4 Tips to Make Your Playdate the Best!

Playdates can be used as a tool to help your kids connect and play with others in a less structured environment than school or extracurricular activities. They can also help parents connect with other parents and develop their own friendships too! Some of my closest friends have come out because I invited them over for a playdate!

I had a child that was slow to warm up to new people and situations. Every time we went somewhere new, she liked to hold on to my leg and not let go. She would slowly start to get comfortable but by the time she was fully ok, it’d be time to go!  In the last year, she has come out of her shell SO much and gained so much confidence. Now, I don’t think of her as being “slow to warm up” anymore – she pretty much jumps right into any situation, but it took some time and effort to get there. 

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As her mom, I felt that I needed to give her a hand in helping her connect and develop friendships with other classmates . So one of the things I did was I started inviting people over for playdates! She started to get more and more comfortable with the kids in her class, and started going to school happier and I began to connect more with those around my community in similar life stages to me.

Here are my 4 tips for your next playdate:

Who to invite: There are a few ways you can go about this:

• The first is asking your child who’d they’d like to invite over for a play date. Is there a certain friend they’ve been playing with at school or at dance class that they want to play with more? That would be my first step on choosing who to invite first.
• Another option would be to reach out to their teacher – there’s over 20 kids in my oldest daughter’s class and while I don’t like to bombard my child’s teacher with emails – I do occasionally check in with them to see how they are doing. In my last check in I asked her who my daughter gravitates to at school and she gave me a few names of kids I would have never known she plays with. I started going through that list and setting get togethers up!
• Lastly – are there parents that you would like to get to know more? Being a parent can be lonely sometimes, what better way to get to know someone and potentially make a friend than by inviting all of them to your house for fun!

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Location – the first obvious place for a playdate would be your home. There’s a few positives that come with inviting someone over, first being that it’s more intimate of a setting, it’s easier to keep an eye on the kids at home vs at a public place, and you can chat with the other parent better! There have been many times that I wanted to talk more with another mom, but I was chasing behind my toddler at the library. The downside of hosting at home is that it takes more work on your part to clean the house and make sure you have snacks and refreshments ready.

• Other spots I like for a casual meet up are the park, the library, a play place, or you can just ask if another parent wants to meet up at your local ice cream shop for a bit! 

Food – I think having food for the kids to nibble on is a must at a playdate. Although I try not to take my children anywhere hungry – they get hungry so quickly and are always happy to have a snack. When I’m hosting a playdate, I make sure to tell the other parent what to expect (either snacks or lunch if it’s around lunch time).

• Snacks can be cut up fruit and vegetables, pretzels and pirates booty, mini muffins, and chocolate chip cookies (my favorite no-fuss recipe here). If you are hosting during the lunch hour, I love to grab a premade pizza dough from Aldi or Trader Joes, marinara sauce, cheese, and whatever topping you like and make a homemade pizza. If the adults are going to eat as well, I also add a salad to that! 

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Activities – if it’s the first time for a friend to come over to your house, you might want an easy craft of activity set up to break the ice! Here are a few options that are simple to set up and fun to play with! These are all under $15.

Set up a bracelet making station – if you have a younger child that is 3 or 4 years old, they can make their bracelets using colorful pipe cleaners and bigger beads. This doesn’t require a ton of parental involvement and also works on their fine motor skills!

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Sand art if the kids are older and can be trusted with sand!

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Playdough kits! I buy these occasionally and also take them sometimes as a housewarming gift when I know my kids don’t know the other kids well – I know they will like to play with the playdough and it’ll often break the ice. Here are a few cool options: the playdough pasta maker, playdough construction kit, and the ice cream maker. I will note that my husband isn’t the biggest fan because at times my kids have no chill with it, but I still think it’s a fun and inexpensive toy (sorry Tom!).

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And this is a last final tip – but I feel like it can apply to so many areas in life. Don’t wait for someone to invite you first, if you and your kids are wanting to develop stronger friendships and get to know more people – just invite someone over!