Holiday Entertaining With Kids

During the holidays, most parties are family affairs. Here are a few ideas for holiday entertaining with kids to get the party started. 

You could make your affair 'adults only, ' but sometimes it's fun to include the whole family. Plus, sitters can be difficult to find during the holidays. This means the hosts have to worry about entertaining not only other adults but also their offspring. 

While spending even more time with our kids and our friends' kids is great, more bodies (regardless of size) mean more work. 

When you have to cater to different interest levels and food preferences, a "simple" gathering keeps getting less straightforward. So your job is to plan a holiday soiree where people of all ages will be comfortable and entertained. 

Holiday Entertaining with Kids

Most adult parties are boring for kids. No clowns. No balloons. They don't get what we enjoy about talking to each other over a glass of wine or a martini and nibbling smelly shrimp and cheese. 

To keep kids from running wild at your soiree, take the following holiday entertaining pre-party precautions:

Behavior warning: Remind your children that parties are grownup events, and we must use prim and proper behavior. No running. No loud voices.

No roughhousing. Pretend you are a prince or princess for the evening.

Damage control: Put breakables on higher shelves. Anything that can be bumped off or into and broken will be. Move delicate possessions to higher ground until the pint-size stampede is over.

Fire safety: Don't leave lighted candles unattended in bathrooms or anywhere little hands might reach. Fireplace candles or lighters go atop the mantel, not alongside the firewood, in easy reach of curious little hands.

Pet protection: Put all pets away for the evening. They're cute, but dogs and cats can get nippy when mauled by 2-year-olds. More fragile animals like hamsters or birds could be injured.

If you put your pet in a safe place during the party, you also lessen the risk of someone accidentally letting it escape.

Kid zone creation: Set aside a study or den as a play area. Equip it with toys, videos, computer games, coloring books, and crayons. The kids don't have to stay there - that would be unsociable. But at least you've provided a kid-friendly environment where they can amuse themselves. 

Be sure to provide a separate teens-only space away from the little kids to make grumpy teens smile. If you can find a babysitter for the evening, hire one.

Your neighborhood high schooler could probably entertain the mini-masses nicely for a few hours at a bargain rate. It's well worth your investment, and it might even save your carpet.

If you really want an adult affair but want to make it easy on parents who might not have regular sitters on call, arrange for your sitter to watch the kids at one of your guest's homes (preferably nearby). 

If you're having a late party (such as a New Year's Eve gathering), it could be a sleepover affair, with guests picking up the kids the following day.

Just ensure your sitter/kid ratio stays at about one sitter for every five children. If you have more than five kids, hire two (or even more) sitters.

Holiday Entertaining With Kids Menu Planning 

Make a few kid-friendly foods. Kids like carrots, cheese, Goldfish crackers, peppers, popcorn, and pretzels.

IIf you're having a dinner party, grilled chicken or burgers, sliders, stovetop mac and cheese, or cheese pizza would be good choices for the kids.

Make or buy special drinks for the kids, like lemonade or juice boxes, or buy some "kid champagne" (a.k.a. sparkling cider). 

Make sure they have a kids' table where they can reach their special snacks. This way, they won't be dripping dip all over the adult fare.

Give gifts: One way to keep the kids happy is to give them each a little gift. It will amuse them for a while, and their parents will love you. 

Cave in to videos: If you cannot find a sitter (try very hard), suggest that the parents take turns supervising the kiddie table. 

Most kids will prefer to have their table in another room, especially if you let them watch a video, and on this special occasion, I certainly would.

Now you can relax and enjoy holiday entertaining, knowing you've done all you can to create a festive soiree for all your guests. Have a great party!