Hi there Yay Baby! readers. So glad to be with you today! I’m Katie from To Entertain, a blog all about…you guessed it – entertaining.
Our blog is a family of six fabulous contributors that range from newlyweds, to young Mommas, to a mom of teenagers, and two fabulous grandmothers. Our readers get to benefit from the very best and very experienced entertainers as well as hear the blunders-err-learning experiences from those who are newer to the world of dinner parties & perfectly planned meals. We all have different ideas, strengths, opinions, locations, religions, ages, stages of life, buuuut we all adore entertaining!
If you come visit us (please do!), you’ll find recipes, learn from our very best entertaining tips and attend parties in all different style types inspired by diverse personalities spanning generations. We hope you’ll follow and enjoy!
P.S. We’ve got two pretty great giveaways going on this week in honor of our recipe pin it to win it extravaganza! Drop by & enter! (promotion ends Monday, August 5, 2014)
As a young Momma with two toddlers under three, and a baby on the way, a lot of the entertaining I do revolves around little ones. I love thinking of fun ways for my kiddos to have fun with their friends that doesn’t involve a box of tired noisy toys (although we do plenty of that too!) check out some of the themed play dates we’ve done over the past year here & here.
Part of the art of entertaining is making guests (no matter how small!) feel completely comfortable and enjoy their experience in your home. The best way to do this is to eliminate any discomforts (duh, right?).
In my few years of experience as a Mommy, I’ve found playgroup snacks to be one such source of discomfort. Everyone brings their own little package of whatevers, and because each kid has something different, each one wants what their buddy has.
Another source of Mommy discomfort? When your kid is spouting out that ever welcome phrase, “I’m hungry” and you’re out of snacks and don’t really feel comfortable diving into your host’s fridge to relieve the problem. To avoid all this (and because I think it’s fun–weirdo, I know) I try to make it my responsibility as the host to have a tasty tot snack all prepared for whatever little gathering we’re hosting.
Stress free Mommies + full bellied toddlers = loads of baby fun.
Easy Strawberry Jam
– 2 lbs cut up strawberries (leaves removed)
– 4 cups sugar
– 1/4 cup lemon juice
Begin by crushing strawberries in a big bowl–an excellent activity for an energy filled 3 year old. When the berries are good & mashed, (should have about 4 cups), add all ingredients to a sauce pan and cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Turn the heat up to “high” and get those berries to a rolling boil. Boil & stir frequently (almost constantly) until temperature reaches 220 F (or 10-15 minutes for those without a thermometer). Remove from heat, let cool, & refrigerate. The jam will be runny at first but will thicken up over the next 48 hours. And your toddler will be pleased as punch to share their accomplishment with their friends.
Thanks for letting me stop by!
