Friday, June 5, 2009

Survival in Summer Festivities

By Ian Kleine

Summer is the season of frolicking, fun and pure mayhem. With mayhem and chaos comes the price, of course, of heavy duty trouble and danger. One can only live off so much adrenaline that before everything dawns on you, you have a whole load of messes to clean up and problems to fix. But limiting fun would just make you look like a prude, and would often mess with your style in trying to initiate a balance between clean fun, and discipline amidst the revelries of both kids and kids at heart.

For one, the trouble starts right in the car. Control your kids by limiting the amount of sugar-laden treats that you would hand out for them. Gummy bears and worms, frosties, ice cream and any of those nasty sticky stuff are a big no-no. Not only do they stick in the leather of your car seats so bad that you might opt for refurbishing, but they also turn your kids into hyperactive, sugar-rushed monsters. If possible, avoid artificial sugar.

Review everything. And I mean, everything. Have your map handy. Have your local newspaper clippings for the festival, handy. Heck, have your bills and change handy. These little things, though seemingly insignificant at a point of view, will hackle you at every chance that they will get.

Sooner or later, they will pile up, and these little annoyances will aggravate you when the time is right. And you know what that means. An aggravated you equals a monster. And a monster is equal to a party pooper.

Bring mini-me's along with you. Mini-me's are what I tag my little water cooler, jug or tumbler. Basically anything that could hold a source of refreshment for a sweltering day in a festival (specifically those of the outdoor kinds). Rehydration is important while plowing through a festival. And we don't want anyone collapsing because someone forgot to drink his ration of water.

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