My quick and cozy Election Party plan 2020.
It’s 1am and I’m waiting for the laundry to finish
so I can throw it in the dryer,
And finally sleeeeep.
As I wait, I thought I’d hop in here to tell you a little story.
{Thanks for helping me stay awake.}
I’m not sure if you noticed ~ but it’s an election year.
:0
(Don’t worry, this post will stay G-rated.)
If your home is anything like ours,
there are lots of dinner discussions happening,
and lots of political party signs around the neighborhood,
and maybe sometimes someone is shouting at the television.
Maybe just here.
And it’s me.
But there are all these little eyes watching us, momma.
And we only get so many elections before those eyes up and move
to a different address.
We are, in fact, raising VOTERS.
Isn’t that powerful?
I told my husband this is getting SERIOUS:
these elections always get too close
and we need to make more voters.
For the sake of patriotism,
and saving the country,
and packing it with
really good
humans.
(My husband, it turns out, is not quite THAT patriotic.)
During the last presidential election, my oldest was 11.
The day of the election I did what I always do,
for every election.
(((And I participate in e.v.e.r.y election.)))
I took all my ducklings with me to the polling place.
The poll workers always love it,
and I love them for loving it.
It would be a LOT easier to vote alone.
But I want my sons to see that their mom is a voter,
that voting matters,
and that polling places are friendly and easy to navigate.
And most importantly:
I want them to know that there is always always always:
a sticker waiting by the scantron machine.
But this year: COVID.
And I thought… maybe I’d try something different?
After all ~ there is one voting style we haven’t covered yet:
the MAIL-IN BALLOT.
This week we are going to study:
HOW to verify a mailed ballot is not fake,
WHEN to fill it out (is there such a thing as TOO early? ~ I would argue maybe YES?)
WHERE to drop it off.
I will show my kids the ballot and explain how to fill it out,
just like I do at the voting cubicle.
Then we will load in the van… and go drop it off
at the ballot box in front of the town hall.
A new twist on an old routine.
Back to the last election, and my little story.
{I’m tired, and losing focus–you are great for trying to follow this laundry-bound brain.}
We had all visited the polling place, done our civic duty,
gotten our STICKERS.
And then my kids asked, NOW WHAT?
How do we know who wins?
They seemed to have high interest in following the results.
So I came up with a last-minute, totally unscripted idea:
AN ELECTION PARTY.
And even though it was all lazy and whipped together–
my 12 year old just asked me:
“Hey mom–are we going to do that election party again?”
My jaw dropped that he even remembered it.
He was EIGHT in 2016.
Do you smell the learning gold mine?!?!
So: YES son, YES we WILL be doing an election party again!
Let me explain how lazy this party was–
and I mean suuuuper lazy.
Because we were knee deep in house projects
and all my spare time was spent with paint speckle in my hair.
My election party prep:
I printed off maps …and provided snacks.
From the grocery store.
That my husband probably brought home after work.
The end.
Oh–and said they could stay up late and sleep in the next morning.
SOLD.
We used the maps to play:
“GUESS WHO will win each state?”
They colored each state red or blue,
depending on who they thought would win it.
Since they were fairly young, and highly competitive, I
I explained “third-parties” to them but hinted that
if history held to tradition ~
blue/red was their safest bet.
(This year I plan to go deeper into specific 3rd party names,
their candidates, and how many votes they receive.)
Back to 2016:
As state wins were announced,
they would X the states they guessed incorrectly,
and tally up those they got right.
There were prizes for each state they guessed correctly.
Meanwhile, we were adding up the electoral votes
to see which candidate was in the lead.
And which states were needed
for the ultimate win.
This year I plan to bake a yummy, cozy stew,
serve some patriotic desserts of red/white/blue,
and host a family sleepover party in my room.
~ELECTION PARTY 2020~
And on Wednesday when we finally crawl out of bed,
it will be coffees/hot cocoa/tea for all!
And just like that~ the laundry chimes call.
Happy 2020 election to all!
Saltbox Colonial 