I do but I don’t accommodate meals. If you can eat what I made, have at it.

Yes, always. My parents always went out of their way to make impromptu teenager meals happen for two reasons: A)They preferred to keep an eye on me at home rather than be at someone else’s house, and B)A few in my friend group had really unstable home lives (divorce, DV, alcohol, drugs, etc.) and the meals at our house were likely the best they had that week.

So I happily do it for my kids’ friends and for the same reasons. I can go all out and grill burgers, steaks, or salmon with a few sides, whip up a classic comfort food spread, or do breakfast for dinner. Boys often request my chili (already pre-made and frozen) or a charcuterie board. Girls often want smoothies. Or if I’m short on time we just raid the chest freezer that we keep stocked with Costco junk that hungry teens love. We rarely order takeout for them and would likely do frozen pizzas at home instead of Domino’s, but B-Dubs’ wings, a Taco Bell party box, a sack of Arby’s roast beef sandwiches, and even a bucket of KFC have all been hits.

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Anonymous wrote:No. My rule is I’ll feed one extra but any more than that usually not. They can go out and get food and ask their parents for money. Or they can eat ramen (I usually have something like that handy).

They don’t usually expect to be fed, either.

So if two friends show up, you will feed one of those friends but not the other one. Got it. Totally normal. You must have a lot of friends.

lol. I thought it was obvious that I meant I would include one extra kid in dinner, but if it’s more than that (it’s often an extra 4 plus kids) I did not provide dinner for any friends.

Whatever I planned for dinner for a family of 4 can usually accommodate a family of 5, but more than that usually means something else has to be made/bought.

I have a lot of friends, thanks for asking. I think most of you have never been the hangout house.

If you are send teens away rather than feeding meals, I’m skeptical that you are actually the teen hang out house.

I don’t know parents who are so wedded to their dinner plans that they don’t improvise, pulls stuff out of freezer, etc for more guests.

Not PP but really?? You don’t know people who buy 4 steaks expecting to feed 4 people? Or plan to make something but can double it easily with freezer food? If I have no dinner plan then of course I can order pizza but I often do have specific dinner ingredients for the few nights a week I cook.

Sure but they are not the hang out welcoming houses like the PP tried to suggest

Hang out house is not determined by who feeds everyone dinner. It’s bc my daughter likes hosting, has a large friend group, we have a large basement with private entrance and bathroom, and we are centrally located close to a lot of her friends and near the bus line. And I don’t get upset about kids coming over all the time as a lot of parents do (which is fine, we all have different situations)

I used to feed kids more but it was all the time

I did not say food is the only thing that makes a hang out house but not sending them away to eat as a “rule” is important.

I don’t send them away. They usually will eat ramen or something cheap, or a basic snack, and eat later at home. Often some kid will order DoorDash or they drive up and get food as a group (these are 15/16/17 yo so some drivers). I don’t find any of these kids expect to be fed a real dinner. When it’s just my daughter and one friend is when she will ask. This is all a very casual business for the most part.

Was this ChatGPT??

? Huh ? I should probably know what that is, but I don’t. AI?

I don’t know why you are so pressed. Feed them or don’t - I’m just saying you don’t have to.

They shove homemade nachos in the oven.
Bag of chips, can of black beans, cooked pound of ground beef w taco seasoning. Then add the tomato’s and cheeses cheese

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Anonymous wrote:No. My rule is I’ll feed one extra but any more than that usually not. They can go out and get food and ask their parents for money. Or they can eat ramen (I usually have something like that handy).

They don’t usually expect to be fed, either.

So if two friends show up, you will feed one of those friends but not the other one. Got it. Totally normal. You must have a lot of friends.

lol. I thought it was obvious that I meant I would include one extra kid in dinner, but if it’s more than that (it’s often an extra 4 plus kids) I did not provide dinner for any friends.

Whatever I planned for dinner for a family of 4 can usually accommodate a family of 5, but more than that usually means something else has to be made/bought.

I have a lot of friends, thanks for asking. I think most of you have never been the hangout house.

If you are send teens away rather than feeding meals, I’m skeptical that you are actually the teen hang out house.

I don’t know parents who are so wedded to their dinner plans that they don’t improvise, pulls stuff out of freezer, etc for more guests.

Not PP but really?? You don’t know people who buy 4 steaks expecting to feed 4 people? Or plan to make something but can double it easily with freezer food? If I have no dinner plan then of course I can order pizza but I often do have specific dinner ingredients for the few nights a week I cook.

Sure but they are not the hang out welcoming houses like the PP tried to suggest

Hang out house is not determined by who feeds everyone dinner. It’s bc my daughter likes hosting, has a large friend group, we have a large basement with private entrance and bathroom, and we are centrally located close to a lot of her friends and near the bus line. And I don’t get upset about kids coming over all the time as a lot of parents do (which is fine, we all have different situations)

I used to feed kids more but it was all the time

I did not say food is the only thing that makes a hang out house but not sending them away to eat as a “rule” is important.

I don’t send them away. They usually will eat ramen or something cheap, or a basic snack, and eat later at home. Often some kid will order DoorDash or they drive up and get food as a group (these are 15/16/17 yo so some drivers). I don’t find any of these kids expect to be fed a real dinner. When it’s just my daughter and one friend is when she will ask. This is all a very casual business for the most part.

Was this ChatGPT??

I can usually come up with something. Tonight I made smoothies and they were surprisingly a hit.
I usually have chips and salsa on hand. Most often we order pizza or Chinese.

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Anonymous wrote:No. My rule is I’ll feed one extra but any more than that usually not. They can go out and get food and ask their parents for money. Or they can eat ramen (I usually have something like that handy).

They don’t usually expect to be fed, either.

So if two friends show up, you will feed one of those friends but not the other one. Got it. Totally normal. You must have a lot of friends.

lol. I thought it was obvious that I meant I would include one extra kid in dinner, but if it’s more than that (it’s often an extra 4 plus kids) I did not provide dinner for any friends.

Whatever I planned for dinner for a family of 4 can usually accommodate a family of 5, but more than that usually means something else has to be made/bought.

I have a lot of friends, thanks for asking. I think most of you have never been the hangout house.

If you are send teens away rather than feeding meals, I’m skeptical that you are actually the teen hang out house.

I don’t know parents who are so wedded to their dinner plans that they don’t improvise, pulls stuff out of freezer, etc for more guests.

Not PP but really?? You don’t know people who buy 4 steaks expecting to feed 4 people? Or plan to make something but can double it easily with freezer food? If I have no dinner plan then of course I can order pizza but I often do have specific dinner ingredients for the few nights a week I cook.

Sure but they are not the hang out welcoming houses like the PP tried to suggest

Hang out house is not determined by who feeds everyone dinner. It’s bc my daughter likes hosting, has a large friend group, we have a large basement with private entrance and bathroom, and we are centrally located close to a lot of her friends and near the bus line. And I don’t get upset about kids coming over all the time as a lot of parents do (which is fine, we all have different situations)

I used to feed kids more but it was all the time

I did not say food is the only thing that makes a hang out house but not sending them away to eat as a “rule” is important.

I don’t send them away. They usually will eat ramen or something cheap, or a basic snack, and eat later at home. Often some kid will order DoorDash or they drive up and get food as a group (these are 15/16/17 yo so some drivers). I don’t find any of these kids expect to be fed a real dinner. When it’s just my daughter and one friend is when she will ask. This is all a very casual business for the most part.

I’ve always fed them, but it may not be anything special or even what they might like. If we’re having soup/stew for dinner, I’ll add a lot more veggies to the pot and make a pan of cornbread or a dozen extra biscuits.

I stock up at Costco monthly so we always have plenty of snacks, pigs in a blanket, tortillas and cheese, grillable foods, cereal, frozen pizzas, etc so we can feed everyone without doing takeout constantly. I always get feedback from the boys when I stock new food too. Seaweed was a surprise hit.

I also sent DSs to cooking camp when they were younger so they’ll grill or whip up eggs and bacon or a simple big pasta when they feel like it.

We prefer to be the hangout house and that requires food when it’s teenage boys.

We have not experienced this yet. We’re In a spread-out burb so kids don’t just show up at houses - I imagine this will only start happening once they are driving. I would love to be the house that kids gravitate to, so I’m sad we don’t get to do this!

Anonymous wrote:A whole gang of teens showed up at our house right before dinner time. We just returned from travel and our fridge is empty. I barely had enough food to feed our own family. Think they got hungry and left. I would have ordered them pizza but they left before I could.

This is new territory for me as usually plans are made in advance. Kid usually asks if people can come over and we set a time. This was different as there were some kids I didn’t even know. They just came as a group.

Maybe hot dogs or burgers or corn dogs but not my actual meal and fixings!
Otherwise they can order their own food

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Anonymous wrote:No. My rule is I’ll feed one extra but any more than that usually not. They can go out and get food and ask their parents for money. Or they can eat ramen (I usually have something like that handy).

They don’t usually expect to be fed, either.

So if two friends show up, you will feed one of those friends but not the other one. Got it. Totally normal. You must have a lot of friends.

lol. I thought it was obvious that I meant I would include one extra kid in dinner, but if it’s more than that (it’s often an extra 4 plus kids) I did not provide dinner for any friends.

Whatever I planned for dinner for a family of 4 can usually accommodate a family of 5, but more than that usually means something else has to be made/bought.

I have a lot of friends, thanks for asking. I think most of you have never been the hangout house.

If you are send teens away rather than feeding meals, I’m skeptical that you are actually the teen hang out house.

I don’t know parents who are so wedded to their dinner plans that they don’t improvise, pulls stuff out of freezer, etc for more guests.

Not PP but really?? You don’t know people who buy 4 steaks expecting to feed 4 people? Or plan to make something but can double it easily with freezer food? If I have no dinner plan then of course I can order pizza but I often do have specific dinner ingredients for the few nights a week I cook.

I am the PP who regularly has 5-6 kids at my house and am definitely the hang out house (not only because we have food....) I don't scrap my dinner plans when I feed them. I might cook 2 of the steaks for DH and I and freeze the other 2/save them for fajitas the next day/whatever. Whatever I make (if I cook vs delivery) for the teens is VERY simple/easy/quick. Yes, there have been a few times when we have said no (celebratory dinner, something I can't alter/freeze/etc, not feeling up to having a bunch of kids) and a cheerful "Sorry, guys, can't do dinner over here tonight, we are celebrating Larla's dad's birthday/I had a rough day at work and exhausted/whatever! Have a great night and we look forward to seeing you soon!" Kids get it. They understand when there is a reason...vs an excuse.

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Anonymous wrote:No. My rule is I’ll feed one extra but any more than that usually not. They can go out and get food and ask their parents for money. Or they can eat ramen (I usually have something like that handy).

They don’t usually expect to be fed, either.

So if two friends show up, you will feed one of those friends but not the other one. Got it. Totally normal. You must have a lot of friends.

lol. I thought it was obvious that I meant I would include one extra kid in dinner, but if it’s more than that (it’s often an extra 4 plus kids) I did not provide dinner for any friends.

Whatever I planned for dinner for a family of 4 can usually accommodate a family of 5, but more than that usually means something else has to be made/bought.

I have a lot of friends, thanks for asking. I think most of you have never been the hangout house.

If you are send teens away rather than feeding meals, I’m skeptical that you are actually the teen hang out house.

I don’t know parents who are so wedded to their dinner plans that they don’t improvise, pulls stuff out of freezer, etc for more guests.

Not PP but really?? You don’t know people who buy 4 steaks expecting to feed 4 people? Or plan to make something but can double it easily with freezer food? If I have no dinner plan then of course I can order pizza but I often do have specific dinner ingredients for the few nights a week I cook.

Sure but they are not the hang out welcoming houses like the PP tried to suggest

Hang out house is not determined by who feeds everyone dinner. It’s bc my daughter likes hosting, has a large friend group, we have a large basement with private entrance and bathroom, and we are centrally located close to a lot of her friends and near the bus line. And I don’t get upset about kids coming over all the time as a lot of parents do (which is fine, we all have different situations)

I used to feed kids more but it was all the time

I did not say food is the only thing that makes a hang out house but not sending them away to eat as a “rule” is important.

We are happy to feed lots of kids at any time. We order pizza and/or wings for the boys. Girls usually prefer sushi.
Money is not an issue for us, but I can see how this could be very expensive. That being said, kids are not picky about food. If you have social teens, it's a good idea to stock up on frozen pizzas, pizza rolls, chicken tenders/nuggets, frozen treats, etc.

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Anonymous wrote:No. My rule is I’ll feed one extra but any more than that usually not. They can go out and get food and ask their parents for money. Or they can eat ramen (I usually have something like that handy).

They don’t usually expect to be fed, either.

So if two friends show up, you will feed one of those friends but not the other one. Got it. Totally normal. You must have a lot of friends.

lol. I thought it was obvious that I meant I would include one extra kid in dinner, but if it’s more than that (it’s often an extra 4 plus kids) I did not provide dinner for any friends.

Whatever I planned for dinner for a family of 4 can usually accommodate a family of 5, but more than that usually means something else has to be made/bought.

I have a lot of friends, thanks for asking. I think most of you have never been the hangout house.

If you are send teens away rather than feeding meals, I’m skeptical that you are actually the teen hang out house.

I don’t know parents who are so wedded to their dinner plans that they don’t improvise, pulls stuff out of freezer, etc for more guests.

Not PP but really?? You don’t know people who buy 4 steaks expecting to feed 4 people? Or plan to make something but can double it easily with freezer food? If I have no dinner plan then of course I can order pizza but I often do have specific dinner ingredients for the few nights a week I cook.

Sure but they are not the hang out welcoming houses like the PP tried to suggest

Hang out house is not determined by who feeds everyone dinner. It’s bc my daughter likes hosting, has a large friend group, we have a large basement with private entrance and bathroom, and we are centrally located close to a lot of her friends and near the bus line. And I don’t get upset about kids coming over all the time as a lot of parents do (which is fine, we all have different situations)

I used to feed kids more but it was all the time