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Spiritual Discovery blog

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

A Fire Pit and Some Rubber Duckies!

Tim,

We had a great evening.

I told my neighbor, Donna about what we were planning on doing. She wanted to help. I said, "All we need is a fire pit". She said she had one we could use. Donna also joined us since her husband was out of town.

We brought the nice chairs from the back deck. We circled them around the fire pit. We had a table with hot chocolate and coffee with the favors.

For the kids, we had a duck pond. All the ducks had number on the bottom. The kids told us the number and we gave them there prizes. The prizes were pens, highlighters, sticks, candy and super-superballs. All the kids got glow sticks and candy and a spider ring as well. The kids had fun.

Conversations were flowing with the neighbors. Even if they didn't want coffee or hot chocolate, they still stopped to talk. Some stayed for a long time and we talked and laughed. It wasn't long until the neighbor on the other side of us joined us as well for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning, another neighbor was walking by and started talking about the fun and hot chocolate that she heard we had at our house.

We were tired when if was all over, but it was worth it all.

In Christ,
Dianne and Mark

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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Front Yard Assault

So you don't know a Brazilian Guitarist? Can you still make your front yard a really fun place for kids and adults? Just ask yourself a few questions like these and your plan will emerge:

1- What do kids want when they come to your home? In a word. Candy. But they're also looking for a good time and welcome some creativity in the process. Consider how you can use your front porch or your garage to make the candy grab more fun. Play a simple game like a ring toss or bean bags. Keep it short and simple.

2- What do parents do while kids are retrieving candy? Usually they wait out at the end of the sidewalk. If you want to get to know parents, think about hanging out at the end of your driveway near the side-walk so you can meet people you don’t know and greet those you do.

3- What is Halloween weather typically like? Cold. Those same parents you're talking with would love a hot drink while their kids are on your front porch. Get a couple of thermoses each of hot chocolate and coffee out there with you at the end of your sidewalk.

4- What do I do if I can't be on my front porch and at the end of my sidewalk at the same time? Get help! Team up with people in your neighborhood or someone from your small group who doesn’t live in a kid-popular neighborhood.
Stay tuned for more ideas...

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