Have your kids pass these playdate cards out to their friends at school, so they can get together with their friends over summer break. Just add your child’s name, your name, and your phone number on the kids’ business card template to share contact info with other parents!
Playdates, much like adult dates, can be a bit overwhelming. How do you get a hold of the other persons contact details? When’s the right time to get in touch? When is it convenient for everyone?
And when kids and multiple parents are involved, it gets even more complicated. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve not bothered to organize a playdate on more than one occasion because I didn’t know the parents and I just couldn’t face the admin..!
I’ve always dreamed about having an assistant to sort all this stuff out for me! But, with the help of playdate contact cards, at least one organizational challenge can be made easy.
What Is A Kid’s Playdate Contact Card?
I think the best way to describe them is business cards for kids. And kids are in the business of playing! So when they’re at school, an extracurricular activity, or even a party (the kids version of a networking event!), they have a set of playdate contact cards they can hand out to potential new friends.
They’re pre-populated with all the correct information, so you’re never forced to have any awkward interactions with other parents – aaaand you never accidentally call a random guy named Bruce, because your kid’s new friend got a digit wrong on their phone number….!
You just give your son or daughter a little stash of cards and every playdate you make afterwards will be a breeze.
When Do I Use A School Kid Playdate Card?
From first day of school introductions to breaking the ice, these little contact cards are so useful for kids of all ages.
New kid on the block: Your kid arrives at a new school, starts a new class, or changes grades. They’re super excited, introducing themselves to everyone, and trying to remember lots of new names. They make a new friend, you half-catch their name during babbled conversations around the dinner table, and you promise to have said friend over for a playdate.
But life is busy, and you forget to catch their parents in the playground, or you just have no idea which face you’re looking for in a sea of slightly frazzled-looking Moms. So you end up never getting their details, the playdate never happens, and the friendship never really gets past first base.
But, if your kid has a few playdate contact cards stashed in their book bag? Different story. The playdate happens, and they have a new best friend for life.
Surprise attack: Children are like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. They work in pairs, and like to sneak up on you for a surprise attack. It happened to my friend just yesterday. “Mom, can Finn and I have a playdate?” “Sure, when–” Before she could even finish her sentence, the answer came in harmony: “NOW!”
Kids are awful for this. But a surefire way to stop these shady side deals (that kids make amongst themselves and then spring on you!) is to use the playdate business cards. You can include some times and dates that actually work for you, but the kids still feel like they’re in control.
Scrap paper phone numbers: When my kids were little, they were terrible for passing handwritten phone numbers on torn pieces of notebook paper. They were impossible to dissect – is that a 1 or a 7? What’s that number, partially obscured by ink and gum?!
And there was always something slightly uncomfortable about it, like it didn’t seem totally legitimate to be passing scrappy numbers around class. And what if it ended up in the hands of an unwanted potential playmate?!
Having your kids hand out playdate business cards keeps things nice and tidy – and official.
Break the ice: Some kids are gregarious and make friends easily. Others need a little more help. For those that are shy or nervous, especially in school around other children, playdate business cards are a great way to break the ice and provide an easy mode of one-on-one communication.
Keep in touch: Younger kids don’t have phones of their own and, sadly, the days of writing letters back and forth are behind us! So when summer time comes, and school’s out, and they have to leave all of their friends, many end up missing out on the social interaction they get during the school year.
Playdate contact cards are a great thing to hand out at the end of term so parents have all the deets they need to hand, and the kids are reminded to keep in touch.
This is also a great trick if your child is moving schools and worried about losing touch with old friends. As long as you’re not moving too far away (!), it can be a great way to bridge the gap and relieve anxiety.
How to Use the Playdate Cards Templates
I’ve created a range of different free printable designs to choose from. There are more simple options, like “Let’s set up a playdate” or more playful ones: “Have your people call my people.” They’re designed to be funny, light-hearted and a great way to break the ice, for parents and kids alike.
- Download – Choose your favorite design and download for free.
- Add your details – Type in your name, kids name and phone number.
- Print – You can either print onto paper and mount onto card for more durability, or print directly onto a thick cardstock (just like a business card). And, if you want to be really fancy, you could laminate them. You could just use paper, but there’s a high likelihood they’ll end up torn and dogeared pretty quickly, and that kind of defeats the purpose!
- Trim
- Hand out – And watch the playdate requests fly in!
Free Printable Playdate Cards
I have 5 different templates for you to choose from, and you can type directly in to all of the PDFs so they look official – like an actual printed business card for kids!
How to Download and Print:
- Click the dark teal links below for the playdate cards that you want to download. A new window will open with the PDF.
- Type your child’s name, your name, and your phone number into the light blue boxes. *NOTE – The blue boxes will not print out on the final design. They’re just there to show you where to type.
- Make sure your printer settings are set to “Fit to printable area” to make sure that your PDF prints correctly. Or for US Letter size paper, set to “Actual Size”.
- Print the cute playdate cards on white card stock.
LINKS TO DOWNLOAD THE PLAYDATE CARDS
Here’s the Number… You know what to do! Playdate Card
“Have Your People Call My People” Kid’s Cards
“For a Good Time, Call Me” Playdate Cards
“Let’s Set Up a Playdate” Cards
