Last month we had Margaret’s big birthday sleepover and I still can’t believe she’s 10! I will preface this post by admitting I am by no means a sleepover expert. In fact, this is only the second one we have hosted, and it’s the first one with more than two girls.
However, after putting up a few question boxes on Instagram to get some advice (and classic movie recs), I realized there are a lot of parents out there who are also approaching their sleepover era and are interested in tips to make it fun, organized, and stress-free! So I decided to put together a resource guide with information and ideas for any parent currently in this stage of life!
Sleepovers & Sleepunders
First and foremost, to host a slumber party is a highly personal, family decision. We are well aware of the reasons why people choose to say “no” to all sleepovers. We’ve made it clear to the girls that when it comes to sleepovers, we will decide on a case-by-case basis and there will be a lot of factors we’ll weigh each time.
If you are a “no sleepover” family, doing a “sleepunder” is a great way to enjoy the vibe and excitement of a slumber party. In case “sleepunder” is a new term to you, it basically means the kids can enjoy the fun, but go home right before bedtime. We included this option for Margaret’s party and there were a few who took the “sleepunder” approach, which was also a convenient option for anyone who might have early commitments the next morning.
The Complete Sleepover Guide
Okay, I’m going to warn you, this post is a long one. But, I wanted to be thorough and walk though every little detail in hopes that it might be helpful for another parent or guardian planning a sleepover. So without further ado, here are all of the nitty gritty details and useful tips and tricks!
How to Plan a Sleepover (Step-by-Step)
I’m going to break it into two separate parts—planning the sleepover and the actual sleepover. First up, let’s talk planning! Here are the steps I walked through to help ensure we were properly prepared for the big day.
1. Determine Your Sleepover Size
Figuring out the size of the sleepover is key, and I think common sense would suggest that smaller-sized groups are the way to go. (Spoiler Alert: That was not our journey for Margaret’s party!)
The invite list should be dependent upon your own space and layout for the logistics of the event. Margaret and I went back and forth on this particular party and decided to invite all of the 4th grade girls (15 girls including Margaret). We assumed there would be some conflicts, but in the event that all 15 girls were able to attend, we made sure that we would be able to accommodate them all.
Attending a PK – 12th grade school means that many of these girls have been together since they were three years old, and they will continue on together until they graduate from high school. Because of this, we’ve always erred on the side of inclusivity for birthdays and get-togethers as a way to invest in the girls’ relationships.
Our sleepovers won’t always be this large, and the more typical sleepover experiences are smaller groups or one-on-one. So please take what you need from these ideas and feel free to scale them up or down, depending on the size and type of party. For this particular party, we ultimately had 11 girls (but only 8 slept over).
Click here and here to shop sleepover decor (streamers, balloons, signs, disco balls, and more).
2. Establish a Day and Time
We chose a Saturday night for our party because we worried that coming straight from school on a Friday might be overwhelming and overstimulating for the girls.
We chose a drop off time of 3 PM (to accommodate Saturday morning activities) and a pick-up time of 10:30 AM on Sunday morning. There will be Friday night sleepovers in our future, but I envision those being more casual get togethers (versus a birthday party event).
3. Communicate With Parents
I think it’s important that the parents feel as comfortable with the sleepover as the kids do, so we invited any parents who were interested to stay after drop-off and chat over iced tea or coffee. We see these little moments as opportunities to connect with the parents who we’ll be sitting shoulder to shoulder with at chapels, holiday concerts, games, performances, and more. One day we’ll be watching our babies walk together in caps and gowns. Now, I’m going to make myself cry if I get too sentimental here, but you get the point!
We also thought that any child who was nervous might appreciate an “ease in” approach and warm up with their parents still there. We also encouraged anyone who needed to drop-and-run to do so.
Parent Survey
You may not know this about me, but I used to be a teacher, and just like when I was in the classroom, I wanted to get as much information as possible from the parents about their kids. I sent out a survey (just a Google form) with questions about any allergies or strong food preferences/aversions, medications, favorite snacks, favorite movies, etc. I also asked about pick-up time preferences and explained that we were planning to be a “device free” party.
A Device-Free Party
Curtis and I felt it was best to make this a “no device” party, but I know how important it is for the kids to have quality time together without the distraction and potential complication of a device. Everyone was on board with this idea. And while there were a few girls who would be bringing their phones or iPads for various reasons, all of us parents were all on the same page, and the girls knew that their devices would be kept away. We even offered to have a little technology hub set up if any devices needed to be charged.
Click here and here to shop bedding, blankets, pillows, and more.
4. Plan the Sleeping Arrangements
When I was growing up and attending a sleepover, we either brought sleeping bags or made palettes on the floor, but these days it seems to be different. Most kids don’t have sleeping bags, so we figured the best way to handle sleeping arrangements would be to make sure we had enough air mattresses for everyone.
We happen to own quite a few air mattresses, and we just borrowed any extra we needed from friends and family. And since I love and hoard bedding, we had almost enough sets of sheets, pillows, and blankets for each bed. However, I will note that I think it’s completely appropriate to ask guests to bring a pillow and blanket to help make sure everyone has warm and cozy bedding!
We are incredibly fortunate to have a huge family room, and we knew it’d be the perfect space for all the beds. We also knew the family room would be a dance floor and a part-time spa before bedtime, so we had all the bedding organized ahead of time, but didn’t bring them out until later.
We knew we were going to need eight beds, so we did a test run of the sleeping arrangements beforehand to make sure all of them would fit. During the actual sleepover, this space was bubbling over with an excited crew of tween girlies and it was definitely not this tidy! But it sure was happy (which beats tidy any day!!)
5. Determine the Party Favors
We are big fans of party favors, but we like to choose ones that are an interactive part of the event. For this sleepover, we gave every guest a fuzzy blanket (regardless if they were staying the night or not), and the girls loved them! They also got to pick out spa headbands, sleep masks, and other beauty/spa products, plus a few more things you’ll see that they got to take home. It’s fun to give a small gift at the end of every party too, but for this event the blankets were perfect.
6. Plan the Party Decor
I thrifted a pair of light mauve-y drapes and used a stitch gun to apply layers of bright pink tulle along the top to create special curtains that served as an entrance and “door” for the main party room. I hung them up with a tension rod in the oversized doorway of our family room. I then topped them with a homemade balloon arch (that was surprisingly easy). This allowed the girls to “close” off the space when it was time for a movie and bed.
7. Establish a Timeline
I think it’s important to have a general idea of how the evening will progress to keep the kids entertained and happy. Margaret and I worked on creating a rough timeline together. The idea was to provide flexible structure and a natural flow.
Okay, now let’s walk through the actual sleepover. I’ll cover everything from crafts and activities the girls enjoyed to the foods they ate, bedtime, and more!
1. Have an Arrival Activity
As the girls arrived, Margaret showed them the setup and helped them find a place for their belongings. We had the Eras Tour playing on the TV (on mute) and music playing throughout the house. We also had cute little accessories like flower crowns and sunnies that the girls could put on to get excited and in the spirit. A few parents stayed for a bit to chat, and then once a handful of girls had arrived, they started the first activity.
2. Have Even More Activities
Pillowcase Decorating
My friend Megan (@meglux on Instagram) suggested this super fun activity and it was a great start to the party! I truly think it helps anyone feeling anxious to have a simple, low-stress craft or activity to ease them into the event. We bought a bunch of plain white pillow cases and our favorite fabric markers and the girls went to town doodling their names and creating some really fun designs. They all signed each other’s pillow cases, which was so sweet!
Bracelet and Bag Charms
Once the girls finished their first pillowcases, we transitioned into another activity: beading! Before the party, we went through our alphabet beads to make sure we had letters for everyone’s names. We then put them in little ceramic dishes that they could also take home the next day. We had mini acrylic trays set up to help keep everyone’s projects organized. It also allowed the girls to be able to come back and finish their project when they wanted.
These are the bead kits we ordered, and the girls loved them. We also had these jewelry bags on hand and gave one to each of the guests so they could easily take their new accessories home.
3. Things Won’t Go As Planned…Roll With It!
Even though we live in Florida, it had been super chilly leading up to the party, so we planned to heat the pool and jacuzzi. We checked it constantly until about 1 PM, knowing that at least the jacuzzi would be toasty, yet somehow when the time came it didn’t go as planned.
The pool took a while to heat up and was still pretty chilly by the time the girls arrived – I lovingly called it an accidental polar bear plunge! But the girls were absolute troopers, and jumped right in (I totally would’ve bailed if I’d been them!) The jacuzzi had done some sort of automatic shut off, but eventually got back to bubbling. All this to say, sometimes things don’t go as planned, and that’s okay!
Pool Party Tips
The girls came back inside in “shifts” so that they had private places to get dry and change into their cozy clothes or pajamas. We made sure to take their bathing suits and dry them before they left on Sunday morning.
To prepare for the pool portion, I laid out towels, pool floats, and a bunch of extra goggles, and made sure the music was on outside. We had little coolers of sparkling water, juice, and mini water bottles outside, as well as a selection of snacks.
4. Plan Plenty of Food Breaks
After a few crafts and swimming, the girls were hungry! This was the perfect time for a Chick-Fil-A nugget tray! We continuously had other snacks placed around the house like pretzels, peanut butter crackers, Cheez-Its, goldfish, cheese sticks, yogurt, and fruit. We had these cups and the girls chatted for a bit while they ate and refueled for the next bit!
Click here and here for spa accessories!
5. Make It Special (With a Spa Day!)
Margaret has always loved a piñata, and she couldn’t imagine her 10th birthday without one. So we bought one and filled it with spa and beauty goodies! Think masks, lip gloss, face gems, temporary tattoos and nail stickers! The girls took it outside to the front yard, and it was honestly such a hit – pun intended!
Then everyone ran inside to have “spa and beauty” time. We made sure that there was enough of everything for every girl. We also had plastic trays, a set of makeup brushes for each girl, spa headbands, nail polish, nail polish remover, mirrors, hand sanitizer, makeup wipes and a few mini trash cans ready for the wrappers and such.
Pro Tip: I had mentioned to parents ahead of time that the girls may want to bring their own makeup for this portion of the party.
6. Provide a Dinner All Kids Will Enjoy
When dinner time rolled around, we decided to have everyone eat together at the dinner table (as opposed to picnic style while watching a movie). We thought maybe we would hear some complaints, but we definitely didn’t and it was a great time to pause, relax, and nourish the girls.
The menu consisted of pizza, fruit, veggies, and corn dogs. We kept it simple and used pretty paper plates, napkins, and reusable cups* (each girl got to take their cup home). Once the girls were settled with their food, Curtis and I went to the living room, so they were on their own to chat and giggle.
*We should have had them decorate their reusable cups when they were doing their pillowcases, as it would’ve been another fun craft. It also would have been a practical way to help identify which cup belonged to which girl.
Click here for these reusable cups and other party decor/favors!
7. Open Gifts (If They Want!)
Having dinner at the table provided a seamless opportunity to transition straight into cake and ice cream.
Normally we would reserve gift opening for after the party, (and if you haven’t been to modern day birthday parties, this seems to be the norm). But the girls begged Margaret to open her gifts after the cake. Watching these girls get so excited to give Margaret her gifts was a highlight of the party. I was proud (and relieved) to see my girl put her graciousness into practice, making sure she read each card, remarking on her friends’ artwork, and genuinely thanking each one.
8. Set Up A Special Movie Night
After dinner and presents, it was time for movie night. Another pro tip: Inflate the beds up ahead of time and store them in a different room. It will make things much easier. We did have the blankets, sheets, and pillows ready to go, so that part was pretty quick. But I would recommend making the beds ahead of time.
In the parent communications we made it clear we would only be showing G or PG-rated movies. The girls unanimously agreed to watch Wicked, but about 1.5 hours into the movie (it is a long movie!) they switched to Freaky Friday.
We asked the parents ahead of time what their child’s favorite candy is. It was so sweet to watch each girl’s excitement as she discovered that we had a full-sized version of their favorite treat waiting for them.
9. Have a Designated Lights Out Time
The girls who were staying the night started getting ready for bed and settling down around 10 PM (although some were already snoozing through the end of the movie!). At 11 PM we turned out the lights and soon the excited chatter turned quiet and the girls started falling asleep.
Prep Tip: Before the girls went to bed, I showed them where to find extra blankets, bottles of water, and extra lighting (like these rechargeable lamps and shades). We also made sure to leave on low lighting to help with any middle-of-the-night bathroom trips.
10. Serve a Yummy Breakfast
A family-style breakfast of mini muffins, mini cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, bacon, orange juice, milk, and water was perfect for breakfast. Someone also suggested chocolate croissants for the morning, which were a huge hit.
11. Plan One Last Activity
We kept the morning activities low key with some beginner origami (which turned out to be a hit) and games like Uno, Taco/Cat/Goat Cheese/Pizza, and Connect Four. Curtis became a pro glitter tattoo artist with this kit that we love.
12. Prepare for Parent Pick-Up
A half hour before parents were due to arrive, we did a quick “power pick up” of the room. The girls helped out by picking up trash, packing their bags, and making sure they gathered all their party treasures.
I had a bunch of big paper bags like these, with their names tied to them, to place any overflow of items. We put everything by the front door so they’d be ready when their ride arrived.
And That’s a Wrap!
Hosting a sleepover might seem daunting and like a lot of work (which it is!). But, I will tell you that every single minute of prep and clean up was worth it. I loved hosting these sweet girls, and planning it with Margaret was a memory for the books!
Be sure to follow along with all of our family adventures over my Instagram! And you can shop all of our favorite sleepover items on my LTK.
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For more kid-focused content, be sure to check out these previous posts!
- Kids’ Summer Camp Packing List
- How to Display Kids’ Artwork
- The Ultimate Disney World Packing List
- Margaret’s Custom Bed
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