Last night I was looking at our ‘summer list of fun’ which has been pinned to the kitchen wall since the start of the summer. Many things have been ticked off such as cinema day, swimming day, and a day of shopping (yes you can tell I live with an 11 year old girl). But one thing that has remained unticked is ‘school holiday sleepover’.
And when you are 11, sleepovers are THE best thing ever. I remember having sleepovers when I was my daughters age, seeing who could stay awake the longest, and having that all important midnight feast. So I am kind of sad that for some reason the school holiday sleepover didn’t happen. I think it was a combination of my daughter’s friend being away, and when they were back, we were really busy. And now with less than a week to go before school starts, time has just disappeared.
Sleepovers have definitely got easier as the kids have got older. Okay they might not go to sleep when they should do, but as long as they are fairly quiet I don’t mind the hushed conversations coming from the bedroom. If you have yet to experience a sleepover, these tips may help you.
Prior to the sleepover, have an idea what an acceptable bedtime is. I have heard some horror stories where children are still up at 4am.
I buy some treats such as popcorn and hot chocolate, and let them watch a DVD in Katie’s bedroom about 90 minutes before lights out. It *hopefully* gives them a chance to wind down.
Think about the sleeping arrangements. Katie has an IKEA day bed which pulls out into a double bed which is perfect for sleepovers. Other ideas are childrens trundle beds which are also perfect for sleepovers.
Make sure you know what the child coming for the sleepover likes to eat. There is no point in cooking up a delicious meal only to declare they hate everything on the plate. I always find that chicken nuggets and chips always go down a treat for a sleepover.
And it goes without saying, let them have fun. Okay the word ‘sleepover’ might strike fear and dread into parents (it did me the first time it was mentioned), but bear in mind that it is only for 1 night.
And the following day I can guarantee that your child will be shattered and begging for an early night. Every cloud has a silver lining.
I had better get planning our October school holiday sleepover before time runs away with us again. Happy sleepovers.
Thank you to Ollie and Leila for sending us some gorgeous bedding for our sleepover
Wait till they’re older, we had teens staying to watch the boxing on TV which started at 2am! The house went quiet about 6am : )
Oh god sounds like fun, for the teenagers anyway. Hope you managed to get some sleep through all the boxing noise x
I shudder at sleepovers! Luckily my daughter isn’t that keen on them and a whole week on Scout camp meant she wasn’t bothered about having one during the holidays. My son stayed over with his friend a couple of times and his friend stayed here one night, but they were in separate rooms at our house (result!).
I like the idea of separate rooms. I remember when Morgan had one years ago he ended up sleeping on a mattress on our floor as they wouldn’t go to sleep lol. Oh the joys. Katie is not too bad when she has friends over x
I gave up worrying about sleepovers a few years ago and let them happen now. Thankfully A’s friends are mostly great kids that we love having around.
They are definitely things you can’t escape from, and I just remember all the fun I had when I was younger x
Joe want a trundle bed when we move so he can have sleepovers or one of those high beds with a sofa bed underneath, his room is in the eaves at the moment so he is really excited at the prospect x
I bet he is so excited to get a new bedroom. Katie has the smallest room so I did consider getting her a high bed with a desk underneath x