Bonfire Party

Good Wednesday morning!

The Gallery Pics continue to tell our Spring Break story... slowly, but surely.

RANDOMNESS - Roxie and I are on our way to the "pin removal" doctor (also known as the surgeon). Mikie was supposed to take her this time in case the doctor decided to pull more METAL RODS out of her tiny body in my presence. Mikie's not going. Heavy sigh.

I'm not eating this morning, so at least I won't throw up on the "pin removal" doctor's shoes... again.

I know when he reaches for the eyebrow tweezers he's going to remove a pin, so he won't surprise me this time. I'll look away.

I'm pretty sure I'll still scream. Yep. That's a given.

And I will once again leave with a prescription for medication to calm my delicate, frazzled nerves.

All in all, it should be a pretty good day.

Wednesday Wisdom - Since it is Encouraging Wednesday here on A Simple Life (this week and every week), I wanted to share an Eleanor Roosevelt quote which should make at least some of you feel better about yourselves. (I know it helped me immensely!)

"The only advantage in not being too good a housekeeper is that your guests are so pleased to feel how very much better they are."

You're welcome!

Bonfire Party

I hosted this party recently for Roxie and company, and while I was nervous about the age of the kids (13 and 14), the number of attendees (15), the gender of the guests (boys AND girls) and the length of the party (3 1/2 hours), it turned out really, really well.

This age group wants to be left alone. Of course, you DON'T leave them alone, but if you have the right equipment, the kids will stay as far away from you (the adult) as they possibly can. (Code for THEY COME IN TO USE THE BATHROOM AND THEY RUN OUTSIDE AGAIN.)

Here are some ideas for having a successful Bonfire Party for your teenager's friends.

The Essentials:

1. A fire pit is great. You can still have a fire without the fire pit, but the pit contains the fire in one small area. Much safer.

2. Have as many camping chairs as guests around the fire.

3. Have a table set up with hotdogs, buns, chips and s'more fixings. We only had five "sticks" to use for roasting hotdogs and marshmallows. If all 15 kids have a hotdog roasting and marshmallows catching on fire at the same time, someone is going to get burned.

4. Have a huge cooler set up with plenty of water bottles and canned soft drinks. (If you have 15 guests, you need around 45 drinks.)

The Entertainment (Any or all of the following will work.):

1. Basketball goal. (This was the guys' favorite. At least two or three guys were constantly playing basketball. Usually more.)

2. Pool table.

3. Air hockey table.

4. Foosball table.

5. Trampoline.

6. Ping pong table.

7. Music is a must for the chicks in the group. (Radio, CD player, etc.)

Honestly, we didn't use the air hockey table, foosball table or the trampoline. We only used the basketball goal and the pool table. I'm pretty sure they would have been happy with JUST the basketball goal.

How to Chaperone:

Every parent will have good ideas for this one, but this worked for us.

1. The first 30 minutes is drop-off time. All the parents are talking and hanging around. No problem. (Our only injury happened during the drop-off time, and the young man wasn't doing anything wrong. He was playing basketball and landed the wrong way on his wrist.)

2. We divided the next 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours) into ten minute rotations. Mike went outside talked, checked drinks, checked the fire and came back inside. Exactly ten minutes later, Josh went outside, roasted a marshmallow, shot some baskets, talked and came back inside. Ten minutes after he returned, I made the same trip.

3. I also opened the windows on that side of the house so I could listen to what was going on, and our upstairs windows looked down on the party, so I could check on the fire, kids, etc. from that vantage point, too.

4. The last 30 minutes of the party is similar to the first 30 minutes. It is time to be picked up, so there are parents all over the place visiting for a few minutes before they take their teenager home.

All in all, it was an easy, fun party. It was not very expensive either. Most parents asked if they could bring anything, so if you want to throw this kind of party, feel free to ask them for drinks, buns, chips, etc. to offset the cost.

Will I do it again? In a heartbeat! (But not next weekend!)

Have a delightful Wednesday. Remember to encourage someone today... in person, by text, by telephone. Pick your form of communication and make someone's day! Visit A Simple Life in the morning for this week's date idea and some new Blog Linkage.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda