Party Time!

2009 has been a big year at the Furber house for parties. Birthday parties, end of the year parties, study parties, sleepovers. You name it, we've hosted it this year.

As a result, we've perfected the art of having everything on hand we might need to host a party at a moment's notice with little impact to the Furber house and its decor. For those Suburban Zen readers hoping to benefit from our experience in this area, here's our top ten list of things to stock in your pantry so you can be those parents who can put a party together in a flash:

1. 3-4 paper tablecloths from your local grocery store. Great for covering the largest surface in your house (for us it's the kitchen table), as that's usually the center point of any party.
2. Plastic plates, glasses, napkins and flatware. I always have my flatware ready in a basket like this filled with Libbey pint glasses so it's ready to go when I need it:
   
   Baskets can be found on Etsy, and my favorite source for Libbey pint glasses is FSW.com.
   
3. A card table and chairs. Doesn't have to be cute, just foldable so it's easy to store when you're not partying.
4. Extra chairs that are easy to store when party is over. We like the Tolix French Bistro Chairs because they look cute when you need them, and stack up out of the way when you don't.
5. The ingredients for your favorite cookie recipe. my favorite is Guittard Chocolate Chip Cookies.
6. A big box of microwave popcorn
7. A stash of prizes and favors. I cruise Target's dollar aisle regularly and stock up on fun pencils, socks, band-aids, post-its and other silly things kids like and store them up like a squirrel in winter
8. A stash of art supplies: pipe cleaners, google eyes, pom poms, markers, glue sticks. You'd be surprised how excited a group of 14 year old girls can get about a box of pipe cleaners.
9. A Bingo game. Surprisingly fun for all ages, and a good time filler. We got ours at Restoration Hardware several years ago, and it's filled many a lull in our parties.
10. A Dust Buster. So when one of your guests makes a little mess, you can quickly clean up and get back to the party.

We have eight little six year old girls visiting this afternoon for Katie's birthday party, and with a quick trip to the grocery store and a little staging, we'll be ready to go. Party is planned for 2-3:30, and by 4 Furbers hope to be cleaned up, relaxing and de-briefing on Katie's favorite parts of the day.

Five Boys or 50 Boys. Same Thing

I've always prided myself in having a house that goes back together very quickly after a party. My husband and I have a place for everything, and very easy care surfaces and materials in all the rooms. We usually can clean up in about 20 minutes after all our guests leave, even the 13 and under set.

However, we threw a party last night that presented new and interesting cleanup challenges -- some that we're still scratching our heads over. I took five 11 year old boys to the Giants game, then brought them back to the house for a movie and a sleepover. They were all very well behaved, but I can't help but wonder:

What they were doing when they got chocolate on the wall in the hallway
Why every ball in our garage is now on the roof
What they needed all those towels for
What that is on the rug in the family room and how it got there
Really, five boys and not one of them can hit the toilet?

The party was fun, and the boys had a great time, so we don't mind the little extra elbow grease to get the house back in order. However, for our next party, we'll have to play a little better defense. I'm thinking:

Sleeping in tents outside (the boys, not me)
Serving food that's not quite so delicious -- alfalfa sprouts and lima beans maybe
Giving each boy one towel and a box of clorox wipes instead of a goodie bag
Awarding a prize to the neatest kid -- probably a car

Welcome to Casa de los Furbers. Checkout is at Noon

My littlest is about to start Kindergarten in 15 days (she's been counting down all summer). Along with all the obvious stuff that comes with your baby going to Kindergarten, there's also another milestone -- sleepovers. We love sleepovers because we really get to know the kids' friends, we make pancakes in the morning (which always makes me feel like Carol Brady), and having them makes our kids happy.

While our kids are big fans of sleepovers, they would rather have them at their own house than at a friend's house. They get to sleep in their own bed, they know where the bathroom is, everything they might possibly need is here, and they're familiar with all the scary nighttime noises at our house. We expect that Katie will feel the same way, and when the invasion starts, we're ready.

When we re-decorated all three kids' rooms three years ago (Jack, who was 8 at the time, still had a bed that was shaped like a boat) we paid special attention to two things -- how to accomodate sleepovers and space to study. We had a different solution for each kid, but each room can accomodate extra kids at a moment's notice.

In Andie's room, there's a double bed so she and two other friends can snuggle in and gab all night.








In Jack's room, there's a single bed with two mattresses on it. When one of Jack's buddies visits, we pull the top mattress off, and they both have a nice, comfy spot to sleep. Or at least a homebase to come back to as they prowl the house all night. If Jack has more than one buddy visiting, we pull both mattresses down and make one big sleeping spot on the floor.



In Katie's room, there's a single bed with a trundle under it. So far the trundle's only been used by Andie on especially stormy nights when Katie needs company to help her sleep. But with Kindergarten coming, Andie will have to step aside and make way for Katie's new Kindergarten friends.




With Katie starting school, I know I can look forward to twelve more years of weekends waking up to a houseful of noisy, happy, pancake-eating kids. Hooray for sleepovers!