Announcing a Pregnancy to Family and Friends

So you just found out that you are going to be a parent. How exciting! How should you inform your family and friends? Here are some suggestions.
 

Many young, expecting couples decide to announce a pregnancy via a huge gathering of family and friends so they can tell everybody the great news at once.  This type of gathering is fun and allows everyone to hear the good news at one time.  The problem with this plan, however, is that the future parents don't get to see everyone's initial reaction to the news. If this is a concern, a more personal visit with each person may be the better choice.  One-on-one visits allow intimate conversations with each other and the satisfaction of seeing the joy on peoples’ faces when they hear the good news. Save the big parties for the baby showers or just have a huge gathering after everybody knows.

On a piece of paper, write a complete list of family and friends. Arrange these names in order by when each person or group will receive the good news. The parents of the expecting mother and father, if they are still living, should be the first ones to know the good news, since they will be the child's grandparents.

Decide who lives close enough to visit and who will receive a friendly call instead. Plan this carefully because good news travels fast. You don't want someone special to receive a phone call from another friend or family member before you are able to tell them. Plan the visits so that phone calls can be made to the out-of-town friends and family while you are on the road from one in-person visit to the other. This is the most efficient way of reaching more people in a shorter amount of time.

For parents and grandparents of the expecting parents, it is a good idea to present them with a gift; something with a significant reference to grandkids or great-grandkids. This gives an element of surprise so that you can watch the look on their face change as they realize what they are hearing. It is very exciting for everyone involved. A book about how to spoil grandkids or a picture frame or flip book with "grandkids" engraved on it are some suggestions.

Take pictures and video while visiting with friends and family and then write about the experience, including the date and time that each were told. These will make interesting entries into the baby's memory book or even a personal blog and you'll be glad that you took the time to do it when they read it years from now.  Don’t procrastinate and allow precious memories of this joyous occasion to fade into obscurity.

How to Plan a Vacation for a Large Group

Vacation time is here and you have a large group who can’t even agree on what toppings to order on a pizza.  How in the world will you ever plan a successful trip?  Don’t panic!  This can be much easier than it seems.

The first thing to do after deciding that the group wants to spend their vacation time together is to elect someone to take ownership of the trip and be the group’s leader.  This person should be easily accessible and be very organized because they will be responsible for delegating duties, performing extensive research, collecting funds to pay for big expenses, and arranging meetings and transportation.  Once the group decides on a leader, the next thing to determine is the destination.

Do you want to go somewhere close or far away?  The beach or the mountains?  A national park or Las Vegas?  Be democratic about your decision.  Majority rules!  Once the decision has been made, find out if anyone from the group has ever been to this destination before and ask for suggestions including accommodations, places to eat, and possible activities.  Use the Internet as a resource and find out as much as you can about where you are going.

Take a head count of all those who are going.  Choose your accommodations and what mode of travel you will need to use to get there.  Start calculating a price, based on the total expenses divided by the number of people going.  Let everyone know where you are going, in which establishment they will all be staying, how much each person will need to pay.  Set a firm deadline for payment that is well in advance of the hotel or resort’s cancellation policy.  Open a discussion with the group and ask for suggestions or complaints.  Try to be as patient with people as possible.

If your travel plan includes a flight, arrange to have seats that are close together.  If many people will be driving, carpool and have everyone chip-in on paying for gas.  Remember that half the fun in going on a trip is the journey itself.  Plan some activities to keep the group occupied along the way.

When you arrive, take another head count to be sure everyone made it.  Enjoy your time together and take lots of pictures or video so that you’ll have memories to share forever!  There’s a reason you chose to go on vacation with these people.  If it was just to get the group rate, then so be it, but do try to get along with everyone.  If conflict happens to arise during the trip, remember to be democratic and go with the majority.  Also, there’s nothing wrong with the group splitting into smaller segments to enjoy activities!

How to Make Trick-or-Treaters Feel Welcome

Halloween is just around-the-corner and soon, there will be tiny ghouls and ghosts wandering the streets in search of tasty treats. Let's make them feel welcome.

Many parents have changed the day that they take their youngsters trick-or-treating and/or they will begin while it is still light outside out of concern for everyone's safety. For those who continue to trick-or-treat after dark, a well-lit house sure is inviting. Turn on your outside lights before the sun goes down so that you don't forget. If you do not have landscape lights along your walkway, use this occasion as an excuse to install some. It's relatively easy to do.

While adults find scary, and even gruesome, Halloween decorations entertaining, young children are often frightened by them and will want to avoid them at all costs. The same goes for scary noises. Remember these things as you prepare your home and decide whether your theme will be scary or friendly. Both types of decorations are widely available in retail stores.

Buy the good candy (chocolate) and plenty of it. Yes, it may set you back a few dollars, but this holiday only comes once a year. The joy that you will give children is worth a little extra money on your part. Have a large bowl ready beside the door overflowing with the good stuff. If you have a dog, let them run around the back yard or watch TV in a back room during trick-or-treating hours. A barking dog behind the front door tends to make many people skittish.

Greet each trick-or-treater with a warm smile and friendly words. Compliment them on their costume. Be generous with your hand-out and they will remember you each year as "one of the good houses." Most of all have fun. Happy Halloween!

Throw a Halloween Lock-In Party

It's that spooky time of year again when ghost and ghouls walk the streets in search of fun and yummy treats. Keep children safe and sound this year while entertaining them and create long-lasting memories with a Halloween lock-in party!

A lock-in party is an exciting way to entertain a large number of children, while keeping them safe from the outside world. During the Halloween season, a lock-in is the perfect way to celebrate with a large group of children, while reassuring parents that their little ones will not be roaming along dark streets, accepting candy from complete strangers.

The first step is to acquire a building for the event. This building must be safe and all entrances must be capable of being locked in a way that outsiders cannot sneak in and insiders cannot sneak out. Many churches have family centers that serve this purpose perfectly and will allow members of the church to use the facilities for free. A perfect building will be equipped with a kitchen, a large room or rooms for sleeping, a gymnasium, adequate restrooms, and many smaller rooms for separate events.

Well before the event is scheduled to take place, the coordinator of the lock-in should determine approximately how many people it will be possible to accommodate during the lock-in. Be sure to also check fire safety codes and set limits to the number of people who will be able to attend based upon these limitations. As you begin to generate interest in the event, try to determine the total number of people that will need to be fed and calculate the total cost of refreshments. It is a good idea to charge a small amount for each guest to cover these expenses unless an organization or church is willing to sponsor the event. Collect permission slips for all participants who are under the age of 18. Verify that a phone number and contact name is available for each child. Be sure to arrange for enough adult volunteers to be present during the entire event to assist with the festivities and to ensure the safety of all guests. It is not a bad idea to hire a security guard to watch the building and to regulate who comes and goes through the main entrance.

In the days leading up to the lock-in, begin decorating the rooms of the building. The adult volunteers will be very useful for this work. Orange, black, and white streamers, fake spider webs, and large sheets of black paper make good decorations. If colored lighting is available, it may be used to create eerie effects. Plan which games and activities will take place in each room. Some suggestions are bobbing for apples, a cake walk, a bean bag toss, and even a maze or a small haunted house. Another popular idea is to create a fake jail cell in one room. Play a game where you have people "arrested" and put in the jail cell for 5 minutes at a time. Allow enough time for other recreation as well. Be sure there are some basketballs and misc. sports equipment available in case you run out of Halloween games. Depending on the age group, you can also organize some games like "Duck, duck, goose" and other physical activities that will keep the children occupied. Also do some research and come prepared to tell some scary and some funny ghost stories in case there are moments when the children become bored.

Buy all food supplies and drinks just before the event. Be sure to make some treat bags to send home the next morning with each child. If the building has a sound system, prepare a recording with some scary sounds to play randomly throughout the evening. Be sure to set a time for everyone to be present for the lock-in and also have a time when the doors will lock. Arrange a time for everyone to go to sleep and a time when the doors will open the next day for parents to pick up their children. Develop a complete set of rules for the event and post them on a sign for all to see as they enter the building.

The night of the event, be sure that, as the event coordinator, you are constantly monitoring the activities in all areas of the building. Delegate this task among the adult volunteers as well. Have fun, but be mindful that the responsibility of the safety of each guest is in your hands. If anyone becomes too disruptive, use the contact information for that individual and contact the parents, regardless of the time of night.

Host a Spooky Halloween Karaoke Party

This year, make your Halloween party more exciting than ever by hosting a "Spooky Halloween Karaoke Party."

Decide where to have the party and create invitations. It is a good idea to co-host the party with other people, which takes some of the stress and expense out of planning the party. If nobody owns a karaoke machine, find a party rental store that carries them and pick out a selection of spooky classics. If all else fails and you can't find a karaoke machine, you can just have music playing and your guests can sing along and perform.

When designing the invitations, specify that all attendees should wear costumes. Decorate the party area the night of the party and prepare some refreshments. Another good idea is to collect a "pizza fund" and order delivery at some point in the night when your guests are hungry.

 In addition to a costume contest, also have a karaoke singing contest and award the most entertaining singer with a prize. Don't start the party immediately with karaoke singing, though. Let your guests enjoy some non-karaoke music first. For the adult crowd, music by Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, My Chemical Romance, and Megadeth are good for getting the party cranked up. Don't waste your money on the "scary sounds" CDs. Most adults find them to be annoying after five minutes and would rather hear music.

Be mindful of your neighbors as your party goes late into the night. It is a good idea to invite them to the party so there will be nobody nearby to disturb!

Diffusing a Family Argument

It’s not uncommon for family members to eventually get on each others nerves.  Something as simple as a misunderstanding can erupt into a major fight.  How can you calm everyone down and get things back to normal?

The first thing to do is separate the people who are fighting.  If things escalate too far, you may not be able to stop the fight and people could be hurt emotionally or worse, physically.

Talk to both people separately and find out exactly why they are angry.  If a misunderstanding has occurred, this will bring things to light.  If both parties have a legitimate gripe, then it’s going to take more work to find a solution.

Try to remain objective and don’t take sides.  If other people try to intervene, decide whether they are helping or hurting the situation and if they are making things worse, encourage them to stand down.

Speak to each person and remind them that you love them and that they are family.  Get everyone calmed down enough to talk.  If it looks like that will not happen, encourage everyone to separate and spend some time cooling down.

If everyone goes their separate ways for the time being, ask that they immediately write down as many of the details about the situation as they possibly can.  They should also write down as many ideas as they can for resolving the situation.

Sometimes, it just takes time to heal the wounds caused by a major argument.  If this is the only option, then just wait it out.  Remind everyone how important family is and stay in touch with both sides.