This past weekend something really fun happened–without any prior plans we got together with new friends for a playdate at our house. We’d just met them at our daughter’s ballet class, where their daughter also goes, and after talking for a while realized that A. our kids liked each other and B. we liked each other. So we decided to have an impromptu playdate.

It was great–no pressure to have a clean house or put out a spread to feed everyone. The girls had some quick-to-make pasta, the adults opened up a bag of trail mix and quickly cut up some cheese and bread. No activities were planned and we didn’t stock up on arts and crafts supplies, which meant that the girls just… well, played. I think everyone had a great time. (It was the opposite type of experience from what Trish wrote about recently.)

This got me thinking: Being spontaneous is really something of a luxury for busy working moms. To keep all the balls of work, childcare, school, activities, and errands in the air an organized schedule is a necessity for most of us. I know that at our house this doesn’t leave much time to be spontaneous. We try to leave at least one weekend afternoon free from plans, but since weekends are the only time when we can see friends and get our daughter to activities, this doesn’t happen nearly enough. After the experience this weekend I am going to try and stick to a firm rule of at least one no-plans afternoon per weekend.

What about your family–do you do things on the fly or are most activities planned? Do you prefer it that way or do you miss some of the spontaneity that life without kids often included?