Having Company with 4 Kids and Need Advice on How to Make the Visit Stressfree!

Hanna Montana. High School Musical. Barbie. Coloring books... story books... put a sprinkler on and let them play in the backyard or if you have a pool, provide the necessary floaties... Take them to a local park. Ask their mother to bring roller skates should the older ones have them.

I would have the following:
easy mac or Kraft mac and cheese
PB&J or honey
lunchables-always a big hit :-}
juice boxes
2%milk
cheese sticks-string and yellow
tortillas for cheese quesadillas
fresh fruit, carrot sticks and ranch dressing
frozen cheese or pepperoni pizza
coloring books/crayons/construction paper
foamy art projects-hobby lobby has a huge selection
disney princess movies/barbie fairytopia movies
if you have someone to help you-story time at the library would be a great out of the house option, splash parks etc.. the oldest daughter can probably help you out quite a bit esp. if she's anything like my dd :-} Have fun with all of those girls!!!

Hello M.,

ask their mom what foods the kids like or if there are any food allergies. in terms of toys... well, that varies so much. but if you have a a couple games like sorry, candyland, dominoes, cards, parchessi.

one game that is really fun for just about any age is hullaballoo from cranium. it's like musical chairs but on little pads that come w/ the game. they have to touch a specific color, then twirl to the other color then hop, etc. etc. even your 14 month old may enjoy playing it w/ you. that's one that you can keep.

plan your meals. tackle dinner first.
1 night pizza
1 night pasta, rice, chicken?
1 night dinner out

plan one outing: will the swimming pools be open by then?

get kid friendly videos
buy a couple of boxes of crayons
have some paper ready

depending when they're coming, see what's going on at the library.
consider getting 1 or 2 babysitters so you guys can go out to dinner or just enjoy some time together without having to worry about the kids.

Good luck and have fun with your friends!
~C.~

Hi. I have 5 kids, and my sister has 4. When we all get them together, all I can say is to keep a lot of activities for them to keep busy! Bubbles, girl friendly color and activity books, sidewalk chalk, board games, dress up stuff, playing school stuff, movies(my daughters like the Bratz movies-but ask their mother what they enjoy and do the $1 a night RedBox rentals), mini-makeovers with light make up and the feather boa's you can buy at dollar stores. We often go to Dollar Tree and get all these things for the kids to keep busy when they are all together, and girls tend to have great imaginations and find things to play. On the other side, girls also tend to be more 'loud', as well as dramatic, so be prepared for an exciting time! Lol, I'm sure it will be fine. ;-) Good Luck
P.S. keep a lot of snacks on hand!

I have not met a kid that does not like speghetti. Also tv shows are 320 on my u-verse Dora or Blues Clues. Pop in a rented kid movie? They should all be taking a nap in the afternoon. Zoo is a fun place to take kids. Also the Aquarium if you have the strollers. That is off Griffin in Dallas. Good luck. Fun week end. G. W

You want a stress free visit? Have them sleep in a hotel.

LOL!

The best thing is to ask the mom b/c different kids like different things, but in case she feels funny, here's what I would do...I'd have apple juice, water and lemonade on hand for drinks. I'd also have goldfish, pretzels, fruit snacks & granola bars for snacks. For breakfast I'd make ahead a egg casserole for 1 day and probably get muffins for another day along with cereal. For dinner, stick with really kid friendly things like hot dogs, pizza, etc. You don't want to spend the day cooking when you have a friend in town!

Make sure you have toys, baby gates, etc. and put away anything you dont' want broken so there is nothing to fuss at them about.

I hope this helps!

I say invest in a pre-formed kid's swimming pool for $20 or $30. The older kids with love it. They'll get some exercise and tire themselves out in the process. You should have enough adults around to be able to spell each other acting as lifeguard, or you can hire someone to help watch them for a couple of hours.

Have lots of snacks around like Goldfish, string cheese, fruit roll-ups, granola bars, so that the kids can help themselves. A cooler or mini-fridge with cold drinks (8 oz water bottles is good) handy keeps things sane.

The TV can become a battleground, so I suggest keeping the TV on one channel (Sprout or Noggin) that is age appropriate. If you go with DVD's or tapes, they will drive you and each other nuts changing their minds about what to watch.

The weekend will be over before you realize

Get the Crayola Wonder color sets. They have plain paper ones that the kids can draw their own creations on without fear of walls and carpets. Then get some pipe cleaners and some play dough. We have grandkids ranging from 4 mos. to 14 years. We get together and make up funny creatures with the dough and pipe cleaners. The littler ones use the pipe cleaners to hang up or support (triangles) their artwork. We all have a great time... have to pull the adults away because they will start trying to outdo one another! Also, the bubble sets that have the rather large hoops and such. We spend hours out at the park or in the backyard with those.
Don't worry. Enjoy your time together. Kids are creative if you give them boxes of various sizes also. Just have fun.

Sounds like Carmen did a great job! Main thing...don't stress over it. Plan what you want to do and everything will be fine.
Good luck!