Some Great Sleepover Ideas

 

If you have a preteen daughter, the chances are good that somewhere along the line you're going to need to come up with some sleepover ideas. That might not be much of a challenge if only one, or at most two, of her friends are coming to spend the night. Even with a sleepover "party" of that size, it's always a good idea to have a few ideas up your sleeve to make certain everyone enjoys them selves.

Coming up with sleepover ideas of a half-dozen or more girls can be quite a bit more challenging. A variety of activities is needed to ensure that every single guest has a good time. While you as a parent, can no doubt do a good job of planning a sleepover party, it's your daughter who has the best feel for what her guests would most enjoy doing, or eating. Success will be more certain if you and your daughter plan the event as a team. You both have good ideas, and as an adult, you'll likely be better at planning some things in detail. You want everyone to have a good time, and also a safe time, and you can organize safe activities without being a wet blanket in the process. Make certain that you and your daughter agree on some guidelines to keep the sleepover party trouble free.

Sleepover Invitations - Let your daughter design the invitations, unless she feels that you are terribly talented, and the right person to do that. If she does the design, all you need to do is to make certain that the necessary information goes in the invitation. Obviously the time and place are of utmost importance, not only the time the guests should arrive, but the time you will bring them home (the next morning) or they should arrange to be picked up. Parents do like to know when they can reasonably expect to get their daughter safely back! The place is "my house" but give the address and a phone number (for RSVP) as well, the guest's parents will appreciate having that information. If you live at an out of the way location, include a map. You want your sleepover ideas to take into account everyone involved, which includes your guest's parents.

Tell the guests what to bring. The minimum might be just a sleeping bag (have a few spare blankets available in the event a guest may not have their own sleeping bag), pajamas, and toiletries. You can ask a guest to bring their own flashlight, or better yet, you can find a small one for a dollar or so that they can keep as a memento. Small LED flashlights are ideal.

Finally, let your guest know whether you're going to be feeding them. If the party starts around dinner time they might like to know if they should eat dinner at home, to avoid starving, or if they will be cared for food-wise. You can be specific ("we're having pizza"), or not so specific ("there'll be plenty to eat for everyone", or "bring your appetites"). It wouldn't hurt to contact the parents to find out if their child has any food allergies you should be aware of. You can always ask each guest when they arrive of course, but you do want to avoid a medical emergency, and asking won't hurt. On the subject of food, note on the invitation if breakfast will be served the next morning.

Sleepover Party Favors -  One of the enjoyable sleepover ideas categories is deciding on what party favors to provide. These can be fun mementos for the guests to keep, and can be almost anything in some way relevant to the occasion. One idea is to ask each guest to bring an inexpensive plain T-shirt, and have every one autograph it with an indelible marking pen. You can also purchase some iron-on patches, and let each guest design their own T-shirt, with or without autographs. Flashlights, mentioned earlier, can be another idea for a favor. You might find an appropriate decal to decorate the flashlight with. A bit more expensive perhaps, though not terribly so, would be a small bag filled with travel size toiletries, for use during the night of the party, and afterwards.

Mementos Make Great Sleepover Ideas - Party favors are great sleepover ideas as are mementos, and they can be one and the same thing. What everyone is certain to enjoy though, is a photographic record of the party. Here is where a digital camera really comes into good use. You can take a large number of pictures, and give individual prints to the guests if you're able to do some editing and printing on your computer, or put together a digital scrapbook or album, to be given to each guest later. The aforementioned autographed T-shirts make great mementos, and if a makeover activity is going to be a part of the sleepover, individual photos of the end results will likely be cherished mementos. (continued...)