#33 Plan A Formal Or Dance

A great way to spend time with your kids is to plan a formal or dance at home

Plan A Formal Or Dance:

This significant date idea for you and your child is one you can put a lot of energy and time into or let happen more spontaneously. Either way, you’re in for a great experience! Granted, not all kids are going to want to do this, but there are many variations to choose from that may interest them. For the right child, it may be one of the best dates on the list. The direction of this idea mainly relies on the gender and age of your child.

The idea is to plan a party at your house together. You can invite as many people as you want to this party that you’re having for no reason other than fun. Undoubtedly, the party itself will be a great time, but the actual date is party planning. So often, when we plan parties for our children, we work through the details, and they enjoy the party. This time, involve them and let them plan as much as possible. Within your guidelines, let them decide who to invite, pick out invitations, choose a theme, and set the agenda of party events. They can also pick the music, outfits the guests should wear, food, and on and on.

WMTDS (What Makes This Date Special):

This date gives your child not only the opportunity to have a special party, but also a sense of ownership. Your younger child will enjoy this just as much as your older child.

They may want to be involved in certain aspects of the planning but not others. Either way, on the day of the event, they will feel responsible for the great party. The feeling of accomplishment and pride will carry far beyond the party itself. If you don’t usually have parties at your house, that’ll be a special memory for them to cherish.

Teachable Moments:

Planning and decision making – the importance of details

Using a budget to plan an event

Importance of relationship building and community

No matter the scale or theme of your party, there will be many decisions to be made along the way. Although the idea is to allow your children to make as many decisions as possible, you will be there to give them plenty of guidance in those decisions. Make sure you lead with questions whenever possible. For example, “I love your idea of a tea party; how should we do tea sets since we don’t have any?” Using a budget, which I highly recommend, will create many teachable moments as well. You may decide as to how much you’re willing to spend, but allow them to make the individual spending decisions after that. This may serve you well in the future as you plan their wedding!

Variations:

There are limitless numbers of party ideas for this date. Below are just a few examples – hopefully, one works for your child.

Costume party
Tea party
Basketball tournament
Video game-themed party
Super Bowl party
Barnyard dance
Scavenger hunt
Brunch
Tea party
Carnival
Luau
Sleepover
Decade themed
Dad/daughter or mom/son

One idea is to choose something your child is currently interested in and create a personalized theme. It could be a TV show your elementary-aged child loves right now or a book your teen can’t get enough of. The more creative and unique the party, the more you both will love it!

Expense:

This is one of those dates that you could do relatively inexpensively or spend a small fortune. Whatever you decide you want to spend, I recommend having a budget when you get started.

A great way to spend time with your kids is to plan a formal or dance at home

Planning:

The whole date is planning on this one. You will want to allow a considerable amount of time to get the date on the calendar, doing the planning, sending the invitations, etc. You’ll also be working around other activities on your family calendar.