Okay give me your best sleepover advice or ideas

[lynn]

It will be 5 eleven year olds. I know for the !most part they will do their own thing but I need some fall back ideas and movie suggestions.

[Arctic Bunny]

Boys? Girls?

[SKL]

I am not good at this, but I do have one suggestion from experience.  Let everyone know when the sleepover will be over, and stick to that.  :)  For your own mental health.  :)

 

Generally, if you're all loosey-goosey, the kids will run the show more than they really should.  Know in advance what your boundaries are and make sure the kids know too.  Be strong.  :)

[JFSinIL]

And all cell phones etc. get handed over at the door as kids come in. No unsupervised going on-line to be allowed at all!!! Plus they should pay attention to each other, not their devices.

[MotherGoose]

Mama gets to implement a bedtime (sleepover reasonable). No devices. Predetermined movie. Predetermined sleeping space.

[Plink]

They will probably keep you up until an unreasonable hour. Plan ahead for the next day. Set up the coffee-maker, and have the yogurt, fruit, juice, muffins and/or whatever all ready to go so that you don't have to wake up early to bake or judge when they will be up. Also, make sure you have an extra craft or activity reserved for the morning so that you can pull it out if they start to look bored or grumpy from over tiredness.

 

Easy activities:

 

Rainbow toenails "spin the bottle" style - The girls sit in a circle and take turns spinning a bottle and then using whichever color it lands on to paint their next toe. Giggling guaranteed.

 

Clay necklaces - Sculpey comes in zillions of colors and you only need a quarter size amount to make a decent pendant. Bake and then string with beads.

 

Make your own bars - ice cream sundae, tacos, salad, pizza... anything that the girls can work on as a group is always fun

[Spryte]

Yes, definitely set a clear beginning and end. If you're doing dinner, do a "bar" or a make-your-own station. Pizza is good. Plan an activity and/or a movie. Lots of snacks. Plan a sleepover bedtime. Plan to reinforce it several times. :) Make ahead breakfast. Plan on not getting enough sleep, so bank on the next day being pretty low key.

 

Definitely communicate pick up times!

Edited April 26, 2017 by Spryte

[Peaceseeker]

Start late. They will be up so late, no sense in having the whole shebang start at 2:00 pm or anything. 7:00-8:00 pm is good, no earlier than dinner unless you want it to feel like the longest day of your life. Have an early pickup time too, because after staying up all night they are crabby and whiny the next day so it is best to end it quickly. One time I made the mistake of a noon pick up time- never again...now I end these things right around 7-8 am. Which seems crazy, but for some unknown reason despite staying up all freaking night they still get up early. So get them out of there before the breakdowns and fights start from lack of sleep!

 

I agree with make your own type bars for pizza, tacos, etc...Popcorn is good for later when watching a movie. You really don't need to have anything planned for the first few hours, they will entertain themselves. Save the movie for later when you are praying for a bit of peace! I let them get all the wild out and then start a movie around midnight, but I am fairly relaxed. If you want to institute a time when it's lights out/quiet, etc... establish it from there beginning and time your movie to finish up when quiet time starts. If you run in conservative circles maybe run the movie title by the other parents. Some people let their 11 year olds watch the latest PG-13 flick and some at that age are still watching cartoons.

 

Easy help yourself things for breakfast- donuts, juice, cereal, etc...

 

Fall back ideas- a craft like sculpy clay or design your own t shirt with fabric paint, etc. Everyone can bring their own. Glow in the dark stuff is always a hit, save it for a surprise and turn out the lights and break out the glow sticks or other glow items. Karaoke or charades is fun with the right group of kids.

[Reefgazer]

Don't.

[NorthwestMom]

Slime is so big with my 12yo and her friends right now. There's a thousand variations on Pinterest.

[Tap]

I do sleepovers on Friday nights.  Almost all the kids were public/private schooled kids so they start the day off early, which leads to a more resonable bed time.

 

Pick a movie yourself with your child, or give 2/3 and let them vote.  But No More.  No random searching through Netflix. Stick to PG (even if you are ok with PG-13). 

 

Drop off time either at 4-5pm and expect to feed them dinner. Or 7pm which is clear that is it after dinner. (6pm drop of is too vaugue). 

 

Do Capri Sun 100% juice pouch,  Resonable portions and if you get a couple flavors, is easy to please.  Put a pitcher of water on the counter with ice/lemon.  Put some 4 ounce Dixie cups with it, so the kids can get it whenever they want. Let them know it is for them, so they feel welcome to it.

 

I also like to get the plastic cups from the dollar store that are shaped a bit like a jar, have a screw on lid and a straw.  Offer them water in them so they can keep it near by but it limits spills.  Use a paint marker to put each girls name on them, so they know which cup is whose and then have a fun cup to take home.  If you don't have this option, ask if Starbucks will sell you a few cups (25cents each).  Seriously! I promise, a cup with a lid and straw is worth it for movie time.

 

Pick up at 10am.  Make plans so you have to leave the house by 11am and tell the parents!!  Otherwise you will have stragglers.

 

Popcorn (not kettle corn) for movie snack and plain Frito lay chips.  They are easy to pick up off the floor and don't stain.

 

Put all the phones on the kitchen counter.  Tell the girls they can text mom/dad if they want, but need to leave the phones there.  TEXT the parents your number so they can reach you if needed.  Then Save each parent as a 'Ambers Blake's mom---Stephani' This way, you also have each child's parents number in your phone in case of emergency!!!   Saving by just the parents name can leave you scratching your head as to who this person is at a later date. LOL   By putting them in your phone, If you are heading to the ER in an ambulance you wont have to have to try to figure out how to contact a parent.  Even if they don't answer, you can at least leave a message for them.

 

For morning, pick up some cereal.  Even if you don't usually buy cereal.  It is cheap and easy. Or make fruit smoothies.  They go down easy and if you put bananas/coconut milk/yogurt they are pretty filling. 

 

If you want a treat, I do ice cream bars.  Premeasured. Easy to please. I but a couple of boxes  of common ones. Ice cream sandwiches in the 3 flavors.  A box of fruit bars for dairy allergic.   If the weather is nice, I send them outside with the ice cream to avoid drips.

Edited April 26, 2017 by Tap

[J-rap]

I agree that some fall-back activities are good, but it's helpful to know if they're boys or girls.