Valentine's Party 2010

Dane and I talked about him having a few friends over for a movie night and pizza, and before I knew it, I had Austin and Cassidy inviting a bunch of their friends, we had games planned, decorations organized and it was a full-fledge Valentine's shin-dig!

The wee ones had a little visit in the beginning and then headed upstairs to their own quarters to hang with their dad and have a pizza and movie for themselves.



It was a lot of fun and a big hit with the tweens and teens!

Dane and I had a game plan of what would happen when they came over. Most of the kids knew each other, but for many it was the first time that they would be mixing ages. We had youth here from 9-16. As it turned out later, I heard one mum tell me that her daughter said in almost a baffled tone, "It was so much fun. It was weird cause it really felt like family."

From what she said, her daughter didn't realize how much fun she could have with such a variety of ages. The sad thing is that the world misses out on the interaction of their siblings with each other and their friends; there is such indoctrination of 'age segregation'. I think part of the reason the party was such a success was because it broke down some of the rules of socialization.

Because we wanted everyone to feel comfortable we had a few things 'planned'. Planned meaning, if the youth walked in and seemed awkward then we had a backup plan. But as it turned out we certainly didn't need that. They took over and had a ball.

The girls did a fabulous job of getting into the theme and came thoroughly dressed up. The boys were a little more low-key, wearing their black clothes with spots of red. *smile* I think Dane was a little shocked at the girls. You see, when I suggested to him that he call his friends and give them the heads up that it was a Valentine's Party, he thought it was a silly idea. Meanwhile, the younger two boys cheerfully called their friends and told them to come in red, white, or pink.

So when the girls showed up looking like this..... Dane realized his mother wasn't so nuts after all.

Actually, I scored a few points for my generation in a number of ways. *grin* I also told him that the kids would likely want to use the juke box and the karaoke machine. He told me there was *no way* they would do that! (you know those teen years when it is important to do things 'right'.)

YMCA

Well, he was partly right. The boys didn't. *grin* The girls were very entertaining, though!

They Loved the Juke Box!

The Guys Found Other Things to Do

My plan was to break the fourteen youth into two groups. Group 1 would make their pizza first, followed by Group 2. Also, when they played the game of Babble they would divide again. I broke the group up in such a way to introduce one set of kids to another and it worked wonders. What a racket they made!!


The concept of the game is to read all the names on the card out as loudly as you can to be heard above the rest of the group of up to eight people. Basically they were yelling or screaming. You have two cards, so you are whipping through about 12 words one after the other. You are listening to the others read their cards as you call out yours, hoping to hear one word that matches one of yours. If they match, the game stops and the group checks the match. You roll a dice and one of the two people win the cards. You can imagine what an ice-breaker this very loud game can be!! I may be posting some short videos at some point...

When this game was over the kids just naturally rolled into the game of charades. Well, that was funny!! Some were more natural at it, having played many games in their families.


The older boys were the last to get involved, but yes, they finally did and had a good time.


PIZZA TIME: It was interesting when I called the first team into the kitchen and informed them that *they* would be making their pizzas from scratch. They kind of looked a little unsure and dithered around a bit. I stepped in and showed them the sauce, peppers, onions, meats, and cheeses and said if they needed me to give me a shout. It was funny cause shortly after Dane came to find me and told me he didn't know what to do with the oven.

Funny. Why? Because we make pizza every weekend and each of the kids makes their own. I think in the madness of the moment he just forgot. *smile*

So, I went back in the kitchen and commandeered a girl that I could see looked like she knew what she was doing, and suggested she take charge and delegate. She jokingly took on the role and began dispensing orders. I then turned to a boy near me and said, "Jesse, how'd you like to cut up the green peppers?" He immediately stepped up with a smile and took over.

And the rest is history. They just needed a gentle shove.

The results were interesting. I would hear a request, "Mrs. L. is it okay if we put pretzels on the pizza?"

Hey! It's your pizza. You gotta eat it!! LOL!! And so they did. And potato chips. And some of the pizzas were very oddly made: a few pieces of meat strewn on one side of the pizza and nothing else. Others were more elaborate.

The Final Results

The Feast

During the course of the evening, I fell across this Valentine lying on the stairs. I knew at once that some small boy wanted to give this card, but didn't have the courage. *smile* The night before the children had all been making Valentines, and this was the one that was made for someone other than a sibling, thus rendering one child without a card from their brother.

By the evenings end, he had worked up his courage to gift his little friend with his sweet card. Austin is a very loving boy with a big heart. Ever since I can remember his life's goal has been to get married and have children. It frequently comes up. Actually, I remember specifically over four years ago, when he was six years old, him telling me, "I can't wait til I'm a daddy." That came from the pleasure he received from his baby brother, Briton.

This desire has not waned, and I have full belief in it, because ever since I was a tiny child that was my life's goal, and look where I am today! God will give us the desire He puts in our heart.

After the pizza time, I let the youth know that they were responsible for the cleanup. Probably another surprise! *grin* There were no complaints, as they moved into the work. But what was the most surprising was the who actually did the work! The guys! The girls did a minor amount and then headed off to the TV room to romp and wait for the movie, while the men did the work. After a fashion....

Ever seen a counter cleared with a dustpan and brush? Hey, it did the trick! It was nice to see Dane in his element. He is my kitchen dinner man, so he knew exactly what he needed to do and he roped in his male counterparts. You can see him at the sink clearly at home! LOL


The kids all found seats in our smallish TV room - on top, beside, near a friend, squished or otherwise.

Dane had bought a few movies, so I figured I was good to go. It was 8:00 PM, and I figured it would be relatively peaceful for rest of the evening. The little ones were now in bed and the teens were being picked up at midnight. My chaperoning was done, and all was quiet. Or so I thought!

Naive Me sat down in the livingroom to watch a Walton's episode by myself. Ha Ha! That lasted all of an hour or so. They decided they weren't keen on the movie choice. They discussed it further, took a vote, and decided to ride it out for the ones that did like it.

As they emerged from the TV room at just after 9:00 pm, I thought in a mild panic, "What am I going to do now?"

You HAD to see these hyper teens in the 5-8 PM slot when they were bouncing off walls, furniture and each other! LOL!! And you all told me BOYS were noisy!!! Seriously, it was the GIRLS!! I have never heard such squeals and silliness.

It was all good and they were just awesome, but seriously. All you adoptive mums who signed up for girls, because you thought they were calmer. Okay, so you may be right when they are little. But watch out for those teen years. Oh my goodness!! LOL!! The boys were extraordinarily calm, standing around chatting, playing games, and the girls were... well, you saw the photos up above! *grin*

So you can imagine why I had a mild panic thinking WHAT will they do from 9-12??? LOL Thankfully, they quickly figured it out when they decided to go out into the dark night and jump on the trampoline, climb in the treefort, chase each other around the yard, and play hide-and-seek. All things that I had no clue they would end up doing. They did this until 10:30.

At which time they came in and decided to arm wrestle in my fancy livingroom. *grin*


We then moved on to icecream sundaes, and this evolved into another movie. As it turned out boys and girls don't always want to watch the same type of movie, thus the girls took the TV room in the garage, and the boys took the TV room in the house! But all were happy and they played and watched TV until 12:30 when they were all picked up.

It was a roaring success, and I am hoping to do another one for Easter. I figure a Back to School Party and a Christmas Party would also be great themes. My plan though, is for the next one to be more of an outdoors party complete with hotdogs and bonfire...
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