Slumber Parties

Slumber parties are great for children ages 8 and up. You can use your own discretion if you want to have slumber parties with younger kids, of course, but they are often harder to handle and are more prone to getting homesick.

The house of kids
The number of guests is going to depend on the size of your house, but 4 to 8 is usually the range slumber parties fall in between.

The day
Choose a time when everyone in your family can sleep in the next day. The noise of the party is probably going to keep everyone up a little later than usual. Slumber parties usually start after dinner and end before noon the next day. Designate the living room or rec room as the slumber party room. The kids will have more fun in one of these rooms than being confined to the bedroom.

Activities
Your kids are going to be pretty self-sufficient in this regard. They're going to gossip, play games, figure out who likes whom at school and do a lot of laughing. You might want to help the kids rent some movies or video games if they so desire.

Food
Junk, junk, junk. Traditional slumber party food is chips, popcorn, pop, pretzels and whatever other candy the guests smuggle into your house.

Adult on duty
You are the guide and the unseen chaperone. Meet the kids and parents as they arrive. Show the kids around the house, pointing out the bathroom and where they can get changed into there pjs. Get the parents' home phone numbers and any special instructions like allergies, medications, etc.

The fun of the slumber party comes from being unsupervised, so stay out of the way for the most part. Drop in from time to time to check up on things, but be crafty. Stick your head into the room to fill up the chip bowl or pick up empty cans.

Most importantly, don't forget to tell the kids to quiet down periodically and to turn off the lights and settle down when it gets late. It's no fun staying up all night unless you aren't supposed to!

The morning after
You don't have to make a big breakfast. Cereal or eggs, toast and juice are universally popular. As the kids start leaving, ask them if they have all their belongings.

When everyone has gone home it now time for the clean up. Get your child to help you straighten up and then go have a nap! You survived the slumber party.