When this suit gets busted out, you know what time it is!
Time for our annual Kids' Holiday Flash Craft PARTY!
We managed our fifth iteration of this massive, raucous, overwhelming, JOYFUL, very (very, very) loud shindig on Friday night, and I think it was another massive success (judging by the decibel level, the smiles and the hilarious post-event texts from parents--one of whom reported that her daughter said it was "the best night of my life," baha.)
For those who might not know or remember, this tradition of ours started back in 2021 as a way to cement the kiddos' budding friendships in a post-pandemic world.
It was actually really lovely to revisit the original post and remind myself of the feelings and worries surrounding the inaugural party.
That first year, I was so worried. It felt like sticking my neck out there and walking naked through school in some awful adult nightmare.
For someone like me, who's an absolute social introvert, I was SO anxious reaching out to parents. So fearful that it would be a big bust. So certain that it would be full of cricket sounds and kiddos wishing to leave, or wondering why they were in some strange house with a crazy lady forcing them to do timed crafts.
Turns out, my fears were unfounded. :)
That first year was an explosion of chaos and innocent kiddo JOY (times a million), and the vibes have only continued, year over year (welp, except for that one year we had to cancel--twice over!--due to the FLU. Womp. Womp.).
Nowadays, whenever I wonder if it's worth the time, effort and cost to keep it going, one (or several) of my kiddos' friends will ask in advance about the event, and it reinforces the feelings that the input is worth the output.
It's truly a boost to put in the work when I know it's positive experience and memory for the kiddos--and at this point, I gotta believe it is.
Not to mention the fact that I've learned so many things through experience over the years and really have this thing down to a science.
I mean...don't get me wrong: it's DAYS of prep, but I make a list and I check it twice and every year, the stress of it all is even more manageable--if only because I know what to expect!
A few things I've learned:
1. NEVER plan a craft I haven't built in advance (prototypes are a MUST to identify pitfalls).
2. NEVER plan crafts with messy elements (like glue or paint).
3. ALWAYS drop the thermostat down a few degrees to handle that many bodies in the house.
4. DEFINITELY over-buy the bottles of water, juice boxes and snacks.
5. BETTER to order more pizza than less pizza.
6. GET LIDS for the hot chocolate (but still request it stays downstairs!).
7. ALWAYS move the playroom potted fig to a safe location, or it will get knocked over.
Honestly, we've had one broken bone (a tiny bone in someone's toe that got slammed in a door during hide and seek; they returned the next year, and the year after!), pictures knocked off the walls (in the playroom, every year, due to indoor sports), hot chocolate spilled on the carpet (we got it out...and called carpet cleaners a few days later), blood on the carpet (bloody nose by accident...again, carpet cleaners), a curtain rod pulled out of the wall...I mean, as I'm typing this, I'm wondering if I really SHOULD keep this party tradition going??? Hahaha.
All that to say...I've learned stuff.
I know how to prep stuff.
I know how to contain stuff.
And--perhaps most importantly--I've discussed with parents if they'd be more comfortable signing a waiver before their kiddo comes through the door, and every single one gladly hands over their child (or children) and zooms out of my driveway so fast there should be tire marks, so...we'll keep this thing going as long as people keep coming!
A final two bits of clutch Not My First Rodeo moves we implemented this year:
1. I bought a cow bell to ring out when it was time to transition activities (SO helpful, given the noise).
2. I bought a dog sling (Nanna's brilliant idea) to keep Coda girl next to me and safe during the anxious event! We still had to slightly medicate her, but it saved my back and arms, BIG time, to have the sling support.
Okay. Enough rambling. Time for pics!
The bags I had them create to hold their crafts and goods upon departure:
All it required was a quick tree-shaped squiggle with a metallic marker, then I put out gobs of sticker gems and foam stickers and let the kiddos go to town. I loved the creativity of so many of their finished products!
This year, I purchased pre-made gingerbread houses and then sourced a lot of extra decorative items and planned for the kiddos to have a gingerbread contest by grade. The winning house (judged by the hubby, ha) got to line up for pizza first.
As with all the crafts, the hype is taken to a whole different level when I increase the pressure by decreasing the amount of time they're allowed so spend on the craft. So, setting a13-minute timer generated a hysterical, pressure-cooker situation, and some really fun finished products, ha.
Then, after the gingerbread houses, we sent them off to run around like crazy while we set up the pizza.
Then, after a tiny bit of clearing room, we tackled our next craft: a nail art tree ornament I really loved--though, to make it perfectly streamlined, I had to spend a lot of time pre-nailing each and every one, since I decided (rightly so!) that it would be VERY ill-advised to hand 24 kiddos tiny craft hammers.
Other than the time to hammer the nails, the craft itself was simple and adorable. A lovely hit amongst the kiddos.
(Side note: my very fave disposable hot chocolate cups I've ever found--at Hobby Lobby.)
I only found one kiddo sick to their stomach from all the food around this point, ha. Could be because I also make two dozen of my favorite cookies that I always bake.
Luckily, the kiddo perked back up a few minutes (and a restroom break) later, ha. And, to be fair, I warn ALL parents at drop-off that I'll be giving their kiddos back totally hyped on sugar!
After the cake and hot chocolate (and bonus cookies!), we had time for just one final craft--a repeat, actually, that's a pipe cleaner and beaded snowflake shebang that's super easy and quick (which is what we really needed, since we only had a couple of minutes left before pickup!).
I was MORE than glad to send off all the 4th grade boys, as they were hands-down the loudest (but in such a fun way). They spent all their mini breaks in between crafts playing sports upstairs (under the hubby's oversight), but they were a LOT.
Then I let the older girlies all text their parents for an extra half hour to wind down, and, honestly, it helped a lot with dismissing everybody from the casa. Two dozen cars is a lot to have to rotate in and out--and it's a lot of kiddos to wrangle and send off with their crafts and little gifts (and anything else they have to round up and try not to leave in our house).
All in all, it was SUCH a happy evening. All the things I hope and pray for it to be when I'm putting in all the time and effort, beforehand.
Then it only took me an hour or two to mop, vacuum, re-set things and gather up the trash before I was able to collapse in bed with a weary body and a happy soul.
Okay...now an explosion of pics!
So grateful for another year of a core Christmas memory for our crew. What a blessing. :)
Okay...more catch-up posts as I'm able, peeps! It's going to be a doozy of a final five days before the holiday break officially hits! Our crew is READY. FOR. IT.
Happy Sunday!
Over and out.
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