The other day I was over at my dear old co-room mom Jan's house picking up Laura from a play date. She said, "Do you want to borrow our popcorn maker for Laura's party?" I said, "Sure," thinking we were talking about a small appliance. She led me down to her basement, where we confronted a big, movie-theater style popcorn machine. The kind that dumps all the popcorn in the bottom of a glass case. Jan helped me muscle it out of the basement, through her backyard, and around the side of her house to my van. That woman has a can-do spirit that I've long enjoyed. I said, "Jan, why do you have this?" She said, "Well, it's like a seven hundred dollar machine that was marked down to three hundred!" And I was like, that still doesn't really answer my question, but I love you.
Anyway, we'll have snacking and caking, and plenty of movies to watch, and I'm going to turn the girls loose with the video camera (Laura is always longing to film and be filmed). Question: Do y'all think we need a craft? Normal Neighbor had them painting pillowcases at her daughter's party, and she's offering me her fabric markers. I always wonder how much I really need to schedule or supervise, or if I can just let them roam free more of the time. And if you think a craft is good, any ideas?
My mother-in-law is here to provide moral and tactical support, bless her. She has conceived a nail-painting scheme where each girl has a different color polish and they go to town on each other's nails. That might go over well, as long as my entire house is covered with plastic at the time and I am heavily sedated. I'm totally kidding about the sedation mostly.
Speaking of my mother-in-law, she's brought her dog Buddy with her. Both dogs are lying at my feet and pooting so extraordinarily that I have to get up and leave the computer now. But please share any slumber party pro tips that you have and I'll be back when the air clears.
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How old will she be? I remember, around age 10, that all we wanted is for the moms to leave us alone so we could talk about boys and other stuff. I think it sounds like a fun party, already! No craft needed!
See, I say go for the craft. Just in case! Something simple and easy that does not require a lot of supervision (or preparation for that matter). That way you know they're occupied but they can do it by themselves on their own time.
Wow--9 girls! That sounds like all kind of crazy. And fun! Of course, the fun. :)
It never hurts to have something extra on hand to do if you need it. But Laura is pretty enterprising and I bet they'll keep themselves pretty busy.
Have fun! And sedation isn't such a bad idea.
I can't help you with a girl slumber party but when Hank's turn comes get back with me. Then again boys are easy, snack & video games. Done!
Becky, one of Susan's best parties was a slumber party with about 15 6-yr-olds. Yes, I was insane when I was young. But I divided them into 4 groups and had a make-up station, cupcake decorating station, drawing station and short video station (years of elementary teaching...) Each group had about 20 minutes at each place and they pretty much 'had-at-it'. I drifted and supervised and you'll actually have Matt and you MIL to help. After much fun had been had at each center, we ate dinner, opened presents, had obligatory cake and ice cream and then into pj's. To settle them down for the night, I then made up some story about fairies, etc., and each girl was a character in the story and each one got to do something heroic. Susan, now almost 31, still remembers that as one of her favorite parties. Good luck! Can't wait to read about it.
Judy, you are the master! I like the idea of stations--that might be a good idea since there will be ten of them.
Hi Lydia! Laura is turning 9, I forgot to put that in the post.
One advantage of her being a "big kid" now is that she just put together her own goodie bags for the party. Now she's upstairs cleaning her room, with her grandmother's help. Awesome!
Have a fantastic time. I know Laura will enjoy her friends. I think the stations are a good idea too! I like the nail polishing idea also, and I think the girls will like it Of course having only boys our slumber parties were filled with smelly tennis shoe smells and the essence of sweaty boys. No stations allowed.
They have the coolest little nail gems (there's no such thing as tacky at slumber parties) at Dollar Tree. Might be a big hit? It's like taking the popcorn machine up a notch!!!
It sounds great. The nail polish and movie making will go farther than you think.
I remember another little girl's
slumber party. I think all we did was go out for pizza. The bar has really been raised these days.
Miss you!
I am also in the no craft camp, and I am usually ALL about crafts. I love the idea of the stations, but will they feel that's a little too "school-y" for a party? I say just let them loose and you are set. Can't wait to hear what happens. Do you have a bedtime cutoff?
Videos, video camera, cake, and snacks. You have planned plenty! Part of the fun of a slumber party is making up silly things to do as it goes along. I will say this, though, I love a photo op. My nine year old daughter went to a slumber party and the mom had all of the girls lie on the floor in their pjs. Their heads were in a circle in the middle, legs radiating out like a sun. She snapped the cutest overhead shot and sent it out as the thank you note. Have fun (and Tylenol for the headache you may happen to get).
Oh, this is so exciting! I used to LOVE slumber parties when I was little, and my parents were very indulgent, and we had lots of them with lots of little girls. I don't remember ever doing crafts, but it could be fun. Though I can't imagine them getting bored for an instant. I like the cupcake idea, sort of a combo of the craft/snack idea. We used to play a lot of games, but then my mother was a gamer. She had us playing blackjack by the time we were 9.
I can't wait to hear about the fun.
One of my favorite slumber party memories is the first time I played charades. My friend's Mom hung around and consulted with the charader whenever she got stuck.
Hope y'all have a wonderful time!
Christine's reminds me of something my niece did at a slumber party - they "modeled" and took a bazillion photos of each other. Similarly, Laura with her video camera and natural directing talent could probably go all night with filming music videos and then watching them. Lordy, it all sounds fun, however it turns out. I bet Gary would fit right in.
squeeee! We are having Aggie's 11th birthday sleepover tonight, too! 9 guests also.
I'll be honest, I left as much of it to Aggie as I could. She handled the invites and rsvp-ing. I just kept asking her for status updates.
These birthday sleepovers are all the rage it seems? She's done the painted pillowcase craft and also a project runway fashion show where each girl was asked to bring an outfit or some accessories. That mom was the photographer (she taped a paper runway to the floor) and said the girls absolutely loved it. They didn't want to quit. Also, that mom had the most awesome spread of pre-teen finger food you can imagine.
I bought a rainbow assortment of nail polish, some garish makeup, and personal sized pizza kits they can make for supper, with plans to hand over my camera. I also gave suggestions for pairing off into teams to create skits. I really wanted to do a white elephant gift exchange but forgot. I figure they'll figure out something fun on their own, too.
The 'birthday cake' will be pancakes with whipped cream on Saturday morning.
Lip gloss and nail polish party favors.
Can't wait to see how both Laura's and Aggie's events turn out!
I've got nothin.
But I'm with Michele--any questions about Hank and I'm your go-to woman.
I stand corrected: her dad baked her cupcakes today. He's pretty alright.
If I'm not too late to weigh in, I'd say ixnay on the craft. Maybe let them bake some brownies instead? Good luck. We'll be praying for you.
My craft suggestion: Estes makes these really simple model-rocket kits. You can put them together in an hour or less, paint them and then FOOOOOOM! http://www.estesrockets.com/store/rockets/000810-220-swifttm.html
P.S. Not an indoor craft.
Hey, I'm just here to learn. Sleep overs are ages away. In MY day, oh so long ago, we played a lot of pictionary. Is that weird? We also did those spooky story/ trance things. Do girls still do that?
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