Hospitality with Kids in Mind

Many of our readers are probably too young to remember the Kool Aid Mom.  She was the smiling, perky mom on the commercials who had the sprinkler going in the yard with lots of kids around -- obviously not all hers.  And she was serving red Kool Aid from the pitcher with the smiley face to all the kids.  From my earliest years I specifically remember thinking, "I wanna be the Kool Aid Mom." (And I've always wanted one of those pitchers...)

As I age, it's fascinating to see how many dreams and hopes God put into my young heart without me realizing it.  How do I know He put them there?  Because they happened!!  And many of those desires were way too unselfish to have been birthed in my sinful heart. 

God knew He would heal my infertility and give me 7 children.  He knew I would marry a pastor and that our home would have an open door to others.  Over the years, though, the Kool Aid Mom has stayed alive in my heart.  From the time the kids were young I wanted our yard to be where the neighborhood kids gathered...and then our home to be where teens would want to hang out.  This led to making some choices and purchases:  the big 'ol ping pong table that took up too much room in the basement; having a basketball slab poured in our back yard in Virginia; and then finding a cost-effective way to put a pool in our back yard when we moved to Florida (the kind that's shallow on both ends so they can easily play volleyball and basketball). 

Last Sunday our family came home from Jaime's house (my oldest daughter) to find a group of young people in our family room watching football and munching on snacks.  Over the years I've come to LOVE feeling like The Three Bears coming home from a walk.  We never know who we will find in our house eating our porridge or falling asleep in our recliners.  In those moments I thank the Lord for giving me the longing to be the Kool Aid Mom.  I wish I could say I was always perky and smiling like her.  Ugh.

Here are some tips for making your yard and home a place where your children's friends want to be:

• Greet them warmly and affectionately, starting when they're little toddlers. 
• Pick out a few children you and your husband especially desire for your child to be friends with and get to know the parents.  Communicate encouraging things you notice in their son/daughter and arrange times for the children to spend time together.
• Make memories that involve being at your home, rather than always at a park or other public place.  Plan special things to do sometimes when the friend(s) comes.  Bake cookies, have a doll tea party, drink juice out of bowls like dogs (my daughters and their friends always enjoyed this one!), make green eggs and ham (my daughters DIDN'T like this one...but Josh and his friends loved it!); make s'mores using the gas grill or cook hotdogs in the fireplace. You certainly don't need to do something heroic every time friends are over, but these fun things make them look forward to being at your home.
• As your children get older, keep fun foods around and buy a little extra at the store so they can spontaneously invite friends over.  (The pre-made cookie dough from Costco is always a big hit.  Fresh-tasting cookies, warm from the oven, are ready in minutes!)

Off to get dinner in the oven.  I thawed out a couple of extra chicken breasts in case one of of the kid's friends "happen to be in the area" in time for dinner.

Posted by Sheree