How Often Do You Have Family Company? Kids over to Play? Just Family Time

We don't have friends over often just b/c we don't normally think of it until the last minute. Generally, the kids play and the adults talk. I think we're homebodies though and not quite the norm!

At our last base we used to have people over all the time, at least twice a week, for bbqs, game night, or just drinks in the yard. Now that my kids are older and we are back in the US, it seems we never socialize with anyone, and no one ever comes over. I miss the UK, a lot.

Sadly never. My husband works full time and goes to school full time. We never see him. The only time wee have others over is for birthdays and holidays.

No one ever comes to my house regularly except for maybe christmas eve when it is my turn to host. Other than that we are working all the time different hours ( I'm day my husband does afternoons) So no one is never hear. My sister works alot of hours so we don't see much of each other. Maybe on the weekends at my mom's. I don't get over to her house much either because I'm busy on the weekends (shopping cleaning etc.). I guess its sort of sad.

We have people over all the time. My kids have playdates and go on playdates weekly. At least once week we have friends over with their kids since it is much easier than going out and getting a babysitter. Or we go to someone else's house.

Last night just my husband, kids and I went out to dinner which was fun because it is almost never just the 4 of us. We are big entertainers. Friends are a huge part of our lives. We don't have much family close so our friends are our "family"

We have two nights a week that we do Bible studies (either at our house or someone else's), and usually have one to two nights a week that we are hanging out with other families. Which makes about 3-4 nights a week devoted to friends. There are definitely weeks where it's more (one week we were going somewhere or having people here EVERY night...way too stressful), but there are also weeks where it may only be one or two nights!

When we get together with friends/neighbors we usually eat dinner, hang out, and maybe play games. If there is football on, chances are the guys watch that while the women chat.

We try to give ourselves at least one good night each week where we have 4 plus hours for family time. Some weeks we have multiple nights, and others we just can't fit it in!

Our son is just getting to the age where he will begin sports, so I know that pretty soon our schedules will get even more chaotic, but for now, this is what works for us!

The only couple we have over with a child is my brother and sister-in-law. They have a baby. In my opinion, it is just too hectic to prepare a dinner with company over and a bunch of kids running around and then have to clean it all up. I'd rather go out. We go out to dinner with 2 other couples and we all have children. We do that every few months. Honestly, we almost never have kids over to play. We have no one on our street that is the same age as my kids or their parents work and they don't get home from daycare until we are about to start dinner. We usually meet our friends at the park. We have a small group of moms and kids who all get along great and we always make plans for an outing with them after school, on weekends, or school holidays. Most of our time is family only. We love to go and do things together or just stay at home and do nothing.

Ok...looks like I am not the norm, but I am ok with that...hehehe. We have a married couple that we are friends with and occassionally babysit for (he is 7, my dd is 21 months, but has a HUGE baby crush on him ;-) I love babysitting him as he is an easy going kid and we get along great. Heck, he even entertains my dd. She usually passes out easily for the night when he visits. :-D
As for family, my SO's family rarely visits even though they are only minutes from us. We usually see them every Sunday though at his Grandpa's unless my mother is visiting. My mother comes to visit about once a month. She lives 3 hours away and loves getting her kid/grandkid fix. My SO doesn't mind since she usually helps do dishes and take care of dd while here. Lucky for me, they actually get along. Yippee. <3
My dd likes to be constantly on the go. Walks, shopping, parks, etc. Where she is young, playdates are a little premature although I do try to let her socialize with other kids when available. I hope to have a dinner/game/family night at least once a week once she is older. Can't wait to teach her scrabble.
The only serious sport the SO and I watch is Nascar. Huge race fan here. My dd seems to like it too. She got to hear one of the race cars in person start up. It was quite loud and she loved it.
We also have a roommate so my dd has no lack of playmates or tickle attacks (some of which she initiates) and laughter. I consider myself a blessed woman/mother.

Due to schedule conflicts with the few couples with kids we would want to have over, we rarely have other families over. When we do, it's dinner and games, or just talking. Sometimes the men will watch sports while the women talk. We frequently have other kids over, or my kids are going to their houses. We have a handful of families who all exchange babysitting and playdates. We also do a lot of family-only time. Sundays is mostly just family, but occasionally we'll have other couples or families over for dinner. Plus, one night a week we have family night. My kids are not involved in a lot of scheduled extra-curricular activities, so they have plenty of time for freeplay with friends, each other, and family activities. When it starts to feel out of balance and we haven't had enough family-only time, we'll declare a family day. And sometimes when we've had a lot of family time and need a break from each other (happens more during the colder months!) we'll schedule some friend time.

well, my theory is americans don't have time to socialize, or not trusting enough to want to open up to others, a lot of times, not always.
i try to organize a playdate when kids are off school (summer, holidays, days off etc). i usually end up doing the playdate at our house. i like having kids over for my kids to play with. so if it were up to me i would do it every chance i get.
reality is it doesn't happen as often as i would like. people are just too busy

I was never an entertainer other than neighborhood kids and our close neighbors. I dont think I ever even hosted thanksgiving or Christmas at my house. I like to be entertained, I dont like to be the hostess with the mostest.. it's just not my THANG.