#DisneyKids Preschool Playdate 2016

What do you do when your kids are out of school and the daycare is closed?  You coordinate a playdate. 

I was chosen to host a Disney Kids Preschool Playdate.  Thanks to BSM Media, Disney Parks, "I Love To Create", Banfield Pet Hospital, all, Glad, and Nesquik for all the free goodies we received in our party kit.

My daughter was so excited to host her playdate.  She helped get everything ready.  The first thing we had to decide was the menu.  We kept it simple, fun, and snack size.  We served some of my daughter's favorite foods like popcorn, animal crackers, rice krispie treats, and cake pops.

Hot Dog, Hog Dog, Hot Diggity Dog...of course we had a Hot Dog Bar.

We greeted our guests one by one as they arrived.  We had everyone sit down to grab a bite first before the fun times began.

Our fun started with some arts and crafts. The kids decorated white paper bags with their favorite characters. We had to call "Toodles" for some help. Our first tool we needed was crayons, and glitter. We also needed some scissors and Toodles came to the rescue again.

We then headed on a treasure hunt.  Mickey and Minnie handed out treasure maps, jewels, and crowns.  The kids headed to the backyard where we had hidden treasure all over.

The kiddos had a blast finding their treasure.  They got to keep all their loot.  We then headed back inside because the Lion Guard was waiting to take us on a Safari.  On the Safari, we shared pictures from our trip to Disney's Animal Kingdom and everyone got Lion Guard tattoos.  This was the perfect time to have story time.  I read "My Very, Very Smelly Breath".  This book is Banfield's Pet Hospital's second children's book.  It is a scratch and sniff book that the kids really enjoyed.  There were some stinky smells and some yummy smells.  The book helped the kids understand the importance of brushing teeth.  It talked about caring for our pet's teeth.

Of course, Toodles still had a mystery tool for us to use on our playdate.  It was a Piñata. 

Everyone had a great time.  I tried to keep the kids entertained and I kept them busy having fun with all the activities and goodies that were sent in our kit. 

Saying good bye is always hard when you get a bunch of kiddos who are having too much fun.  My daughter was so sweet and she walked each of her guests out.  She handed them each a swag bag as they walked out the door.

Things I learned from the planning and hosting of this playdate:

1)  Keep it simple.  Break the rules, don't break the rules.  It is a PLAY date, not school. 

2)  Kid Friendly.  I used kid's tables and chairs, instead of big grown up tables and chairs. 

3)  Plan group activities.  This will keep everyone together.  Better to keep an eye on everyone.

4)  Work Stations.  Kids get bored really fast.  You can have different activities for those that work faster or make them helpers.

5)  Have fun!  If you have a schedule, be ready to break it.  Kids are on their own schedule.