Entertaining Strangers
When Babycakes was a teeny-tiny, she rarely slept. I was lucky to get three consecutive hours of sleep at night and naps were scarce. My life felt out of control. The house was a wreck, my body was a wreck, and I was caffeine dependent. SOooo…. last year, entertaining strangers was a mad dash to hide the clutter. I vacuumed with a Bjorn strapped to my chest and baked cookies in between nursing sessions.
What a difference a year makes.
In preparation for tonight’s social and because the cupboards were bare, ‘Cakes and I made a trip (14.9 miles) to Trader Joe’s*. We filled our cart with good things for ourselves and then headed to the adult beverage section to pick up some vino to serve our guests. While consulting with one of the First Mates, I noticed a man waving at us. Gosh, people are ALWAYS waving to the blue-eyed mini in my cart. Then the man started pointing and I finally noticed that ’Cakes was trying to pick up two bottles of Chardonnay. Merci, monsieur!
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Now, if you want some great advice about how to control clutter, here it is: DONATE things you never use, and TRASH the things you would be embarrassed to donate. Goodwill shoppers don’t want stained clothes, broken dishes, or torn books. Go through your mail everyday and recycle the junk.
Last year, the husband of a good friend said to me, “You know (pause), it wouldn’t be so bad if you just keep your house clean in the first place.” He’s right — the key is to never let the clutter & dust bunnies get ahead of you.
Today’s to-do list includes putting away toys, playing with ‘Cakes, putting the toys away again, & then putting away some toys. Got that?
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When entertaining the parents of recruits, the important thing to remember is that they don’t know each other and some of them might be nervous.
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Offer nametags! It will save you from having to remember which one is Sue and which one is Barbara.
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If you bake a three layer cake, no one will eat it. Make bite size desserts — use a mini muffin tin to bake a batch of brownies.
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Chocolate chip cookies made with REAL BUTTER are always a crowd pleaser.
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Dads like pretzels.
Out of the 50+ families that came to see us last year, 36 joined our football family. It’s always fun to see who’s in the stands in September.
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Happy Saturday!
p.s. Thanks to everyone who offered a name suggestion! They were all so good!
p.p.s. *If you’re looking for wholesome food without all the weird chemical preservatives, I highly recommend shopping at a Trader Joe’s. Babycakes can eat almost everything they make including their mac & cheese b/c there’s no dye!
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January 24th, 2010 at 10:41 am
As stressful as cleaning house for a party is, it does sound like a lot of fun to entertain strangers.
Another tip that I heard about keeping the house up was to clean up toys once a day, at night after the kiddo is in bed. This affords you more time to clean other things and that way you don’t end up picking up the same toy sixteen times a day. At this point my kids are big enough to clean up their own messes and clear their own plates, etc. It’s heaven.