When my sons were growing up they sometimes had a sleepover,often to celebrate a birthday.
Once the guests had arrived we would drive them to McDonald’s and trust them to stay there until they had finished eating (they were sensible teenagers). When they were ready to come home my son would ring or text and one of us would collect them, back home they would usually go into the bedroom to play video games or watch a movie, or play a board game on the kitchen table.
Lights out would be around 9.30 but they wouldn’t go to sleep for what seemed like ages as we could still hear chatting and laughter into the small hours, other than this, I must say that they were well behaved.
We usually invited 2 or 3 boys to stay over. My tips for a large sleepover would be to suggest that everyone arrives and leaves in nightwear (if you are not planning on going out) that way there is not a scramble to find clothes in the morning.
If you eat in order a take away and use paper plates to save on washing up and for breakfast serve croissants and orange juice with paper utensils again.
When my youngest son was around 7 he was invited for his first sleep over . he was very excited and couldn’t stop talking about what they were going to do. However I received a phone call at 8.30 from the mother of the boy that he was staying with, telling me that he was feeling homesick and wanted to come home to sleep, I went to collect him. He did stay over at several sleepovers a few years later.
A friend’s child went for a sleepover with a relative and slept snugly on a make do bed on the floor.
My eldest granddaughter went for a sleepover at her auntie and uncle’s house so that her parents could have an evening out. Just as my son had done she wanted to go home so her uncle had to drive her back as her daddy had been drinking while he was out.
I remember going on a sleepover at a neighbour’s house when I was about 8. My friend and I had a bath together and decided that we wanted lots of bubbles, so she sneaked a bottle of washing up liquid upstairs. the only problem was that we put in so much the water turned green and the bubbles were overflowing onto the floor. I said that if we covered ourselves in toilet soap and sat in the bubbles they would disappear, luckily my plan worked so we were not in trouble and learned from it!
Sleepovers should be fun for everyone including the adults, so keep stress levels to a minimum by following my tips.
Please share experiences of sleep overs.
As always questions/comments are welcome.
Until next time.
Karen
x
We’ve never hosted a sleep over here as yet, and part of me never wants to! My son has been to one at a friend’s but it didn’t go too well! #thesatsesh
Aspen has had lots of sleepovers, but April doesn’t like going to them or having them, she likes her own space at night and finds nighttime company annoying. Adam enjoys sleeping over at his best friends or his best friend staying here, they talk for half the night, he has just turned 9. #thesatsesh
back to say Thanks for linking up this week with #ABloggingGoodTime
EEEEEKKKKK! We will be hosting our first one for our 7 year old in a few weeks. I am looking forward to it. #anythinggoes
Your stories remind me of my childhood sleepovers – sleeping on the floor, giggling and telling stories in the dark, and lots of Kool-aid
#Keepingitreal
This isn’t something I’ve done with my younger children, although I used to do it a lot with my older children and we all had fun. #keepingitreal
I hate the big group sleep overs – there’s always some kid coming undone for some reason (and with the teens, it’s something else you need to worry about regardless of the spearated sleeping quarters!) #Dreamteam
I’m looking forward to and dreading sleepovers at the same time! I think I will probably need to sleep the day before to give me the energy to deal with it all! #BloggerClubUk
Great advice, and workable! #BloggerClubUK
Oh I love this post. Our 9yo has had a few sleepovers (both at home and at friend’s) and they’ve all gone okay. I think they learn quite quickly the consequences of lack of sleep! Thanks for linking to #AllSortsofBlogs
I love the tip about arriving and leaving in the pjs! Thanks for linking up to #thesatsesh xx
Oh gosh, the dreaded sleepovers. I’m not that keen to be honest, unless it’s with nanny and grandad 🙂 Thanks for joining us for the #dreamteam
Great tip to have them arrive and leave in pjs! My eldest enjoys sleepovers but has only recently started having them/ going to them. Thanks for linking up with #Blogstravaganza 🙂
I had sleepovers at grandparents but never at friends’ houses and my children are the same so far. I would let them have their cousins to stay but feel they are a little bit young at the moment: maybe one friend could stay at a time… Thanks for linking up with #globalblogging
Never done a sleepover great tips Thank you for linking to #Thatfridaylinky please come back next week
These are great tips, I’m slightly apprehensive about the boys going to a sleepover, I hate the house when we’re not all in it!!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us at #TriumphantTales. I hope to see you back next week.
I think sleepovers are becoming less and less common. I certainly don’t forsee letting my girls have a sleepover any time soon. That said, I do have fond memories of sleepovers as a child. Thanks for the reminder of the fun side too.
#thatfridaylinky
Back from #blogstravaganza – thanks again.
Hi Karen, sleep overs should be a fun part of growing up. I had them when growing up and my children enjoyed them too, but I only a friend or two at a time…Now the idea of using paper plates is a good one!
Thank you for linking up with #keepingitreal
xx