Playdates Are Serious Business

My kids are always coming home from school and telling me that "So-and-So wants me to come play at her house. When can I go?" or "Can my friend What's-His-Name come over on Saturday?"

To which I respond: "Did you get her phone number?" "Did you give him our phone number?"

Sometimes this is met with a blank stare, the child in question having forgotten again that I need that sort of information in order to set anything up. Sometimes they tell me that they wrote down a phone number and put it on a piece of paper. But having seen the tiny scraps of paper with random numbers (sometimes enough to make up a complete phone number, but not always) and no name attached that my kids bring home from their friends, I assume they are sending the same sort of scraps home with others.

And then they wonder why the other mom and I never get in touch to set up time to play.

So when a coupon for free (pay only shipping & handling!) business cards came in the mail a few weeks ago, I had a sudden brainstorm. Business cards for the kids!

Now all the kids have stash of cards in their backpacks to hand out when they and their friends start talking playdates. It doesn't solve the problem of the paper scraps my kids bring home, but at least it gets my contact info to the mom in a way she can use.