back to school night ~ a night out for moms

 Last night, I hosted a little "back to school night" for a few friends.  ZJ asked me why I was having a "Back to School night" since we don't go to school.  I told her that it was just a fun little excuse for a get-together.  She then told me about two kids that she goes to school with, who's parents sent them to a summer school all summer long.  She said, "I didn't like that idea, Mom.  I think that their the parents just wanted to get rid of their kids instead of play with them all summer.  I'm glad that you don't want to get rid of us."  I chuckled because I'd almost answered, "I'm having this party to celebrate kids going back to school!"  Oopsie!  (Truth be told...While I do celebrate the daily freedom that school affords me, I do miss having them at home immensely.) 

I digress...We had a great time last night just gabbing.  We didn't play the first game, just talked and talked about everything from cow milk to spiders. Go figure!  It was a delightful evening... at least, I thought it was!  ;) 

A few little details of the evening...

The menu, served in brown bags: 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sushi Appetizers  (details below)
Chicken Salad Croissants
Grapes
Fritos
Lemon Cookies
Tomatoes (fresh out of the garden!) in Balsamic Vinegar (not in the bags)
Caramel Chocolate Popcorn

 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sushi

Cut the crust off sliced white bread.  Roll a slice flat flat flat with a rolling pin.  Spread peanut butter and jelly on bread and roll it up like a jelly roll.  Slice in one inch slices.  It looks like little sushi.  Fun and it got a laugh. 

 

The only organized activity replaced my usual tabletalk was a little Getting to Know You "test".  I asked everyone to fill out the questionnaire and then read the answers aloud without telling who was who.  It was a lot of fun and I learned a few things that were surprising. 

Getting to Know You!

1. My best quality is _____________________________________
    2. In my spare time I like to ______________________________
    3. My birth order place is ________ and I am atypical/typical because___________________   
4. I get scared when ___________________________________
5. My favorite food is ___________________________
6. My least favorite food is __________________________________
7. My favorite sport is _______ because ___________________________
8. I would like to be better at_______________________________
9. I usually pick friends who are ________________________________
10. When I’m worried, I usually ____________________________
11.When I grew up, I wanted to be ______________________________________________
12. My all-time favorite teacher was ______ because _____________________________________
13. My happiest childhood memory is ____________________________________________
14. One tradition from my childhood that I want to carry on through generations is ______
15. The thing I’m recognized/remembered most for is __________________________
16. The thing that I’d like to be most remembered and recognized for is ____

　Rather than use a tablecloth, I covered the table with newsprint and wrote little quotes on the table.  I used brown chargers but other than that, everything was disposable.  (I owe the earth many apologies for the recycled paper paper plates, the plastic cups and forks and napkins used last night, says Doug!)

 

Oh!  And one of my favorite things was the magnetic board displaying childhood photos of the guests.  They'd brought them earlier. It was fun to see us all as little girls!

It was a fun evening.  I love my wonderful friends!  

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.

 

Comments

[Nicole]

What a cute idea for a friends get-together!

[Pamela K.]

Awesome ideas! Yummy menu! Love the quote! :-)