Winter time party

I had the idea of having a party because Sofie and Samantha enjoy their friends. (Duh, they're kids!) There really was no other reason besides that I wanted to give that to them. It's difficult at times to schedule play dates and I know Samantha has missed seeing friends from her preschool. So I sent an invitation out and 5 girls came today. Auntie She came to assist (thank you!) and our adventure began. I had crafts for the kids and told them to bring music for dancing. We played "Duck Duck Goose", "Hide and Seek" , "Freeze Dance" and we had a treasure hunt with candy as the treasure. It was exhausting, but a really fun time was had by all.

I was really impressed by all the girls today. They were polite and full of giggles. Auntie She and I stayed out of the way and let the girls be for the most part. I wasn't going to step in unless absolutely necessary because they need to figure things out themselves. All of the girls didn't want to leave so that means they all had a great time! They ran all through the house and seemed to enjoy the master bath and "the club" (a.k.a. the space under the stairs that's just for Sam and Sofie) the most.

I don't know if I was reading it wrong, but I got the impression from all of the parents that they were uneasy for there not being a reason (i.e. birthday) for the party. I truly didn't have a reason other than wanting a huge playdate for my kids. Rather than wait for an invite to a birthday, why not just host a get-together ourselves? It turned out to be more work than what I was expecting, but it was worth it because everyone had fun.

It truly was an adventure today! I learned a lot by watching all the kids. The little kids, Sofia and Johanna, didn't keep up with the bigger kids, but we still kept them busy with fun stuff. Samantha was fantastic in letting all the kids who could read take turns with the treasure hunt clues. Sofia joined in without hesitation while all the girls danced in a circle. They have good friends and it's great to see! Other than practicing good hand-washing, (which everyone had to do... yes, I was watching and I'm not ashamed!) I was pleasantly surprised at how well everyone got along and how little drama there was.

So many moments to remember! I hope the girls retain some part of today in their memories. Today will definitely live forever in my memory! I'm glad I did this for them and yes, I hope to do it again. I think all of us will sleep well tonight!

Again, thank you Auntie She! Hopefully the grown-up time afterwards was enough of me showing gratitude!