Sleepovers are the quintessential childhood experience of late nights filled with tons of laughter, everyone’s favorite movies and snacks, and a little mischievousness. In short, they are every kid’s dream.
Therefore, when I was planning my children’s sleepover, I knew I had to go big with activities I knew they would revel in.
What activities did you plan and why?
I didn’t want it to be any other sleepover. Like I said before, I wanted it to be a sleepover for every child there to be one they would remember. So, I knew I had to go all out.
The Theme
I began by choosing a theme for the evening. Since I have three daughters and a son, I had to keep it neutral and pick something they would all be interested in. Therefore, I went all out with a game's night bonanza. Furthermore, since they’re all different ages, I knew this theme was perfect to have them all interact with one another.
Let The Fun Begin:
We began the night playing Hedbanz. This is a game our household loves, and I highly recommend it to all families if you haven’t heard of it or don’t have it as part of your games collection. The game can have up to 6 players. Every player must ask yes or no questions until they are able to guess if they are an animal, food, or man-made object.
Aside from it being a lot of fun, the game provides many educative and mental benefits to our children. For example, it teaches them which questions, thus developing their critical thinking, deductive reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
Furthermore, it encourages teamwork. I love playing games that forces my kids to interact with each other and work as a team. The game shows them that if they work together anything is possible, allowing them to strengthen their bond and form a deep sibling relationship.
I also included some childhood classics such as rock, paper, scissors and a silly face competition. This allowed my little humans to just have fun, let loose, and be unapologetically themselves.
Movie Time
No sleepover is complete without a movie. Munching on popcorn and sipping away at rootbeer floats while snuggled up under the covers. It’s just a must. I put on a couple of their favorite movies to end the night, and before I knew it, they were all yawning away and falling asleep.
Since all your kids are different ages, how did you manage to keep them all entertained and engaged throughout the day?
Well, it was simple really. Based on the theme that I had chosen and the activities that I had planned, I knew there was going to be something to keep every one of them occupied.
Furthermore, my kids are different ages. Therefore, choosing family games that are fun at any age ensured, had objectives, and just allowed them to have fun ensured that they stayed engaged and interested throughout the night.
We have to remember, that when it comes to children, they just want to have a good time. Therefore, as long as the giggles are endless and the fun never stops, then they’re always going to stay interested in the activity.
How did you get them to go to bed?
If I'm being honest the activities really tired them out. But one thing that I found always helps is cozy, comfy pajamas.
We often forget that sleepovers take children out of their comfort zone. Once the initial excitement wares down, children need to feel comfortable when falling asleep. Therefore, it’s important as parents that we take all possible measures to make this possible.
Hence, pajamas are an excellent tool to help make them sleep peacefully through the night. For example; Sleep On It has a variety of pajamas that my kids love. I got a BMJ plaid coat set, a super soft jersey plaid set, and an adorable fleece koala onesie for the girls and a fleece gaming onesie for my son.
Every single piece was stylish and funky that they just didn’t want to take it off. However, they were all also extremely soft, breathable, and insulating, ensuring they stayed comfortable throughout the night.
What was the best moment from the night?
It’s hard for me to pinpoint one moment.However, I think my favorite part was when they were all snuggled up together watching the movie. It was such a wholesome and loving moment that, I think as parents, we just can’t get enough off.
Sleepovers are the quintessential childhood experience of late nights filled with tons of laughter, everyone’s favorite movies and snacks, and a little mischievousness. In short, they are every kid’s dream.
Therefore, when I was planning my children’s sleepover, I knew I had to go big with activities I knew they would revel in.
