When night falls as fast as the degrees drop, and your kiddos cannot wait for Father Christmas to come, what is best than a sleep over by the chimney (but not to close to the fire!)?
If, like most of us, you don’t have a chimney, softened lights and candles will do the trick to create a nice and cosy wintery environment. But any party comes with… organisation! Because, believe it or not, 5 or 6 kiddos are going to show up for “THE” sleepover of the year (anyways, that’s what you promised your kid) and it is going to be wild.
So, how do you do? Follow our 7 commandments to make this sleepover a huge success!
- Create cute invitations
Ask for your little ones’ help is to their advantage! If they want, they can choose to host a sleepover on a specific theme and opt for the matching invitations, such as unicorn invitations, superheroes invitations, or cosmic invitations.
Depending on their age, you can train them to write or create the invitations themselves. Careful, don’t let them go too crazy on the number of guests because you can easily meet the whole class on the night of the sleepover! You need rules (not more than 5 to 6 friends to avoid turning your house into a summer camp) and you let their creativity shine!
- Plan activities and games
At a time when mobile phones and other devices are invading our homes, why not settle for simple moments of sharing and for manual activities? Baking or playdough, boarding games, costumes…
If you lack in ideas, we offer you many very easy games and activities for your kiddos on the blog! Finally, end the night with a great Christmas cartoon to calm down the little group. Everybody will agree on how cool the party was!
- Cook your own treats
Occasionally, we take the marshmallows and other treats to please the kiddos. Why not offer them to create their own treats?
Choose quick and easy recipes, especially things that you can eat with your fingers, such as funfetti popcorn, meringue lollipops, cupcakes… But stop before a sugar overdose! Otherwise the kiddos could turn into overexcited little monsters at bedtime!
- Make cute decorations
As for any sleepover, we invest on the cosy atmosphere! If you didn’t choose any specific theme, create a comfy environment with cushions, plaids, mattresses on the floor, tents made with sheets – and clothes pegs! -, night-lights and blankets… Believe us, they are going to be so pleased!
However, if you chose a theme, you can add little decorations to bring a touch of magic into your interior design. Between an outer space baby mobile, candy boxes and piñatas, there are plenty of choices to suit everyone.
- Welcome friends
As a good host, there hardest part is going to be finding your place between the organiser and the responsible parent. Don’t panic, just stay around and keep an eye on them discretely. Then, just be yourself! Don’t hesitate to take pictures and videos during the evening, everybody would be happy to look back at them and be reminded of the magic night!
- Manage everything with success (Yes, we swear!)
Don’t over stress about the sleepover success. Organise everything in advance and try to stay on the tracks of the agreed plan of the night… everything should go well!
Pro tip: don’t hesitate to prepare the breakfast before going to bed, so you won’t have to do it the next morning.
- Try to rest
Ok, let’s face it, the next morning will look a bit like the day after you turned 20, but after a good nap with your child (who will probably be as exhausted as you), you will be fresh and energetic again!
Voilà, you have now all the keys to make your kids wait for Santa!
Last piece of advice: don’t forget the must-have of the night: PAJAMAS!