Parents come up with unique 'business cards' for their kids to schedule playdates

Playdates are magical moments for children, where new friendships bloom, and living rooms transform into imaginative playgrounds of forts and dance parties. Sometimes, the bonds formed during these playdates can last a lifetime. But arranging them isn’t always easy—many parents feel awkward approaching others. That’s why a new trend has taken off in the parenting world: customized “business cards” for kids, used as playful invitations for future playdates.

Recently, a mom of two from Missouri, Brianna Mullally–who goes by @partyof4stl on Instagram–made it to the headlines for creating a rainbow-themed business card for her son, Liam. When she realized Liam wanted to socialize and expected her to set up a playdate, the mom decided to make him a business card. "Let's play! Have your people call my people," the card reads. It also includes the child's name and parent's contact number and email. The business card worked out perfectly and now Mullally is selling the design on Etsy under the handle Partyof4STL. "I always have them on me, but he'll ask for extra cards if we're going someplace where he knows he'll need them," the mom proudly told TODAY.

Yet another mompreneur and artist, Lori Rich, the owner of Farthest Star Studios (@fatheststarstudios), specializing in digital templates for weddings and other life events, has created similar playdate cards with fun designs. For boys, Rich designed cards with playful themes and content like "Let's chill out!" and "Let's have a ball." For girls, she has mermaid and fairy-themed cards with content like "It will be mer-mazing if we could keep in touch" and "It will be magical if we could keep in touch." The Pennsylvania mom received positive feedback for her cards from other parents. "My daughter thinks it is very cool that she has her own business card and loves being able to hand them out herself," she told The New York Post. 

It turns out that this kids' business card trend has been around for a while now. Earlier this year, a teacher named Lex–who goes by @elderemo_mama on X–shared a post about the playdate cards. "Parents, if your kiddo came home with a playdate 'business' card from a classmate, would it be weird? I want to send some to Penny's classmates since she asks for playdates all the time and I don't know their numbers," she wrote. In the thread, she mentioned that her students have been sharing these cards with their classmates.  

Many found this to be a great idea, especially for parents who feel awkward while making small talk. "I think it's cute. I always felt weird trying to connect with other parents, and I felt like my name, number and child's name on a ripped-off piece of looseleaf wasn't nice enough for what my intention was!" said @TrishaReyE. "We got one and it was my favorite thing because it truly is so hard to get phone numbers for my kid's friends," chimed in @cowgirl_kaylee. "These are brilliant. I hate having to make small talk and then awkwardly ask for their numbers," added @cherrycola_nz.

For those who may consider this a weird idea, family and relationship therapist from NYC, Stephanie Manes, gives reassurance. Manes thinks this playdate card trend might be a good parenting hack, especially to alleviate the mental load. "I think of this not as a business card but as a sensible solution for what can be complicated logistics of coordinating your child's activities," the therapist told the New York Post. However, one also has to consider that there could be drawbacks, Tara Arutunian, a psychotherapist, advised parents, "There could be the pitfall of rejection from the invitee, so parents should be prepared to help their child cope with disappointment if it doesn't work out."

You can follow Brianna Mullally (@partyof4stl) on Instagram for more artistic content.

You can follow Lori Rich (@fartheststarstudio) on Instagram for more arts and crafts content.