Zeno's Bar & Grill

Double helping of guilt for Isabella Penn today. Yesterday was play date time: time for me to feel like a slacker for failing to organize a lovely activity or outing.

I decided to consult the internet to find out what the experts recommend. Probably the most over-the-top advice I found was at funplaydates.com, which sells information packets with craft and snack food suggestions in themes such as “Alien Playdate” (with alien-shaped French toast as a snack), or “Haunted Hollow.” Even Babycenter suggests “Set up a play dough table… stock a small sandbox or sand table with shovels and pails; or put out paper and crayons or finger paints. Give the kids two or three options and let them drift from one activity to another.” These did not make me feel a whole lot better.

I wonder if my daughter’s friend’s parents will be horrified when they find out that the kids spent much of the four hour play date making a fort in the bathtub.

--Melanie