My husband and I entertain. A lot. Having people in is one of life’s great pleasures, even more so if you have children, because it saves you the expense of a babysitter, while allowing you to spend time with grown-ups. But gone are the days when a late night means a late morning. My children get up at the same time every day, no matter how I feel about it. So part of planning a dinner party is also planning the next morning, to make sure they are fed and entertained even if I am a little slow on the scene.
First, cleaning up the night before. We could go straight to bed when our guests leave, but I like to clean. Our bedroom is right beside the kitchen, and the smell of half empty cocktail glasses and dried out mini-quiches makes it hard to sleep. Besides, isn’t it a little tacky for children to wake up to post-party debris? My husband and I enjoy the private chat after everyone leaves; it makes cleaning go faster. When else can we talk about our guests, out of earshot of the kids?
Then, entertainment. Over the years, I’ve learned to make sure the DVD shelf is fully loaded and breakfast for the children is planned before I go to bed. (They love party leftovers in the morning, and they’ve certainly started the day with worse than a plate of day old mini quiches.) I’m also a huge fan of Cake Vintage’s paper table runners. Brush the crumbs off, flip it over to the blank side, have your child lie down, and trace his shape onto the paper. Drawing in the details will take at least one precious, quiet hour. Don’t forget the crayons and markers!
How do you balance your need to sleep with your family’s need to be wide awake? Or maybe you’re the early riser. My husband is certainly more chipper in the morning than I am, no matter how early I went to bed. If only he could be entertained by some crayons and a paper table runner.
Related: Dinner Party Timing: Five Tips for Cooking a Full Meal
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Depending on the age of the children, teaching them how to make food for themselves (even a bowl of cereal) not only makes them feel more "grown up," but can lead to a love of cooking.
I'm always grateful that my mom had me start making my own food at the age of 4. Don't worry, knife use didn't come until I was 8.
What happened to cereal, milk and cartoons as an acceptable Sun AM breakfast/activity for kids? Do we have to be such perfect parents that the house needs to be perfect before the kids rise and an elaborate breakfast needs to be planned?
Just reading this article stresses me out.
What we do in the mornings after a dinner party is the same thing we do when we don't have a dinner party. I fix my three year old a bowl of cereal and he watches a DVD while I lay down on the couch. The dinner party in itself is a lot of planning - no need to go above and beyond for the morning routine. But we do try and have larger parties when he's away visiting his grandparents.
I think my kids have all taken after me - if I don't have to get up early, I'm a late riser, and I can't eat before midday. We all enjoy a late, big meal, which seems to tide everyone over till lunch.
No Martha Stewart tricks here, I just turn on a DVD with a long movie and I go back to bed.