Do you like to host playdates? Would you consider yourself a playdate whore? If not, you could be missing out. It’s raining out today and my daughter has a friend over. My son does too. (Two reasons why I’m able to write this without….) Actually, I just had to grab crafts for the girls. No, wait, they want a game. Now more crafts from the top shelf. And a snack. And drinks. (My son and his friend are still in the basement, happy as two pigs in poop playing video games.)

Here are 16 reasons why YOU should consider becoming a playdate whore:

1. Hosting a playdate means your kids are BUSY.
2. They are not watching television.
3. They are out of your hair.
4. You won’t have to hear the words, “I’m bored” escape their adorable mouths for at least an hour.
5. They don’t need to rely on you for every inch of entertainment.
6. You don’t have to hear: “Mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom, mom” every 10 minutes. (If you watch Family Guy, you can add “Mum, mum, mum, mum, mum, Lois, Lois Lois, Lois, Lois, Lois, Lois, Lois, Lois”.)
7. It means you can call your girlfriend, husband, mom, neighbor, aunt, sister, grandmother, brother, mother-in-law or any adult human being and carry on an adult conversation without being interrupted every five seconds with #6.
8. You can catch up on work.
9. See #2
10. Your kids are using their IMAGINATION. Although this may not apply to boys over the age of 11, as they throw the football, play XBox in the basement and snack on cheese crackers, keep in mind # 2 and # 9.
11. Because of #1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, you can actually FOLD and PUT AWAY the six loads of laundry that has piled up in your laundry room. Even while doing #7!
12. You can…. do the dishes (while eating chocolate chips over the sink).
13. You can…start on dinner (while eating chocolate chips over the sink).
14. You can…vacuum (or not).
15. You can check in on them, but avoid being too overbearing, because you need to get back to #7, #8, #11. #12, #13 and #14.
16. You can participate in the playdate, as I’ve done for years (from being the craft master to baking cookies). But through the years, I’ve come to appreciate #1-#15. After all, I am a playdate whore, right?