Lessons Learned

Last weekend was a holiday weekend of sorts here in Alabama. Last Saturday, all normal operations in Alabama ceased and all eyes were focused on "The Game". It was the biggest game of the season. It was even referred to as the "game of the century" by some. Of course, I'm talking about the LSU-Alabama game.

Back at the beginning of the football season, I decided it would be fun to have a football party at my house. After looking at the schedule, I figured that the weekend of the LSU-Alabama game would be a good weekend to have a party. Can I call it, or what?! I invited most everyone I know to the party--and their spouses, children, and pets--fully expecting that very few people would actually want to watch The Game at my house on my measly 32-inch TV. Wrong! The RSVPs started coming in at incredible speed, and I quickly started to wonder if I had bitten off more than I could chew. As it turns out, the party went very well (except for Alabama's big loss, of course) and everyone seemed to have a great time. However, I learned several interesting lessons from this party, and I will share them with you now:

1. Always accept offers of help, especially from those who are (slightly) older and (much) wiser than yourself.

About a week before the party (and obviously before I had given any thought to the logistics of grilling hotdogs, entertaining guests, and making sure my dog was on his best behavior all at the same time), my mom casually asked me about how many guests I was expecting. I told her somewhere between 20 and 30. She choked a little, and then asked if she and my dad could come up for the party to help out. I agreed, but secretly didn't think I needed that much help. Truth be told, my parents helped me out so much before, during, and after the party, and I'm not sure I could have done it all without them. I was very grateful for their help!

2. Understand that some people are insanely obsessed with football and you should just relinquish control of your TV remote to them.

Some of my guests had no trouble making themselves feel at home. I had absolutely no control over my TV, my remote, or my couch during the party. Luckily, there wasn't much dispute over what to watch!

3. Try to keep the adult-to-kid ratio greater than 1:1.

After the party, my dad told me that he looked around during the party and everyone was under 3 feet tall. Of course this is a bit of an exaggeration, but the 5 and under crowd was definitely well-represented at the party. I think there were 8 kids in all. There were only slightly more adults than kids. I guess I wasn't kidding on the invitation when I said it would be a kid-friendly event.

4. No need for toys, stickers, or crayons to keep the kids entertained. Doggy doors work just as well.

Who knew the doggy door would be such a hit with the kids? I'm pretty sure those kids will be putting doggy doors on their Christmas lists this year.

5. When in doubt, buy more juice boxes.

Juice boxes are also a big hit with the kids. Whatever keeps them happy--and gets their parents' blood boiling when they get home with severely sugar-overloaded kids--is my philosophy.

6. Never take offense to a kindergartener who is learning about rhyming in school.

Here is a conversation with one of my younger guests at the party--an adorable kindergartener named Caleb.

Me: "Caleb, you're a hoot!"
Caleb: "You're a toot."

Ouch. I think it's safe to say Caleb really grasped the rhyming lesson at school.

7. When you ask your guests to bring an appetizer or snack, never expect that they will return home with the item they brought.

Seriously, my fridge has been working overtime this week and my pantry looks like a heart attack waiting to happen. Next time I will plan on discretely slipping food into people's purses and cars before they leave.

8. Don't worry about party cleanup. That's Colby's job.

During the party, Colby kept a vigilant eye out for any spills or dropped food and whenever it did happen, he was there in a flash to assist with the cleanup. And even before the last guest left my house, he was hard at work making sure every crumb of food was cleaned up. I guess it's a tough job, because after his work was done he laid down and went into a sleep so deep that it resembled something like a coma. His tummy sure was making some strange noises too. I'm so glad I have a dog with such a strong work ethic!


Overall, I think the party was a big success. I can't wait to host another football party...next year!