Hard at Play

Elsewhere,Meenakshi Aggarwal,an advocate with the Punjab and Haryana High Court,organised a do for both children and mothers. “With children of all age groups invited,play cots,slides,board games,sketch pens and paper were spread out in different corners of the lawn,” says the mother of twins,Sairah and Abhir. The one housing about 15 children was on the theme Fitness First.

“Play dates are planned keeping in mind the increased demand for children’s safety and because of the busy schedules of the parents,” says Pallavi Gulati,working with the American Express,who hosted a ‘Disney World’ play date for her daughter Saira and her seven friends. “This is the fifth such event I am hosting and I always decide on the number of children I want to invite,whom to invite and the timings of the event,” points out Gulati. “Also of utmost importance is to check out the food preferences of the children,” chips in Dr Anuradha Gupta,who organized a splash pool date for her son Araav Gupta. With classmates from Gurukul School and a few neighbors invited,there was pot luck. “I decided on a few games and scattered some play and activity materials around for fun and excitement,” she tells us.

Also popular among parents are story telling events. “One child reads a story book to the rest while others recite stories related to the lead character,” says Shalini Ahuja,a housewife,whose six-year-old son Ankit is now an expert at them. “But the basic idea is to let children meet,enjoy,play and if possible orchestrate their own theme,” she says.