I had big plans for our Christmas Eve dinner party and they include two gorgeous little boys 5 and under.  Having entertained little girls of the same age in our home at showers and parties I figured having the boys over would be a piece of cake!  You know what they say about best laid plans...

Strangely enough, I had it in my head that I could section off an area of the living room where the boys could play with the mega blocks and other assorted toys I had acquired for the evening.  When I checked on my pint sized guests later on it seemed that the mega blocks bag had exploded and chaos reigned supreme.  But you know what?  They were having fun, lots of fun and they brought a whole new excitement to our Christmas Eve dinner that we had yet to experience!

Here are some tips I'd like to share with you if you don't have children but are expecting to entertain some in your own home:

1. If you don't mind having your walls used as a colouring canvas, then by all means let them play with crayons!  Myself, I prefer giving them lots of stickers to stick in sticker books.  Sometimes I find them in funny places later on and it gives me the giggles.
2. Stop by your second hand store to purchase some toys!  Chances are, your friends will bring their children fully equipped, but toys that aren't their own hold much more of an allure to some children!
3. Hold back a couple of toy items.  If you bought more than one activity hand them out one at a time.  When it looks like the kids are getting bored, bring out the new toy.
4. Have small snacks available for them on kid size plates, especially if dinner is later on in the evening.  Be aware of any snack foods that may be a choking hazard.
5. Let them get involved!  Reserve some activities that allow them to "help" you.  Icing a cake, picking up napkins and paper plates or helping load the dishwasher are chores that smaller kids can assist adults with.
6. Oh and you might want to inform any males who aren't parents that are attending your dinner party that picking up little kids full of food and hanging them upside down while spinning around is probably NOT the best idea.  Really not a good idea! 

Clean up was relatively easy as "Put the blocks in the bag" is a great game and they had already cleared all the garbage into the bin.  When I went to put away the food I noticed two little finger prints in the cupcake icing and realized where the late night sugar rush had come from.

At the end of the evening I'm not sure who was more exhausted, them or me but they had a great time and I loved giving them hugs and snuggles when they stood still.  For all of about 10 seconds.  Take advantage of entertaing this fun toddler age, when they become teenagers they'll have their own parties to go to and you probably won't be invited.  Which, thinking about it, seems rather unfair but that's a whole other blog post!