We survived our 18 heads in beds this past weekend and boy was it fun, exhausting, and yet, rewarding. As I sit in the quiet house right now, I am reflecting on the laughter, the huddled groups sharing stories, the games, the massive amounts of food consumed, and the children running through at top speeds. Seriously, I have spent the last few days in recovery mode sleeping a lot!
As much work as it was, I would do it all over again. But, it is always important to reflect on what worked, what could be better, and how to make it wonderful for the next year. Here are some thoughts to ponder after the gathering:
✅ The planned meals paid off! I put a pen to paper down to every item that was needed to pull off the meals. My massive trip to Costco with a list in hand (itemized by food type) made it doable.
✅ Making sure we had a lot of disposable cups, napkins, plates, etc. While not a big fan of these, for this event, it was a lifesaver. We kept all of the disposables in one area in cute baskets where everyone could easily access them.
✅ Having several refrigerators was key! Luckily, we have an extra refrigerator in the garage that allowed us to store the extra drinks, freeing up the main refrigerator for all of the food. If you are entertaining a lot of guests, having adequate space for cold items is a must. Large, ice chests were also great to have on hand.
✅ It was important to ensure we had plenty of towels, sheets, pillows, etc. for every guest. I went room by room before everyone arrived with my checklist. When they all descended, we were ready.
✅ Creating a family or event Group on Facebook. Having a private group provided an excellent way to communicate easily for everyone. We posted questions about specific needs, what to bring, and more. These groups are easy to set up and it paid off big time for us.
✅ Be intentional about not planning too many activities. The goal is to have everyone together. If you try and cram too many things in, this will create stress and that is not the goal. The goal is to be together and to be relaxed.
✅ When everyone leaves, don't kill yourself getting everything back to normal right away. Take some time to self-care, rest, and recover. Do a little bit of laundry each day and know that it will get done eventually.
I have almost finished the mounds of laundry, re-made beds, and spiffed up the house again. It was all worth it and I will once again host this event next year. Happy summer everyone!
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