Using Time Wisely

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Birthday Party: Planning in Advance

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With three growing children, I usually have birthday party ideas on the brain. About 6 months before their big day, I am questioning my kids for birthday ideas. My son chose a baseball theme, and my oldest daughter picked Strawberry Shortcake.  Though these themes may change (more than once), I have an idea of what they want, and they are working to choose a theme.

Why do I have them choose so far in advance? To help me save money, time & energy! With an early theme, I can:

  1. Research party games and gather materials. Using a search engine (like Google, Swag Bucks, etc.), I can find a wealth of birthday party ideas. As I have spare minutes, I can quickly research some ideas.
  2. Plan the cake. Since I bake and decorate the cakes, I need to be prepared with the cake pans, ingredients, directions, and estimated time frames.
  3. Select party favors. With advance notice, I can keep an eye out for great deals. For example, the $4 pack of 100 baseball cards found during a shopping trip to Walgreens, or the $1 items in the Dollar Spot section at Target.
  4. Purchase birthday gifts. While scanning the weekly flyers, I can look for great deals on items that fit the chosen theme. A year ago Christmas, I found my oldest daughter’s birthday present for this year. The item was on clearance, and I thought she might like the Strawberry Shortcake collection. The item has been stored away, and I will be wrapping it up within the next few months. By purchasing in advance I was able to use my time wisely. I do not need to consider her birthday gift. I can cross it off my To Do list for her birthday party. Having an item already completed before the serious planning begins is a great time saver.

The advanced planning helps me to save money by finding items on sale prior to the week of the event. By purchasing early, I can spread out the cost and save myself from paying full price. I save energy from worrying about what to add to the goody bags or feeling overwhelmed by all the planning and organizing that needs to be done. Then I save time by gathering items as I am shopping. I won’t need to spend a day running around for all the party decorations.

Do you plan your parties in advance? What tips can you offer to help us save money, time & energy while preparing for a party?

Attending the Great Harvest Field Trip

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Having scheduled the field trip for my son’s class, I was ready to assist his teacher up to and throughout the event. Taking a step back from scheduling and coordinating to assisting someone else takes some time. This transition is much like preparing for a vacation. You spend so much time packing, scheduling, and remembering, and then you leave. After assuring yourself that the lights are off and all responsibilities are covered, you can calm down, relax, and enjoy the vacation.

After transitioning from preparing to going, I was ready to help make this field trip fun and beneficial for all. On the day of the event,

1. Arrive early. I arrived 15 minutes early. My car was ready to transport my son. The other mom arrived early as well to get car seats setup in her vehicle. When the teacher was ready, the other mom and I were ready to assist getting students into the vehicles.

2. Look for ways to assist. Since neither the teacher nor the other mom had her camera, I pulled out our camera from the diaper bag and began snapping pictures.

3. Make introductions. The teacher had not met the owner. Being familiar with both of them, I was able to introduce them to each other. Then I stepped back allowing them to form a plan for the tour.

4. Follow directions. When the teacher gave directions, I assisted the children in following those instructions. The other mom and I helped wash the students’ hands before handling the bread. We also helped guide them through the bakery at the different stops.

5. Traffic Control. As the teacher lead the way, I helped to keep the students moving in the right directions. Some will get distracted, and a simple, “Let’s catch up to the class” can help keep the student with the class.

6. Remain available. When the teacher went to the counter to purchase a loaf of bread, I helped keep the children occupied until the teacher returned.

7. Enjoy. I listened and learned about how Great Harvest Bread Company makes their bread. Their system takes many steps, but each employee handles his part and the final product is a beautiful loaf of bread.

How nice it was to enjoy the tour of the bakery after spending time organizing the event. Good planning helps make the event run smoothly. Spending time planning is time wisely spent. On the day of the event, I was able to reap the benefits of my labor by enjoying the tour and taking time to learn the process.

Do you also help your child’s teacher by scheduling or attending field trips? What’s the hardest part of the event for you? Once I get the transition complete, the event takes off. Wishing you lots of success as you help teachers with field trips!

Scheduling the Great Harvest Field Trip

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When my son’s teacher announced that she was considering field trips for a Community Helper unit, I recommended the Great Harvest Bread Company. If you are not familiar with this franchise, I highly recommend them. The bread is delicious. Each loaf is baked that day and from scratch. The price per loaf ranges from $4 to $7. I have purchased the apple cinnamon swirl bread and the blueberry cheesecake bread as gifts. Check here to see if there is a local Great Harvest Bread Company near you.

Our local Great Harvest store offers story time on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. The owner reads 3 books interactively with the kids, presents each child with a sugar cookie, and awards large (about 4 inches in diameter) cookies for kids who have returned their coloring pages from the last story time. (If you missed the last story time, you can download the current coloring page from their website.)

Knowing how friendly the owner of our Great Harvest is toward kids, I knew the students in my son’s class would love the opportunity to see the break-making process. To help my son’s teacher, I did the following:

1.       Coordinate with the teacher. I e-mailed his teacher, suggested Great Harvest for the field trips, and offered to help plan it. She replied and quickly accepted my offer to help.

SIDE NOTE: Most teachers love to have extra help when planning events. If you can give of your time to help, then please do. Our teachers need all the assistance they can get.

2. Research and inquire. When I took the girls to story time at the Bread Company, I arrived early to speak to the owner. I asked him about a possible field trip. He confirmed that he gave some tours. After discussing the cost, number of students, time frame, and age group, the owner decided that this visit was possible for this class.

3. Report back to teacher and check availability. After getting the information, I reported back to the teacher that the bread company was an option. I then asked for some possible dates and times for the field trip. Once the teacher supplied me with the possible dates, then I contacted the owner of our Great Harvest.

4. Schedule field trip and make note of special requests. The owner checked his calendar, and a date was determined. I then asked if there were any special requests he had for us. To my surprise, he had the following requirements:

a. The girls’ hair pulled back out of their faces.

b. All children to wear short-sleeved shirts.

c. Due to the height of the kneading table, no children under the age of 5. (Younger siblings were not able to attend.)

5. Write out information and forward to teacher. With the field trip scheduled, I wrote out all the requirements, cost, directions, contact information, date, and any other information I received from the owner. I then forwarded that information to the teacher.

6. Be available to assist teacher. When the day of the field trip arrived, we ended up getting snow. Since there was no school, we did not attend the field trip. Knowing that the snow was coming, the teacher called and postponed the trip with the owner. After the snow day, I offered to help reschedule the field trip, if needed. Again, the teacher took my offer. I then received new available dates from the teacher and coordinated with the Great Harvest owner on a new date. Then I let the teacher know. Once the date was set, I remained available to assist the teacher with anything else she needed.

7. Volunteer to chaperone/drive to field trip. If at all possible, please attend the event you plan. If there are any questions, you, as the contact, may be called upon to help. Knowing that I needed a babysitter for my daughter, I setup that arrangement early and then offered to help chaperone and drive on the field trip.

Setting up this field trip took me a little time here and little time there. I seized the opportunity to help out my son’s teacher, and used my time wisely to plan the event. Next week, I will share how I was able to assist the teacher while on this field trip to the Great Harvest Bread Company.

Delegating Responsibilities

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Being a perfectionist, I prefer to handle all aspects of an event. If the event is too large, and I need help, then I get choosy about to whom I delegate. Here are my parameters:

1.       Use someone I have worked with before: If I have seen a person follow through with his/her responsibilities and complete them to the best of their ability, then yes, I want to delegate to this person. I would trust this individual with a large task.

2.       Use someone who is recommended to me: If the recommendation comes from someone I trust, then I would delegate to this person. I would put him/her on a team with others to evaluate their work ethic for the next event.

3.       Use a new volunteer: I will not turn away help. If I don’t know the person, then I would have the individual help someone else who needs some extra assistance in completing his/her task.

Why am I so picky? As coordinator, the event is in my hands. My goal is to provide the best event possible. I will use the best volunteers to oversee the main parts of the event: food, entertainment, advertising/printing, decorating, etc. I will then place others to help those overseers based on what I know or others know of their skill set.

Organizing Dinner with Friends – Part 3

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Today I will conclude my entertainment checklist with the last two steps. If you have missed either or both of the other posts in this series, you can view them here: Part 1 and Part 2.  Now, that I have all the ingredients on hand, I am ready to execute my plan on the day of the dinner.

STEP 5: Make preparations.

  • On the day of the dinner, I do a quick clean up of the downstairs. I pickup the toys, sweep the floors and vacuum, and clean our half bathroom in the morning.
  • After lunch, I clean up the kitchen and set the table(s).
  • Then I begin baking the ham according to the recommended time frame. If my dinner is at 6:00 p.m. and the ham takes 2-3 hours to bake, then I put the ham in the oven at 2:00 p.m. The ham will finish baking around 5:00 p.m. I will removed the ham from the oven and allow it to cool. Then about 5:45 p.m., my hubby will carve it and place it on a platter.
  • While the ham is baking, I prepare the other side dishes giving myself time for interruptions. Once the ham is out of the oven, I can then bake any side items needed, i.e. sweet potatoes or dessert.
  • Wait for our guests to arrive.

STEP 6: Enjoy the evening.

I then relax, spend time with our friends, and enjoy watching the children play. My wonderful husband clears off the table and stacks the dishes in the sink. I will help put the food away, and then we relax. Cleanup is dealt with on Saturday morning.

This list has been adjusted and changed into a system that works for me. By organizing a plan, I can spend my time executing that plan rather than spending time worrying if everything will get done.

What items would you add or subtract from this list to save you time when entertaining guests?