Super Sleepover  -  Crafts, Spa, Games & Food

DECORATIONS: I went crazy with the decorations! Our banisters were lined with white streamers, every doorway had a rainbow curtain of streamers, and in the two main rooms we hung streamers from the middle of the ceiling to the sides which made it look sort of like a tent. Every table was covered with balloon table cloths which made for an easy cleanup. In almost all of the rooms we blew up big balloons and threw them everywhere which kept the girls entertained. We also taped a huge, long piece of paper to one of the walls that the guests could sign. SNACKS: We had a bunch of snack bowls in every room that were constantly refilled! This was a good way to check on the girls too. The snacks included: veggie & dip plates, fruit & yogurt plates, cheese chips, tortilla chips with salsa, cheese & cracker plates, hershey's kisses, skittles, mints, and gum.

GOODIE BAGS: We bought a pack of twenty big birthday goodie bags at Target for 3 $. They were handed out the next morning and they included: candy, a copy of a group shot taken during the party, a bag of microwaveable popcorn, a mini doll pillow & pillowcase, a travel sized toothbrush, and a little bottle of lotion all to go along with the sleepover theme! They cost about 6 $ each.

ACTIVITIES: After each girl arrived, put their bags away, and got the chance to sign the big card we started a craft- FANTASTIC FRAMES. We bought 18 cheap wooden frames at IKEA and set up the table with glue, glitter, little pieces of paper, ribbon, scissors, beads, stickers, plastic jewels, and confetti for them to decorate! As they finished, we put the frames on cookie sheets and in front of fans to dry. After they finished their craft and got settled we divided the girls into four groups of four to go through five stations. Because there were only four groups, we only needed four helpers. They were my husband, my daughter, my daughter's friend, and I. The groups stayed at each station for 35 minutes.

STATION ONE: Pedicures and Facials- This station was inside and in our living room. My daughter ran this station. We had four chairs set up with a big mixing bowl of hot water, soap, and rose petals in front. As the girls soaked their feet, my daughter applied an all natural facial we bought from the store Lush". It cost 10 $ for a big container. As their facials were on with accompanying cucumber eye covers she started the following pedicure steps. 1) Remove feet from water 2) Dry toes 3) File down nails 4) Ask each girl if they want pink red or white polish 5) Apply one coat of polish 6) Apply top coat. After the pedicures were done they removed their facials with wet washclothes. If there was extra time she let the girls do their own fingernails.

STATION TWO: Scavenger Hunt- I led this station which began on our front porch. The part of the hunt was a search for certain items. The girls were given an index card with a list of things like: 5 sticks a sock from someone not in your group a one or five dollar bill (to be returned) 3 leaves that are not green etc Once they presented me with all the items on the card the second part began. They had to find and follow clues from all over our house and yard. I presented them with their first clue and they had to find six more that would lead them back to me. The places the clues led them to were: backseat of the car inside the dishwasher in the mailslot on the upstairs television screen on the inside of a lampshade inside the freezer and back to me. The clues were in envelopes and all four were placed in each location for all of the groups. The prizes were party poppers sparklers and bubbles. They cost about 3 $ per girl. If there was extra time at this station we played Simon Says.

STATION THREE: Tie Dye & Crafts- I bought size medium cami tshirts at Target for four dollars each. This station was on our front lawn and run by my husband. We had buckets of blue red and green dye rubber bands a bucket of water and we tied a string between two trees for the shirts to dry on. The girls followed the following steps: 1) Tie up shirts with rubber bands 2) Hold shirts in desired color for five minutes 3) Repeat for as many colors as you want 4) Squeeze out the shirt after each dying period. 5) Wash the shirt in the water 6) Squeeze out shirt. Let the shirts stay tied up for five minutes then undo the rubber bands and hang them up. With the remaining time we gave the girls brushes a palet of paint and paper and let them splatter paint. Their names were on both pieces. With five minutes left at the station they were told to finish up and were given hand wipes.

STATION FOUR: Cooking Desserts- This station was in the kitchen and run by my daughter's friend. We thought they would enjoy making and eating their own treats.

THE FIRST GROUP made M&M brownies from a Godiva premade and chocolate lollipops from a kit with molds and sticks. The lollipops were put in the freezer and a timer was set for the brownies.

THE SECOND GROUP made chocolate dipped strawberries pretzels bananas and cookies (which were put on trays and refridgerated). They just melted a pot of chocolate chips and dipped! They also decorated sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles.

THE THIRD GROUP made a chocolate mousse tart. We bought chocolate shell bowls from Trader Joe's as well as a mousse mix which the girls made and put in the bowls. Then they made fresh whipped cream which they LOVED then added raspberries and blueberries on top. They also made chocolate lollipops from the kit.

THE FOURTH GROUP frosted decorated and used icing on a plain vanilla bunt cake then made chocolate chip cookies from a premade mix. Five minutes before switching the girls washed their hands and cleaned their area. There was also five minutes of switching time so many daughter's friend could make any preparations for the next group. If there was extra time the girls played a game. We put a one skittle in four bowls and put whipped cream on top. Then the girls had to find the skittle only using their mouths! They loved this!

STATION FIVE: Outside Games- This station was in our backyard and run by the extra person. We had frisbees jump ropes kickballs and tennis balls outside. We brainstormed activities like: Frisbee 500 What time is it Mr. Foxx playing jump rope Wonderball Four Square kicking throwing or speed contests Messy Backyard or the Museum Game. Most groups got to at least three of these games. BEFORE the activites we made signs for each station schedules for each group and game leader and had a leader's meeting. This is what the kid's schedule was like:                             

ACTIVITY ORDER  GROUP 1: 1   2   3   4   5                               
station 1: Pedicures & Facials in the living room GROUP 2: 2   3   4   5   1                               
station 2: Scavenger Hunt on the front porch GROUP 3: 3   4   5   1   2                               
station 3: Tie Dye and Crafts on the front lawn GROUP 4: 4   5   1  2   3                               
station 4: Cokking in the kitchen                                                                      
station 5: Outside Games in the backyard  The adult schedule looked like this:                                    

GROUP YOU WILL SEE  Scavenger Hunt: 2            1           3out          4           3in              Each adult was also given a disposable Tie Die & Craft:  3            2            1           2out          4                 camera to take pictures at any free moment. Pedicures Etc:    1             4out       4in         3             2 Cooking:            4            3             2           1            1 out  Here is a time schedule:  2:30 - 3:30 - Guests arrive put everything away and make a frame.  3:30 - 3:35 - Stations explained and girls are divided up  3:35 - 3:40- First Switching Time  3:40 - 4:15- First Station Period                            

THESE STATIONS were very successful. It kept the girls moving 4:15 - 4:20 - Second Switching Time            
and excited about what was coming next. Because they were divided 4:20 - 4:55- Second Station Period               
into small groups no one was excluded and it didn't get clique-y. It  4:55- 5:00- Third Switching Time                 
was overall fantastic.  5:00 - 5:35- Third Station Period 5:35- 5:40- Fourth Switching Time  5:40 - 6:15- Fourth Station Period 6:15- 6:20- Fifth Switching Time  6:20 - 6:55- Fifth Station Period  6:55- 7:00- Gathering Inside  

DINNER: We set up a buffet in our kitchen of all the desserts the girls made as well as dinner dishes like: a fruit salad a Ceasar salad french fries and ketchup a pizza chicken wings pesto pasta and a few PB&J sandwiches for any picky eaters! This way the girls could help themselves and we could clean and set up for more activities. We played music in the background. 

MORE ACTIVITIES: While the girls ate we pushed all the couches and chairs to the sides of our living room to make a dance floor. We put colored scarves over all the lamps to make "mood lighting" lit candles and put them on the windowsills and made three mixed CDS the girls could dance to! Before letting them loose to dance we played three games.

The first was: FREEZE DANCE! We played the classic game with "outs". I was the judge and walked around while my husband played and stopped the music. We brought in their goodie bags with newly added frames tie dye shirt splatter paint piece sparklers poppers and bubbles. As they got "out" of freeze dancethey could pick a glow stick from the prize box and play with it or add it to their goodie bag. The winner got glow in the dark necklaces.

The second game was: HUGGIE BEAR. How this game works is… The music is played and when it is stopped I yell "HUGGIE BEAR and then a number" and whatever number I yell is the number of girls they have to form in a group. So because there were 16 girls I started out with practice numbers like 24 and 8. Then I started saying numbers like 6 that would eliminate 4 girls because two groups of six would be made. As they were eliminated they could go get silly clown blow up shoes to wear or put in goodie bags.

The last game was: LIMBO! We used a broom as our limbo stick and my husband and I each held an end. We followed the classic rules with "outs" and as they lost they could go pick out bath crystals for their goodie bags. The winner got a whole bath set. The girls had a blast! Dinner lasted around an hour so we were playing games and letting them dance until around 10:30pm. We finally came in collected goodie bags and told them to go upstairs and get pjs on and spread out their sleeping bags. As they did this we made two bags of buttered popcorn and popped in "Mean Girls" for them to watch. We threw blankets and pillows all over the couches so the girls could get comfy. After the movie was over it was about 12:45. We "shoo-ed" them upstairs switched off the lights and insisted on whispers. Next we cleaned the entire house and put goodie bags in our front hall. This took about 45 minutes but it was worth not doing in the morning. We checked on the girls at 1:30 and they were asleep by 2.

NEXT MORNING: We work up at 9 to make breakfast. We had a breakfast in bed morning which they loved! I formatted a simple "menu" on the computer and made copies. We woke the girls up at 9:45 and they were served and eating by 10:15. THE MENU INCLUDED: orange juice water or punk for DRINKS plain pancakes chocolate chip pancakes scrambled eggs w/ optional veggies sunny side up eggs omlettes or bagels with cream cheese for ENTREES and mini muffins or toast and butter for SIDES. They could pick one thing from each section. After 25 minutes we came up and collected plates then told them to get dressed come downstairs bring plates if needed drop their stuff in the front hall and meet in the living room. Everyone was downstairs by 11:15. Pick up time was 1pm so for the next 1 hour and 35 minutes we did more station activities!!

THE FIRST STATION was with my daughter in the living room. We put on a dancing video that taught the girls some moves! Each station was for 20 minutes with 3 minutes for switching. They were in two groups of five and one group of six.

THE SECOND STATION was with me in the kitchen making accessories! We had make up sets nail polish hair scrunchies string beads decorations glue and scissors.

THE THIRD STATION was with my daughter's friend in the front hall where they played charades. She had a basket full of slips of paper with mostly places on them like: the circus mcdonalds the library at the mall in a pool at the beach etc… She picked one girl to start performing with no words or props then the other girls would raise their hands and guess the word. Whoever correctly guessed the word got to perform next.

THE FOURTH STATION was with my husband in the dining room against the wall. It was a photoshoot where they could model their accessories! These pictures were great for the thank you cards. We also bought 10$ of clothes from Goodwill for them to dress up in! 

THE KIDS SCHEDULE LOOKED LIKE THIS:                        
station you go to  group 1: 3   1   2   4                        
station 1: dance instruction in the living room group 2: 1   2   4  3                        
station 2: accessory making in the kitchen  group 3: 2   4   3   1                        
station 3: charades in the front hall                                                        
station 4: photoshoot in the dining room  

THE ADULT SCHEDULE LOOKED LIKE THIS:                     
group you'll see charades:     2   1   X   3
accessories: 3   2   1   X
photoshoot: X   3   2    1
dancing:      1   X   3    2  

TIME SCHEDULE LOOKED LIKE THIS:  11:15-11:20- Explain stations divide in groups give schedules and go to first station.  11:20-11:40-First Station 11:40-11:43- Switching Time 11:43-12:03-Second Station 12:03-12:06-Switch Time  12:06-12:26-Third Station 12:26-12:29-Switch Time  12:29-12:49-Last Station  12:50- 1:00- Wait for parents and chat in the front hall  INVITATIONS: I went really simple with the invitations. We cut fourth sheets of cardstock paper then glued a who what where when why what to bring and RSVP computer formatted sheet on top. On the border we glued on scrunched pieces of tissue paper. They were sent out three weeks in advance!   I hope this helps someone with a party! Good luck!  "