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!!