How to create a supersized outdoor playdate for maximum summer fun (sponsored)

We are pleased to be part of CLIF Kid’s “Come Out to Play” campaign. This post is sponsored by CLIF Kids.

My weekend ended on a high note as Heather and I partnered with Wendy from Wendolonia to host a supersized outdoor playdate sponsored by CLIF Kid. It was so much fun, I would love to do it every Sunday afternoon.

Hula Hoops – not just for your hips

Here’s what worked so well:

We agreed on a 2-hour window for playing and we each invited a handful of friends for our kids.
We selected a local elementary school playground that is open to the public on weekends, so we had plenty of space, and the kids had access to standard playground equipmentÂ andÂ also a big blacktop area and grassy space to run around.
We brought some novel outdoor toys to engage the kids, fromÂ ladderball (for older kids) to a Wubble Bubble,Â pictured above (assume one-time use for this thing, but it’s worth it!)

My son said that what made it special was that you could “play and then get a snack and then play some more.” Admittedly, we wouldn’t usually set up such a fabulous snack situation for our kids, but since we were working with CLIF, and they gave us a supply ofÂ CLIF Kid Zbars and ZFruits to share, we turned snacking into a fun activity as well.

We had such a variety of flavors that we set up a CLIF Kids taste test with samples of each flavor, and invited the kids to try them out and VOTE!

We even posted the results so they could see if other kids liked the same things.

Parents were pretty happy with this guilt-free playdate because our kids were getting exercise, the parents were socializing in the shade, and everyone was snacking on foods that containÂ no high fructose corn syrup, synthetic preservatives or artificial flavors.

CLIF Kid challenges families to get outside and play every day. (The CLIF Kid Play Hub provides tips and tools for parents and communities to promote play for kids of all ages.)

Where do you go to play outside? Show us how your outdoor play activities using the #outtoplay hashtag on social media.

All photos courtesy of Wendy Copley, author of Everyday Bento.

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Whitney

RookieMoms.com co-founder Whitney lives with her husband, son, and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she writes about parenting, crafts, and activities that moms can do with babies in tow. She and Heather also publish 510Families.com, a site for East Bay parents.