Here's the secret to the whole slumber party endeavor: have it on Friday night. They will have gotten up at 6 or 6:30 that morning, and by ten o'clock they will be ready to doss down for the night. Or that's what happened here; it didn't work for Sara, who sent me an email about her slumber party at midnight-thirty that said "hoping for quiet by 2am." Hee hee! My girls went up and put on their jammies, completely unprompted by me, at 9:00. Then we turned the living room into a mattresspalooza and they all sprawled out everywhere. It was like a scene from Brokedown Palace minus the drugs or stern Thai matrons.
From about 10-12 they watched Starstruck, a Disney movie about a sissy tween idol who looked barely out of diapers to me, but they were rapt. Pretty Neighbor and I hid in the book room and drank a bottle of wine.
It turned out that we didn't need a lot of activities. Laura did pick out a bracelet-making kit, and we had that set up for them to work on as they arrived. They really liked those. Some of them also decorated their faces.
Then they ran around some, then it was time for pizza, then cake, then presents. Then there was some prolonged squealing, but it was upstairs and I was downstairs so I didn't mind so much, then there was a good bit of flouncing around in jammies, then there was the making of beds, and flopping on them, then there was lots of chatting and some more squealing but did I mention the bottle of wine?
One big event was the opening of goody bags, the inventorying of the Silly Bandz in the bags, and the Silly Bandz trading. (Are Silly Bandz the thing where you guys are? ZOMG they are like oxygen here.) I took a few pictures of the negotiations.
If you've ever seen traders in action on the floor of the stock exchange, you get the picture. Oh, and we only lost one girl, but it was just half an hour after she got dropped off. Her mom brought her in and said that she'd had a palate expander put in the day before, and that it was hurting her. I got the feeling the girl didn't even want to come, but her mom seemed to be pushing her to stay a little while. She sat down with the other girls, but she looked glassy-eyed. After twenty minutes I felt her forehead and she seemed warm to me. She said, "I want to call my mom now," and I said, "Yes, I think that's a good idea." She turned out to be sick on top of the orthodontic pain. I'm surprised her mom brought her at all.
There was no fussing, except one little girl came to me and said, "I need an icepack, Caroline spit in my eye." I was like, why don't we rinse it out instead? And tell everyone there is no spitting allowed. The hecks?
They were asleep by midnight, and I heard them begin stirring again at 7. They got out the bagels and cream cheese, and cold pizza, and helped themselves. I stayed in bed until 8:30. Then they were gone as quickly as they came, leaving only a toxic cloud of some kind of body spray they got into upstairs.
A few more pictures are here. Laura said it was the best birthday ever and nobody cried, so I'm calling this one a success.
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18 comments:
Flouncing...check. Squealing...check. Wow--I think that went about as smoothly as possible! And they didn't even keep you up all night!
My fave pics are the bracelet negotiations. Too funny! And the line about all the beds looking like Brokedown Palace...yeah, let's hope the similarities ended there.
Have it on Friday night...gotta remember that.
Nate wants to know what Hank did during the party--he is overwhelmed by the thought of so many girls invading HIS house, I think. And how many wardrobe changes did Laura have? There's a different outfit in every shot! :)
Love Laura's new hat. Sounds like they all had a good time, nothing got broken, and unexpected sleep was had I'd say you got off easy. Next year she may want to up the ante though.
My fave is the photo of them all eating with Hank just sitting at the table, calm as can be, as part of the action. Priceless.
What on earth are silly bandz? I've got only testosterone in this house, so it's all Legos and Indiana Jones and Bakugan and crap like that.
that just looks ridiculously fun. reminds me of my first slumber party when I was about that age. we watch nightmare on elm street. probably a poor choice for nine year olds, but we though it was awesome. though i don't know that i've slept since.
Nice gratuitous shot of the seven-hundred-dollar popcorn machine (that was marked down to three hundred).
Also Jenni's comment made me laugh, because I had a sleepover at the same age that involved the watching of The Shining. What is with the ill-advised slumber party choices? Smart parents would make them watching something really boring, to put them to sleep. Glen Garry Glen Ross, or something.
I love the pizza pics with Hank eating with them. He looks like he is fascinated with these strange girls!
So glad it was a success and that there was actual SLEEP!
This event is THE classic example of a thing to be enjoyed from afar. I can well imagine Laura's behavior though out, and I know she was in her glory. But, wow, I'm glad I wasn't there. It is not for no reason that parenting is for young people.
Ha! Yes, Laura was in her glory. She's so relaxed though. She didn't stress for a minute about whether people were having a good time, the way I did and do. She is like, duh, they're having a good time because it is a party.
And the Shining? Nightmare on Elm Street!?! I would be an outcast in the community if these kids had watched one of those! I wonder if we were more daring in our day?
Silly Bandz are these little silicone bracelets that come in shapes, like a star or the outline of a dolphin or something. You can wear them but when you take them off they resume their shape. Girls AND boys, actually, are wearing them to school and trading them. For like 5 or 6 bucks you can get a pack of 24, but Laura speaks admiringly of a girl on her bus who wears "fifty on one arm, and fifty on the other." Laura counted hers today (several people gave her some for her bday) and she has 87. Gracious.
Oh, and Hank did okay. The girls tolerated him and paid just enough attention to him that he didn't feel shut out, and then I gave him a little present (a Veggie Tales dvd) to unwrap and watch when they wanted to be shut up in Laura's room. His only sad moment was when I told him he couldn't sleep downstairs with the girls, and he cried, "But I won't have any friends around me!"
Now that was a great party! You planned well, and looks like it was a tremendous success! Laura was the perfect hostess,I'm sure. A bunch of giggling girls pretty much provide their own entertainment. Goodie bags, popcorn, group sleeping, pizza-what more can a gaggle of nine year olds want? The picture of Hank is precious to me. He so wants to be in the midst of all that action-he loves Laura so much.And he loves the attention that those girls give him. He looks a little awed to be eating with them. Sweet birthday. What's on schedule for next year?
Crap, I just posted using my husband's google account. Sorry about that. Here's why I had to erase it...
"How come no one has mentioned the lead picture with the "balloons down the shirt" display?
Personally, I always highlighted said balloons by taking the end of my shirt and tucking/pulling it through the collar of my shirt. Like a homemade bikini.
Maybe that was just for the 80s."
If my husband had written that, I would have some serious questions to ask him.
When I was that age, I don't remember all the girls having such good haircuts, but maybe I just wasn't as observant then.
Alright! Someone else noticed the Dolly Parton in waiting.
Sounds like the party was a blast. I wish they made PJs like that for grown-up girls.
Silly Bandz are the coin of the realm here in my part of New Jersey. My daughter scored the ultimate trade yesterday and now owns a hedgehog that is pretty cute. Luckily the dollar stores here now carry them or I'd have some bankrupt kids. I'm glad the party was a success!
Fun! Sassy! Pretend boobs! Sorry about the deranged email tips, but you posted & I felt duty-bound, but then had my hands full.
I was grateful for the 2am bedtime that I managed to squeeze out of them. And don't think I wasn't relishing the noise I made in the kitchen at 9am before they got out of bed! Only fair and it *was* to make them pancakes. It turned out very well overall.
Looks like everyone had a blast in your 'hood. I love the pics (and fake boobs. We sported a lot of fake boobs when I was a girl.)
I didn't get a photo one. :-( !!
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