The upside of DH's constant travel as of late is being able to meet up with friends on short notice for a drink or dinner. It makes the days go more quickly and offers far better conversation (sorry pup). I've realized in meeting up with friends in the city and at their homes that I've gotten away from inviting folks over to our place.
As I pondered this, I realized it started out as not wanting to inconvenience friends with young kids. It was far easier for them for me to pop over to see them, sometimes with a full meal or just a bottle of wine in tow. Now as our friends kids are getting older, I'm realizing I might be rude and lazy in not inviting folks over.
Not wanting to have to obligate all of our friends into finding babysitters every time we invite them over, what's the best timing on having friends with kids over for dinner. Weekend? Lunch? Dinner? Menu? We love all our friends little ones, but without kids of our own we often miss out on the context clues of what easiest, best for our friends and their kids. Maybe they do want to come over sans kids. I have no idea.
So what's the best scenario, we want our friends to enjoy seeing us and vice versa, not cause more stress. So what do dinner parties look like with kids when hosted by non-kid friends?
I think it totally depends on the kid(s). We can usually keep Amelia up and out past her regular bedtime if she's out of the house or if someone is over for her to entertain, but if other kids aren't in bed right at their normal bedtime all hell breaks loose either that night or the next day. I think brunch is the easiest meal to do with kids as a general rule. You can time it around nap times as needed and there's always coffee, which I know I can't seem to get enough of these days.
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