Planning to make your child’s next birthday party an all-nighter? We chatted with Penny Warner, author of “Slumber Parties: 25 Fun-Filled Party Themes,” and Debra Friedman, a sleepover-savvy NYC mom, to glean a few helpful hints.
Magic Numbers. The ideal age range for slumber parties is 8-12, Warner says. She also recommends inviting only close friends to keep the chaos to a minimum.
Helping Hands. Bring in extra help, Friedman says. If you have a regular babysitter, consider hiring him or her to help monitor the party.
Ground Rules. Implement a few ground rules, like no leaving the apartment and no prank calling, Warner says. Most importantly, let kids know they can come get you at any time.
Improvise. “We borrowed a bunch of blow-up beds and my daughter has a pull-out,” Freidman says. “We had wall-to-wall beds and it worked out really well.”
Star Light, Star Bright. Warner recommends having the children arrange their sleeping bags in a “starburst” formation, with heads together in the middle. This encourages chatting, keeps children from feeling left out and conserves space.
Options Are Limited. Eliminate disputes between guests by choosing which movie to watch or snack to eat, suggests Friedman. The less choice, the less fighting.
Serve and Spy. While parents won’t want to get in the way of all the fun, they should always stick close by, Warner says. Serve snacks and drinks every 45 minutes or so as an excuse to check in.
Is It Over Yet? When the planned festivities are over, wind down the party by putting on a movie, suggests Warner. Also, make sure there is an end time on your invitation. After spending the night with a full house, you will definitely be looking forward to a quiet day.
Breakfast Bash. Make breakfast a celebration, too! Set up a breakfast bar with different types of cereals and a make-your-own-omelette station. Or, Warner suggests, take the kids out for pancakes in their pajamas!
3 FUN SLUMBER PARTY THEMES
Girls Night In: Turn your apartment into a nightclub! Set up individual stations for hair, makeup, tattoos and nails. Provide hand-held mirrors and brushes decorated with sparkly decals. Then, have a limousine take the girls on a tour of the city while you convert the “beauty salon” into a “nightclub.” Hang a disco ball and colored lights, and hook up a karaoke machine. Serve hors d’oeuvres on silver platters (think mini hot dogs, pizza bagels, chicken fingers and sushi rolls). Video each guest singing their favorite song and then make DVDs for everyone to take home.
Campout: Boys love to sleep over, too, and an indoor camping adventure works great. Assemble an outdoor tent in the middle of your living room and decorate everything using camouflage colors. Pass out personalized flashlights, canteens and bandanas for them to tie on their heads. Reserve your building’s common room and construct an obstacle course. Afterward, let the boys make their own trail mix, roast hot dogs in the fireplace and microwave s’mores. Tell some spooky ghost stories, and then it’s lights out!
Twilight Hour: New Moon is being released on DVD on December 4, making it the perfect time to plan a Twilight-themed slumber party. Rent all three movies in the saga—Twilight, Eclipse and New Moon—and have a movie marathon! Drape black fabric over all your furniture and decorate with red apples, white ruffled tulips, red ribbons and white chess pieces to recreate the covers of each book. Make Team Edward and Team Jacob t-shirts, and pass out fake vampire teeth. Purchase lifesize cardboard cutouts of Bella, Edward and Jacob, and using a Polaroid camera, take pictures of each guest with their favorite character. Finally, download all of author Stephanie Meyer’s playlists (listed on her website) and crank up the iPod!
