How To Create The Best Sleepover Ever For Your Kids

By: Melissa Fine, ellaslist

Get the sleeping bags, torchlights and popcorn out, it's time for a sleepover to remember - for the right reasons! If the kids can't contain their excitement about the idea of a slumber party but you're worried about the hair-pulling that will come with it, worry not! Here are some pro-tips for creating a seamless, successful sleepover.   

Build An Indoor Cubbyhouse...Or A Teepee!

A slumber party isn't complete without a cool cubbyhouse, but the building part can have you feeling like you're trying to put something from IKEA together...We have our eyes on the unique themed teepees from Slumber Club, like pastel pink Marshmallow Dreams, light-sprinkled Dreamland and bespoke Boys Will Be Boys - perfect for a birthday party sleepover, the kids won't believe their eyes! The Slumber Club team will set it up for you (phew!), complete with mattresses, sheets, blankets and accessories like breakfast trays with nightlights to keep the kids comfy and cosy.

To top it off, while you sit back Slumber Club can organise everything from treasure hunts and building workshops, to an outdoor cinema using an old sheet as a screen...and they'll return the next day with coffee for parents in hand, to deconstruct and collect everything. 

Get The Games Ready

Games are a great way to get some laughs and break the ice if the kids don't all know each other. You can't go wrong with good old Twister - if you don't have a Twister mat, but have a patio or courtyard, why not draw your own with chalk? 

Another fun game to get the conversation going is is "Would Your Rather?", where you go round the circle to answer a mix of funny and more thought-provoking questions like:

• Would you rather have smelly breath OR stinky feet?
• Would you rather hold a snake OR kiss a jelly fish?
• Would you rather eat a dead bug OR a live worm?
• Would you rather be able to fly OR make yourself invisible?
• If you could only eat one type of food for the rest of your life, would you choose vegetables OR chocolate?

Make the questions up yourself or google some ideas, and write them down on colourful palm cards.

Image and Recipe source: Simplistically Living

Make Edible Chocolate Face Masks 

That's right, the kids can make their own face masks and eat the mixture too with this easy-peasy Chocolate Face Mask Recipe.

Ingredients (for 2 x face masks) 

• 1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 1/3 Cup Vanilla or Strawberry Yoghurt 

Method

Add the cocoa, honey and yoghurt to a small mixing bowl, and stir until smooth and combined. Eat a sneaky spoonful of the yummy mixture before applying it to your face with your fingers. After 10-15 minutes, wipe the mixture off with a paper towel, before rinsing off any residue with water and patting your skin dry with a wash cloth. 

Have A Pizza Party

Set up a toppings station on the kitchen counter or table, where the kids can go to town with with DIY toppings on pre-made pizza bases. Think tomato paste, grated mozzarella, pepperoni slices, mushrooms, olives and canned pineapple pieces. Or order pizza in for a less-mess option...the 1 Metre Pizzas from Crust (above) will get some "Wows" out of the kids, are big enough to fit three different toppings, and a fun way to feed grumbling tummies...make a game of it and get the kids to guess how long they are - the first one to guess right gets the first slice! 

Set Up An Ice Cream Toppings Station

You can't go wrong with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and the kids will love decorating their cup or cone. For the toppings station think sprinkles, chocolate shards, mini marshmallows and Nutella, and for some healthier options - peanut butter, sliced banana and strawberries...anything goes! For a little less mess, ice cream sandwiches make a just-as-fun alternative. 

Have A Film Fest 

As the kids start to wind down (or to get them to wind down!), pass the popcorn around, get the blankets out, and share the selection of movies you and your little one have selected - perhaps the kids could raise their hands to vote on one or two movies. Some new and old-school suggestions:

• The Greatest Showman
• Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (or go old-school with the original Jumanji feat. Robin Williams, we love this one!) 
• Disney's Beauty and the Beast remake with Emma Watson
• A Dog's Purpose
• The Breadwinner 
• Mad Hot Ballroom (pictured above)
• Harry Potter
• Shrek
• A Little Princess 
• The Baby-Sitters Club Movie 
• E.T.

Make A Midnight Feast

Remember how fun it was to have a sneaky midnight feast while trying to stifle your giggles at sleepovers back in the day? Have the goods ready and pretend you have no idea what the kids are up to at the stroke of midnight. Pro-tip: Some cheese and crackers, dips and cut-up-fruit thrown into the chocolate and lolly mix might help reduce the sugar highs! 

Have Pancakes For Breakfast

End the sleepover on a high note...with pancakes! These are sure to wake little sleepyheads. Have some DIY pancake toppings handy - like berries, sliced banana, yoghurt, cinnamon, choc chips, almonds, Nutella and honey - so the kids can pick-and-choose what they like and decorate their pancakes with a pretty pattern, or funny faces! Make your job easy with pre-made pancakes or a pancake mix from the supermarket, or check out our Pancake Recipe, complete with cute pancake decorating ideas. 

Any other sleepover success tips up your sleeve? Please share in the Comments! 

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