Sleepover Ideas, Slumber Party, Games

                            

Sleepover Ideas
This is the Widdlykinks.com quick guide to sleepovers. With helpful hints, tips and ideas we are sure that we can help to make your kids sleepover a blast and minimise your stress levels at the same time!

Be Prepared
There are no hard and fast rules for when your kids are ready to start going to or hosting sleepovers, however, it is a good idea to discuss the idea with your child first. Ensure that they really are ready for a sleepover by running through the schedule with them and getting their input.
If your not sure about an overnight sleepover, throw an early slumber party with PJ’s, movies and food and ask for the kids parents to pick them up at 9pm. If you start about 4pm this should give the kids plenty of time to play. It can be helpful if you have had your guests round at your house to play prior to a sleepover so that they are coming to familiar surroundings.

Decide how many kids you are having over, don’t forget to be realistic with regards to your space and try to keep the kids to an even number so it is less likely that anyone will feel left out.

Think about whether or not you’re going to have a theme and how much time you realistically have for the kids to do the activities that you plan. Have a look at our games and themes section for some ideas.

Before purchasing anything for the sleepover it is a good idea to ascertain how many kids will actually be able to attend. Prepare some invitations for your child to hand out. You can print off our template invite and get you kid to write and decorate the invites themselves. When sending out the invites it might be useful to add a list of anything that the kids should bring with them i.e. spare pillow, toothbrush, slippers etc. It would be useful to ask for the parents to phone/email the rsvp so that you can find out if any of the guests have any allergies or food dislikes. Be sure to state on the invites a drop off and pick up time for the kids.

Once you know how many guests you are having you can begin the preparations. Work out how much time you will have and realistically schedule out the activities you are planning. Make sure that you child is happy with the schedule, after all they will know what their friends like.

Plan food in advance and try to keep it as simple as possible. Pizza is always a favourite for a sleepover. For older kids you make your own pizza. Either purchase pizza bases or prepare your own dough in advance and the kids can add their own toppings. See our recipe for pizza dough and pizza sauce. Alternatively homemade burgers are also great and can be prepared in advance and again, older kids can build their own. See our burger recipe. Try to keep sweets to a minimum and substitute with healthy alternatives like chopped fruit portions, raisins, smoothies or frozen yoghurt. Make it easy on yourself and invest in some paper plates and cups to save on the washing up.

Room Preparation
Plenty of scatter cushions on the bedroom floor works well for kids. If possible it is a good idea to have the sleepover in a room that has a TV and DVD as this will help keep the kids entertained. Ask your child to put away any toys that they want to keep out of reach. Tantrums over broken toys are sure to spoil the night. Leave some pads/paper and a few coloured/gel pens within easy reach as kids love to make notes, draw things and write things down. Have a defined idea of where the kids are going to sleep and stick to it and advising your child of this in advance is a good idea.

A set of house rules can be a good idea particularly if you have siblings in the house. Make sure that the kids know the rules, you could preparing a poster on bright paper and stick it up in the sleepover room.

The Next Day
Ask the kids to pack up their bags in plenty of time for their parents picking them up so you don’t have any last minute panics over lost toys.

Preparing a certificate and a party bag is a fab way to round off the sleepover, party bags could include a sweetie, small pad, pencil/pen, small toy or if you have time a printed digital photo as a souvenir. Try printing of our sleepover certificate and adding this to the bag.

After the sleepover try and get the house back to normal asap so that you can sit down and put your feet up.

 

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