One, appeasement never works. I thought you liked reading history, you should know this. Remember Poland? When kids are taking stuff that isn't theirs, you don't solve it by giving them some. They'll just keep taking more, expecting you to keep giving in one inch at a time.
Odd, if appeasement never works, why do I see so many parents trying it? The original 11 flair pens were already out on my table in a cup, with a few sticky notes there, as people were using them for their name tags. It's just that the 10 year old girl had been there Friday night and seen all the other markers, colored papers and various things we used to set up and decorate, and she knew they existed. So she was searching for the rest.
Two, don't be so shy about hollering for parents. Yes, hollering. Naively assume (yes, you're pretending) that if the parents saw what their kids were doing they'd come in and stop it. Some of them will think you are causing a scene and not their precious chillens. Those are the stupid, bad parents. Feel free to not care what they think, as long as they get the kids out of your hair.
Well I would have had to outshout the band outside, and the people were scattered all along a long driveway to the church maybe 12 cars long, listening to them. But in hindsight, maybe I could have grabbed another cousin inside with us and asked them to go locate the parents. It's just that most were busy, one was mopping the floor, two were doing dishes and packing up food, etc. etc.
So instead of having done something like that, I sort of kicked myself for leaving it all unattended and going out to listen to the band earlier. But everyone else had their own boxes and they didn't bother theirs, just mine. Go figure. ;) And I couldn't have put it all back in the car because we needed things here and there during the whole reunion.
Brenda
Two changes
