Sleepover Party Guide

Girls love slumber parties! Go beyond the traditional movie and junk food routine, and use a little planning and creativity to avoid common sleepover mishaps that can end in tears like "truth-or-dare" and séances. This fun-filled sleepover party—complete with crafts, party treats, party games, and activities—is perfect for girls ages 8 - 13 and will have your daughters friends asking to come back!

PLANNING YOUR SLEEPOVER PARTY

SLEEPOVER PARTY INVITATIONS

Send invitations 2-3 weeks in advance.

Make your own cute creative mini-pliiow invites by folding squares of felt or craft foam in half to make pillow cases. If you don't sew, use a stapler, glue gun, or fabric glue to secure the side and bottom edge of the pillow case. Stuff with a little cotton. Write the invitation on a 3x5 card and slip it into the pillow. Print this on each invite:

When making the invitations for your party change the number of legs based on how many girls you plan to have at your party, and change "my" to the birthday girl's name.

Or, purchase these invitations from Birthday in a Box:

SLEEPOVER PARTY DECORATIONS

First, be sure to designate a large space in your home for your slumber party, by arranging furniture and other items. Fill your party room with pillows, blankets, bean bag chairs, and stuffed animals for a comfortable "hang-out" space. Place several flashlights around to be used later in the evening. Cover the windows with black butcher paper. Hang twinkling light strands all around the party area. Scatter inflated balloons in the birthday girls favorite colors ALL over the floor, the girls will definitely make use of them later.

Convert the main party table into a bed. Use a twin sized bed sheet and a blanket. Fold the sheet back like you would when making a bed. You can add a real pillow to the head of the bed or, use a large white frosted sheet cake as a pillow.

Purchase these party decorations form Birthday in a Box:

• Sleepover Party Table Cover:
  
• Sleepover Party door Fringe:
  
• Sleepover Party Personalized Placemat:
  
• Sleepover Party Mylar Balloon:
  
• Sleepover Party Banner:
  
• Sleepover Party Personalized Banner:
  
• Sleepover Party Box:
  

SLEEPOVER PARTY GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

Upon arrival, give each guest a personalized flashlight and a pair of slipper socks. Your local dollar store will have plastic flashlights. Use a permanent marker or gel writer to personalize the flashlights. The slippers can be purchased, or make your own with the birthday girls help. Decorate a pair of sports socks with felt and fabric paint; have the girls decorate the soocks with animals (using felt for the ears and nose, and useing fabric paint to make the features), bright flowers (using felt and fabric paint), stripes, spots, and doo-dads with the guests name written in fabric paint.

Sleeping Bag Obstacle Course

Create an obstacle course with couch cushions, chairs, tables, whatever is in the room and not breakable. Make two teams. The first player of each team gets into a sleeping bag. On "GO" the 2 first players from each team will hop through the obstacle course while staying in the bag. This is like a sack race. If the sleeping bag comes off, then the player must start over. When the first player is done, the next player on their team takes a turn. The first team to finish wins! For an extra challenge have the girls scoot like inchworms through the course as opposed to hopping.

Sleeping Beauty

Lay out a "bed" with a blanket on the floor. Designate a player to be "IT." "IT" should lay down on the blanket and pretend to sleep. Set a timer for one minute. The other players shoudl try to make her laugh and "wake her" with funny noises, songs jokes, or phrase. When "IT" wakes, she then chooses the next player to be "IT." If she manages to stay asleep (aka: not laugh) for the allotted time (usually one minute) then she wins a prize to add to her tote bag!

Something's Glowing

Hide several glow-in-the-dark items around the room or house. Turn out the lights and set a timer. The girls must find the items before the timer runs out.
Tips: It's easy to find bags of glow in the dark stars, bugs, and other creatures at your local Dollar Store.
BE SURE that this games is played with a clear floor space, for safety.
The players can use their flashlights to maneuver around the playing space.

Also, try any of these party games. Choose age-appropriate games that your guests will enjoy.

SLUMBER PARTY CRAFTS

Make Your Own Pillowcase

This is easy to do with die crayons purchased at you local fabric store. The girls will each receive their own pillow case to color with the dye crayons. Once the girls have decorated their pillowcases, "fix" the dye with a hot iron according to the instructions (only adults should handle the iron!). No dryin gtime is required after ironing, so the girls can s;leep on their pillocases, if they want! If this party is for older girls you can provide fabric scraps, needles and thread to sew items on as well.

Or purchase any of these pillowcases from Birthday in a Box an dhave the girls autograph each other's pillowcases:

Star Lights

Materials:

• frozen juice can
• rubber bands
• flashlight
• dark paper

Directions: Fold the paper and cut small stars, diamonds, and circle (like making a snowflake but with less holes). Cut both ends from the juice can. Wrap the star paper around one end securing it with a rubber band. Insert the flashlight into the open end of the can. Turn out the lights. Turn on the flashlights and shine it towards the ceiling or wall. The girls can make as many as they wish.

Sleepover Graffiti

Beofr ethe party, cover the windows with black paper. Keep a container of gel pens by the black paper-covered windows, and let girls to doodle on the paper throughout the evening.

Need more Inspiration?

Provide supplies or kits for beading, candle decorating, DIY pillowcases make door hangers, slipper socks, etc. There are so many craft kits at your local store it will be hard to pick!

SLEEPOVER PARTY FOOD

Most often at this age the girls just want to munch. Provide a variety of munchie foods not only at the table, but throughout the party room as well. Try not to over do with sweets to avoid upset stomachs. Offer:

• veggies and dip
• chips
• juice
• water
• soda

Also try serveing chocolate and/or cheese fondue. Kids love it!

The night before the party make ice cubes with juice. Add them to 7-up for a special drink.

Slumber Party Cake

It's easy to make 9x13 sheet cake look like a bed: frost a sheet caje with white frosting for the sheet and a solid color for the bed spread. then, frost snack cakes for pillows and graham crackers are added for a head board or bed frame. To go all out add some miniature toy animals for stuffed animals or a doll head laying on the pillow.

French Toast Breakfast

Don't forget to prepare something for the girls to eat when they wake up in the morning. Make french toast and cut with fun cookie cutter shapes. Also, make your fresh fruit smoothies with berries and bananas.

SLUMBER PARTY FAVORS

At the beginning of the party, give each guest a paper or fabric tote bag with their name on it. Many of the "goodies" will be made or given throughout the party so, the guests can keep adding the items to their bag!

Suggested Items: flashlight, nightlight, hair brush, toothbrush with travel-sized toothpaste, travel-size lotions or other toiletries, nailpolish, lip gloss, bag of chips, nuts, a digital photo taken during the party, hot cocoa packets, small bags or boxes of breakfast cereal.

Purchase these party favors from Birthday in a Box:

• Toe Socks:
  
• Body Glutter:
  
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• Slumber Party Dolls:
  
• Friend Tatoos:
  
• Swirled Lip Gloss:
  
• Personalizes Bag Tag:
  
• Spa Favor Set:
  
• Glam Girl Delux Favor Set:
  
• Sleepover Deluxe Favor Set:
  
• Sleepover Party Ultimate Favor Set:
  

SLUMBER PARTY TIPS FOR SUCCESS

• You want the girls to have fun, but it's still important to have a few rules or guidelines, so discuss them with your daughter before the party!
• Get contact information for all guests in case of emergency.
• Be sure you are aware of any allergies or medicines before the party, especially for younger girls.
• Encourage your daughter be a part of the planning; she'll know what she and her friends like to do.
• Send siblings to Grandma's house or to friends. They deserve a good nights sleep, and this will eliminate the potential for siblng spats at the party.
• Don't plan on doing anything the next day; you will all be tired.
• Try to have your party on a Saturday, so the girls will have had a restful day before the party.
• Provide ample time for the girls to simply "hang-out" with no planned activities (of course, you will be around and supervising, but girls love time away from grownups).
• Be prepared, plan ahead, and most importantly, HAVE FUN!