paying boutique prices for items I will only wear a few times a year so finding it at Walmart was perfect.

The boys in matching Cupid's Pizza shirts.

The kids LOVED going through all of their valentines from classmates.  They also got really sweet mail and packages from family.  Their great grandma sends them $2 bills for holidays.  They each have a nice little money collection growing. 

This cute valentine treat is giving me inspiration to make some treats of our own.

Love monster valentine bags.

Goodmorning, valentines!

The way to Olive's heart is with Jellycats.  This trend makes me smile because Jellycats were so popular when she was a baby and now they are making a comeback.

Chicken nuggest and his favorite candy.

Fugglers.  I'll never quite understand their appeal, but my boys LOVE them.

These individual Nutellas were one of my very favorite finds!  I bought each kid one with a bag of stick pretzels.  I hope these come out for all the holidays.

Kevin taught the boys the art of picking out beautiful grocery store flowers for the lady they love.  They worked together to find the perfect bouqet for me.

New valentine coffee cup from oneof my students.

Pumpkin's first valentine's day.  He wasn't sure what to think about all of the festivities.

Holiday treats just taste better.

I set a pretty table.  Remind me next year to iron everything the day before my party.  Good thing the kids didn't care.

Olive is a great party planner!  She did the invitation for her friends and helped me map out the whole event.

Kevin picked up heart pizzas for dinner.

Valentine's Day with a house full of extra kids!  We loved it!

We tried a new Jonny Pop - chocolate dipped strawberry!  They were delicious.

Pumpkin preferred to be out and about when the kids were quiet.

I love the messages on Jonny Pops!  I hope everyone felt extra loved this weekend!

Happy Friday!

 Happy Friday, friends!  I hope you've had a nice week.  It's been warm enough to finally melt almost all of our snow.  The sun was shining most days and it was a great week.  The best parts of the week were:

1. Nursery Rhyme Character Parade Day!  The kindergarten had the best time parading around the school as different nursery rhyme characters.  The families were so creative.  I was London Bridge and Leo was a gingerbread man.  It was so sweet to see the big kids lining the halls to cheer for the littlest kids in the building.  Thanks to my friend Sara C for this photo from the parade!

2. Peppa Pig.  I'm not quite sure who introduced Leo to Peppa Pig, but he's a big fan.  He watches the show and he's been collecting the play set pieces.  He speaks in a British accent or uses British phrases now.  A lamp got broken at our house this week and Leo say - Oh no, Mom!  Do you think we can mend it???"  Precious!

3. The kids have been on a reading kick!  I've been checking out books regularly for them at the library and we did some book shopping with Kevin's mom.  I walked in to see some late night reading happening in Olive's room.

4. I love when cats squeeze themselves into tiny containers.  Mr. Mittens was annoyed when I said he was too big for this basket.

5. If you like chewy candies that are a little bit sour, these are for you!  I found them at Dollar Tree.  They are dangerously delicious.  I will definitely be repurchasing both.

6. The kids put the cats in Purr-itos when it gets cold out.

7. Sundogs!  I love spotting a sun dog (stripe of rainbow) in the sky!

8. Olive used her crafting skills to make lots of blankets this month.  She delivered one to a friend on her birthday and made one for each of her great grandma's for Valentine's Day.  They both LOVED their new cozy blankets.  It was sweet to see Olive share her talents with others.

Olive + Grandma

Olive + Nana

9. Sundog #2 on the way home from work!

10. Always nosey.  That pink little nose doesn't miss anything.

11. Leo wants to be playing games 24/7.  This week was Guess Who and Blokus.  He says forget about the dishes and the laundry, let's just play.

12. Galentine's Day!  I met up with my besties for a litttle road trip dinner and dessert.  We each came with our favorite treats to gift to the group.  I brought two of my favorite candies and a variety box of my favorite homemade cookies.  They were a hit!

We got festive treats, lip gloss, hand sewn items and the yummiest snacks!

13. I baked for friends and teachers this week.  All of my favorite cookies in one spot.

14. We have Valentine's Day parties galore today!  I'm giving out these to my class.  I hope they love the little bears.

15. I am not a morning person at all.  So when my alarm goes off at 5:30, the only thing keeping me going is knowing that I'll get to hang out with these two for a bit while I get ready.  They hear my alarm and head to my bathroom.  Sweet brothers!

I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day weekend!  See you back here next week!

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