Sleepovers are a regular thing in our house recently so I thought I would dedicate this week’s Tuesday’s 10 at 10 to my top tips for making sure that any sleepovers at your house go without a hitch.
Don’t over-plan
If you do make plans for sleepover activities, it’s highly likely that they won’t want to do whatever you have planned. I generally have a bag of popcorn in the cupboard and a cucumber in the fridge (anyone with teen girly girls will get this) as the most Miss Frugal and her friends will usually want to do is have a mini spa night with face-masks and cucumbers on their eyes and watch a girly movie.
Sort food out in advance
I don’t mean that you have to sit down and work out exactly what your sleepover guests will eat but do find out if they’re veggie and get an idea of what they like to eat.
Make things easy
I always tell our sleepover guests that they can help themselves to whatever they want (they never do) from the kitchen for snacks and drinks and make sure they know where the cups are and where the snacks are kept. I also pop a couple of bottles of water in the bedroom so they don’t need to ask if they’re feeling particularly shy.
Make them feel comfortable
We have an en suite in our bedroom so I always leave the main bathroom light on through the night and explain that we’ll shut our door and won’t be seen again until morning once we go to bed. I remember being at a sleepover once when I was young and I didn’t want to go to the toilet in my nightie in case I walked into to someone. I also make sure there are plenty of pillows and covers available.
Expect them to leave something at home
We have little minis of deodorant and toothpaste along with a hairbrush and bobbles in a travel bag that Miss Frugal keeps in here wardrobe ready for when she goes on a sleepover and she often ends up lending them things.
Make sure they can call home
All of Miss Frugal’s friends have their own phones so I usually check they’ve remembered chargers for their gadgets so they don’t run out of battery. If they have, I have a couple of spare so they can borrow them.
Expect a mess
There’s no point stressing out about the inevitable mess that’s going to happen in the bedroom. This is the transformation in Miss Frugal’s room during this weekend’s sleepover:
I don’t stress about it but I do ask that it’s tidied (even just a bit) before everyone goes home and so far, it’s always been done without any complaining.
Expect the kids to have much less sleep than they need
I know that when Miss Frugal has a sleepover, she’ll go to bed late and get up early which isn’t a problem at all but I do make sure that I don’t plan any big days out for the next day as she’ll start to fade later in the afternoon and I can guarantee that she’ll be more than a little grouchy.
Sort breakfast out the night before
Make sure they know what’s for breakfast the next morning so you don’t have to get up at the crack of dawn with them. I don’t let them cook anything until I’m up and usually tell them to help themselves to cereal. I also tend to leave the bowls and spoons out out on the counter to remind them. 😉
Make sure all belongings are gathered up before they go home
Get your guest to make sure they have everything before they go and if they say they already have, get them to check again. We’ve had iPads, coats and purses left before.
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