7 steps to organize the perfect sleepover in your home
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What is involved in organizing a sleepover for children
There comes a certain moment of growth where friends matter more than parents and the time spent together at school is never enough. Here then, from kindergarten onwards, every moment is good to be asked: "Mom, can I invite my friends (or my friends) to sleep here?", Or "Giulia has organized a sleepover at her house for her birthday. to go?".
Suppose you fall into the first category of moms, and that you have therefore been designated as the organizer of the evening. How to get around?
The first step is to understand if you really want to find yourself with a group of more or less big children to manage for a whole night; yes, because the traditional pajama party requires the boys to sleep away from home until the next morning. Consider that for some it will be the first occasion in which they will be absent from their home at night and will be away from mum and dad: it is necessary to organize everything down to the smallest detail, without losing self-control.
If the answer is yes, we would like to give you some tips to help you organize. Of course, you can add your own personal touch, depending on the number of guests and the space you have at home.
Read these 7 tips and get ready for an unforgettable party!
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1. Think about the location and date
For a child-proof organization, one of the very first things to think about is where and when to structure your amazing party.
This implies that you will have to choose a day that is comfortable for you: inevitably you will need to take both the afternoon and the evening free, as well as the morning after the sleepover.
If you are setting up a party for a birthday you may already have a date in mind close to the anniversary, otherwise know that there is no better time than another during the year to throw a sleepover, as long as it is in the weekend or close to a school closure.
Where it will almost certainly be your home, but more specifically it is a question of whether you actually have the necessary space for this type of evening. In small apartments it is difficult to organize evening parties, as it is easy to have the rest of the host family at home and it is not easy to have a group of friends around euphoric and with energy to spare. Therefore, think carefully about the space dedicated to bedtime, so you will define the party in that specific area.
If you have a one-story house, you can opt for the attic, the children's room if it is large enough, or even the living room. Unless we are in the summer we would exclude the tavern, simply for a matter of temperature and night heating.
2. Select who to invite
The choice may seem like a prerogative of your children, but in reality, for your well-being, it is better to find a meeting point on who to host for the night.
Unless you have a really large house, you need to set a maximum number of guests. It bases the choice not only on the physical space that each child occupies, but also on the management that each of them entails.
Sleepovers are usually the prerogative of girls, but boys also organize respectable sleepovers; at other times it still happens that boys and girls sleep together, obviously under a certain age threshold, which for example can be up to 10 years. After this age, it is best to have enough space for everyone.
Pajama parties are best done if the guests are around 8 years old, for the simple fact that you will have to deal with "grown-up" children and who are therefore less likely to destroy your home and more chances for them to listen to you ...
In our opinion, a good number of guests can be 5, neither too few, nor many; but if it's your first sleepover, you might limit the number of friends to those of your heart: explain to your little one that it's a very special party and that being together both in the evening and at night carries great responsibilities. There will be a time to play, but also a time to go to sleep, so don't invite companions with whom he is not very comfortable.
3. Prepare the invitations carefully
Once you understand what size the party will be, you can start thinking about the invitations to send.
You can choose two ways: the first is more immediate, send a text message or a Whatsapp message to the parents of the chosen friends. You can search for a nice phrase to announce the event such as "Keep Calm and Pijama Party" in jpg format and then provide some basic information. The read confirmation is immediate.
The second choice is more creative and less fast, but involves your little girl or boy more. In fact, you can make very cheerful invitations (like the graphics you see above in the photo) where it is clear that this is a sleepover. They can be created on cardboard or printed on a pc. Entrust them to your little one who will have the task of distributing them to favorite companions.
What must never be missing in a sleepover invitation?
- the day, preferably close to the weekend because the next day there would be no school;
- the time of arrival and collection of the children; being an evening party, it organizes everything to make it leave around 18-19;
- the home address;
- what you need to spend the night out; in addition to pajamas and a toothbrush, it can be everything your child needs to sleep, your favorite pillow or soft toy;
- the party theme, if you have one.
Finally, we strongly advise you to get confirmation as soon as possible, perhaps as early as 2 days after receiving the invitation itself, so as to start structuring the evening. and takes two different days; give everyone a way to plan their commitments on time.
4. Set up the room
Or the rooms, one for playing and one for sleeping.
The meaning of pajama parties is to be all together outside the family context, but for your self control it is better that this concept is limited to well-defined spaces of the house.
The day that the children will have to arrive, move the fragile objects and create as large spaces as possible. In short, away with the tables and chairs, and make sure that the play room is proof for guests under 10. If the children are still small, remember to also cover the power sockets.
For the moment of sleep it would be better to choose solutions on the ground that allow the little ones to stay close together and play until late, so green light for mats, sleeping bags (which can bring the guests from home), cushions and also to Indian tents very popular with girls.
Is the room small? It doesn't matter, you can move them until it's time to sleep in the living room, and then, they won't mind the size of the house, since being all closer is a lot more fun!
Create a "magical atmosphere" with light bulbs, lanterns, flags and soft puppets: they will give that extra touch to make the evening memorable.
5. Choose the menu
Sleepovers usually start before dinner, so keep in mind that you will need to think about at least 2 convivial moments: dinner and breakfast. Also add the "snack" moment or sweet moment, which must never be missing in a self-respecting sleepover!
Being a party, you are absolutely justified in proposing foods loved by children, such as pizza, burgers, fish sticks or fries. Obviously the menu must be diversified if there were guests with particular allergies or intolerances.
If your party is all female and the girls are already grown up, you can offer a happy hour, with simple finger food and soft drinks such as fruit juices and water. Dinner in this way will be chic, but it will remain fast and not very dirty.
And for the desserts? A yogurt or a portion of fresh fruit already cut is ideal, but in this case you can also follow a sweet moment to be consumed before the real sleepover; the children will be super happy!
When you wake up there are no wow tricks to reveal ... what you eat at home is normally fine, but if you want to impress your children's friends you can try your hand at an American breakfast with hot pancakes and waffles.
6. Think about the activities to propose
Entertaining and entertaining are other tasks of the perfect hostess.
The night itself is already a unique adventure for many of the boys, so there will be no need for a great animation, but if you want to satisfy your little girl's requests, squeeze your brains out!
If the group is homogeneous and the age is the same, you can still draw up a schedule of activities to do, alternating the moments of relaxation with those of play or laboratory.
The dress code is important: being a pajama party, all participants will have to change shortly after arrival. A nice idea would be to buy the same outfit for everyone.
After the change of dress, go ahead for games that free the imagination such as workshops in the kitchen or a treasure hunt. Even immediately after dinner it will be necessary to find space to involve all the little pests and here our advice is to opt for dance and singing competitions.
Just before bedtime, the popcorn film on the sofa cannot be missed.
For these evenings the recommended genre is comedy, suitable for families with children; better to avoid showing something too suggestive before sleeping.
Now that the day draws to a close, it's time for mom to eclipse herself to make way for one of the most significant moments of sleepovers, which is the time for small talk and confidences.
7. Give an end-of-party gift
It's really nice to think about leaving something for the guys who spent the night with you. The gift can be left the next morning before saying goodbye, as a token of thanks for coming; but also the day before if it comes to elements to be used in the various moments of the party.
The thought can be something that was done by the participants themselves during the evening activities or an object that recalls the theme of the party: bathroom accessories, a decorated pillow, a stuffed animal or snapshots taken with the Polaroid.
Surely your party will have left its mark and with this little gesture you will close the perfect sleepover.
