Neighborhood BBQ

Good Friday is a Holy day. I would think many would not be up for a neighborhood party on this day. i know I would not be. You might want to add meatless dishes to the menu for those that will attend and observe meatless Fridays, especially Good Friday.

How many kids and what are the ages? That would help. If they are,little, what you have is fine.

I like the idea of a box of dollar store stuff and the water balloons. I would think that would be enough with bubbles, sidewalk chalk and easter egg hunt - kids should be able to entertain themselves in a group - tag, mother may I, red light green light, foot races, hide and seek, etc. They shouldn't require too much from you. I would caution you about the swings - kids walking in front or behind and being knocked down. With so many kids and so few swings, I would just say they are not being used. Also, the plastic golf club thing - I know with my bunch, they would use them as weapons!

i would not go overboard planning activities. kids can and should be able to entertain themselves and each other. as a kid i'd have been very put out to have to do planned activities instead of being allowed to play let's pretend.
have the bubbles and sidewalk chalk available, and an easter egg hunt is always fun and welcome. but other than that, enjoy your BBQ and your friends and let the kids do their own thing!
:) khairete
S.

I'm Christian and I would love that invite to your home. As for kid-friendly games, include ONE child-friendly DVD to keep them entertained for 1.5 hours.

I think that as long as you have general outdoor toys (jump ropes, soccer balls, a foot ball, etc.) that what you have plus an Easter egg hunt would be good. I'm with the others in that I wouldn't attend because I'd be fasting and my kids who don't fast wouldn't be eating meat, and it's a somber day for us. That said, presumably your guests have already agreed to come and see it as a day off instead of a somber day and are looking forward to having some springtime fun, so enjoy!

Nice to see another mom on here proclaiming her love for Christ. Amen!

We never see our friends at Easter because we are always celebrating with family BUT for the past few years off and on we've celebrated Passover with our neighbors, either with a full sit down Passover Seder dinner or just a "mini Seder" with all the elements passed around on a plate. Its a great neighborhood outreach.

Anyway, back to your question, we have BBQs w/our neighbors all the time. There's tons of things you can do to help keep kids of all ages entertained but the main thing not to plan too much that requires parental supervision/involvement like a bounce house or firecrackers. If you're looking for simple, try setting up stations around the yard like....
- water guns
-horseshoes
-bean bag toss
-bubbles basketball (hang a hula hoop like a net and try to sink your bubbles)
-color the fence with chalk
-paint the fence with cup of water and paint brushes
-marble bowling (set up some glass bottles like bowling pins and kids have to shoot marbles between bottles without hitting them
-mini golf (nail paper plates/cups on a path in the grass and have kids try to knock in plastic golf balls w/plastic golf clubs)

There's so many non TV/video game ideas out there!

One year we had a competition with the moms and dads on who could eat their large chocolate bunny the quickest (I won...yes, I'm bragging).

We love having sauce surveys at our BBQs. One year we bought different bottles of sauce and had everyone vote. Another time we bought sauce for local BBQ places around town and had a vote.

hth!

Friday is Good Friday. Does anyone you have invited do meatless Fridays during Lent? Also, some people consider this a very somber day in the religious year. You never mentioned food for the kids and I hope you have something planned. For their dessert, you could get them to decorate some oval sugar cookies with easter egg designs. Have plenty of wet wipes to get their hands clean before and after decorating and eating! Depending on the kids' ages you could also plan some board games to keep them from running all over the place.

Sounds like you have it handled! I bet they would lovee an egg hunt. With the swing, bubbles and chalk they should be able to amuse themselves he rest of the time. Bored kids need to learn how to be un-bored by themselves. :-)

I don't know why having a party on Good Friday would be a problem. You already invited people and have a headcount, so your neighbors obviously think it is a good plan.

Some of the local churches of various denominations have advertised their picnics and such for after services, so there is a lot of celebration going on throughout the weekend.

I was invited to a BBQ this Friday and I did not find the invite offensive.
I am going to make a water blob for the kids. We have one toddler that tends to get bored rather quickly when playing with the other kids. I think he will really enjoy it. http://www.homemadetoast.com/2013/07/how-to-make-leak-pro.... I was going to put glitter in the water as well. And I did not plan on making it as large as the blogger did.
I was also thinking of doing an Easter egg hunt-and providing them with colored paper bags and have them search for the color that matches their bag. That way the older kids don't end up with all the eggs.

I don't know that I wouldn't do it on Saturday instead. A lot more time to visit and enjoy everyone.

Also, the kids are going to want to run around and play. Giving them action things to do might keep them entertained for a moment but they just want to play more than likely.

Renting a bouncy castle is always fun depending on the age range of the kids.

Have your neighbors RSVP'd already? I know many Christians don't do anything specific on Good Friday to commemorate the day, but there are also many who do. We go to Good Friday services at church in the evening. We always have a Tenebrae service that evening, which is very somber.

If you have RSVPs and know you will have kids there, it really depends on their ages what I would recommend. Hula Hoops, while old fashioned and simple, are usually pretty fun and the kids like to challenge each other to see how many loops they can do.

A ball to play catch. Water/sand table

How old are the kids? I would go on Pinterest and put "Easter games" in the search. That site has become my "go-to". Have fun!

Definitely an Easter egg hunt. That would be fun!

Water balloon toss.

Yes, to the bubbles & sidewalk chalk.

-Big, soft rubber balls to kick around the yard.
-4 plastic kid golf sets (they come w/plastic clubs & plastic balls)
-Little orange pylons for an easy obstacle course.
-a pinata?
-a trunk filled w/cheap Dollar Store items for dress up. (The girls really
enjoy this.) You can have wands, crowns, wings, aprons, sheriff badges,
cowboy hats, baseball caps, wigs, clown noses etc.
-Have a bin with Matchbox cars
-temporary sandbox you make/put together w/buckets, mini shovels etc.
-coloring station outside at a small table w/water paints, paper, coloring
crayons etc.
-hula hoops
-bean bag toss (you can make these w/square fabric & beans)
-craft table (wood pcs you paint etc)

We have several neighborhood potlucks during the year.
Corn hole is popular and neighbors have several sets.
The kids and adults play it all the time.

I'd do an Easter egg hunt, the chalk and bubbles, and make sure you have a jump rope, football,etc available and that should be fine!

Frisbees
Jump ropes
A football

Honestly, you needn't worry about trying to plan too many activities for kids. Put a bunch of kids together in a back yard with no toys and they'll play tag or hide and seek.