Friendships and Play Dates

One thing I’ve learned from my life’s experiences is that friends are important. I mean, real friends. Not your FaceBook friends or IG followers, but your friends. You know, the ones you’ve had since Kindergarten or middle school. The ones who you may not see or speak to in several years, but when you connect, it is as if you’ve never missed a beat. Whether it’s your college besties or your 6th grade homie, I’m talking about your friends. 

Covid and restrictions, social distancing and quarantine have changed a lot of things over the past 8 months. I can’t believe how crazy it’s made me feel. Being able to have friends and connect with people who just get me, has been a lifesaver. I literally have friends that I’ve had since I was 5 years old! That still amazes me, and I am so thankful for those relationships. It has been a goal to teach my two little ones how to foster such a gift. The Play Date groups my little ones were in, literally saved my life. (I suffered with postpartum after the birth of both my children and the ladies I met during those early years helped me so much.) Friendships have to be intentional. You have to make time for your friends and reach out when they pop into your mind. In teaching that, along with my absolute love for parties and celebrations, my daughter and I decided that we would begin a tradition for her and her friend group. We started hosting Friendsgiving!

It’s The Party Theme For Me

Our first Friendsgiving theme was sparked by this cool graphic tee I found at the lovely store called Five Below. (They have been my go to place, lately for cute tees!) HomeGirl was the message and the girls tried charcuterie, had a plant lesson by a local plant shop, and enjoyed a plant, new t-shirt, good food and time together. Since I wanted to teach my daughter how to be intentional with her friends, take time to gather and start traditions, I didn’t want Covid and all the restrictions to stop us from ending the tradition before we even got into the swing of things! So, we planned it, and prayed our area would allow us to gather...well, my plans were a tad thwarted! I had to cancel the in-person gathering, but I was determined we would have a Friendsgiving; it would just be the 2020 Porch Drop Edition!

I’m a person who is inspired by images. Most of my posts, my stories, my photography an motivation are sparked by something I see. All the themes for my events are no different. So, as I walked through the aisles of Five Below way back in October, I saw a Charlie Brown and Snoopy t-shirt. It was at that moment, I knew what we were going to do for Friendsgiving 2020. I love Charlie Brown and his friends. I literally watch them every time any of the networks air episodes. I even have the Charlie Brown Christmas vinyl that we play every morning (on my record player, can you believe it?) while the kids would get ready for school. Charlie Brown just gives me a sense of awesome nostalgia and good vibes; it was a wining theme, hands down. Especially with the climate of e-learning and social distancing, kids at home, very few sports, quarantine...we all  need some good vibes around here!

It’s A Party, Charlie Brown! Friends Always Share Pie…

I always have a gift that our guests leave with, in the form of a new experience, art, t-shirt or keepsake. I want everyone to have a memory that they can look back on and smile. This year I went with a individual s’mores kits for each little lady to take home and enjoy. I knew, upon planning, that there would be a potential restriction on guests, so, I wanted to have something fun without having a class or extra people in my home. I also wanted to have a cool thing for the girls to do if we weren’t able to all be together. These kits were perfect. Jeanine, of The Crafty Platter, always delivers on following my vision and creating amazing charcuterie boards, table spreads and delicious eye candy for my guests. I love everything she does. Keeping with the nostalgic Charlie Brown, best friend theme, s’mores and cookies made to look like pumpkin pie slices were perfect combinations. A wonderful lady, here locally, made the beautiful cookies, and as they say, “Friends Always Share Pie,” we had no choice but to share with each girl! 

Everything was perfect! Each guest received a cute Charlie Brown Hallmark card with words from my daughter, a scripture (Proverbs 17:17) and a bag with a t-shirt, cookie and s’mores kit. We set up porch pickups and as each person came, the smiles were huge when they saw each other. It was precious. Human interaction is a beautiful thing and as an adult, I forgot how important it was to see your friend in middle school. All the girls’ faces lit up when they saw each other, and after asking permission to get close enough for a picture (it’s still crazy we have to think of that now) we were able to document the moment of Friendsgiving 2020 -The Porch Drop Edition. I would say it was a success. My girl hasn’t stopped smiling and by the text messages I have received from the other Moms, I would say our Friendsgiving was good for their little hearts. I’m so thankful for these times; even during a pandemic.

Interested in having your own Play Date? If kids can do it, so can the grownups! I’d love to help you. Email me at linettecolwell@gmail.com for a free 15 minute consultation to plan your little one’s next celebration, or something for you and your friends!

Until next time…