Last month we celebrated Margaret’s 10th birthday with a big sleepover! This was our first large sleepover with 11 total girls (8 stayed over), and I have to admit it was tons of fun and a great success! A lot of my Instagram followers indicated they are also in their sleepover era and were looking for ideas to keep things simple, organized, fun, and stress-free. So below I’m sharing some activities and products that were a hit for us!
Sleepover Games & Activities
During a sleepover, you can never go wrong with games, karaoke, and some fun crafts. In my step-by-step sleepover guide post, I went over all of the nitty gritty details about when we played each game and activity, as well as some tips for success, so be sure to check that out. Here are a few that were big hits!
- Glitter Tattoo Kit: For something with glitter, this kit was surprisingly low maintenance, and the girls loved it.
- Beginner Origami Kit: This was such a hit with the girls! We brought it out in the morning, before the kids’ parents arrived for pickup.
- Classic Games: It’s great to have games like Uno and Connect Four on hand to keep the kids busy.
- Bead Station: We had a bead station set up when the girls arrived. Before the party, we went through our alphabet beads to make sure we had letters for everyone’s names, and then we put them in little ceramic dishes that they could take home the next day. We also had mini acrylic trays set up to help keep everyone’s jewelry organized. This allowed the girls to be able to come back and finish their project whenever they wanted. And we provided these jewelry bags so the guests could easily take their new accessories home!
Sleepover Spa & Makeup
One detail that Margaret was very passionate about was having a piñata at her party. So we decided to fill one with spa and beauty goodies! We stuffed it with face masks, lip gloss, face gems, temporary tattoos, and nail stickers. The girls absolutely loved this!
After the piñata, we set-up a “spa and beauty salon” right in the family room. We made sure that every girl had their own tray of supplies with an equal amount of products. We also let parents know beforehand so that anyone who wished to bring their own makeup would be able to do so. These hair gem stampers were the star of the show at the salon!
Along with their own trays, we made sure each girl had a set of makeup brushes, spa headbands, nail polish, nail polish remover, mirrors, hand sanitizer, makeup wipes, and a few mini trash cans nearby to use as needed. These makeup bags come in a ton of colors and also potentially make a great party favor to send home after the sleepover!
Sleepover Decor
Let’s chat decor! I had such a fun time picking out pretty decorations for the party. We set up this cute birthday light box, a balloon arch, and this pastel birthday sign. We also had sweet little accessories like flower crowns and sunnies that the girls could put on once they arrived to get them in a birthday celebration mood.
Another thing I love? A good party favor! We gifted every guest a fuzzy blanket to use during the party and to take home, (regardless if they were staying the night or not). This was one of those special touches that the girls really appreciated. We also gifted all of them these reusable cups to use during the party and to take home.
I wanted to make the family room little extra special for the party. I also wanted to provide some privacy for the girls. So I decided to create a “curtain” in the doorway of this room. I thrifted a pair of light mauve-y drapes and used a stitch gun to apply layers of bright pink tulle along the top. I then hung them up with a tension rod in the family room’s oversized doorway. It turned out pretty cute, if I do say so myself!
Additionally, we are fortunate to have a very large family, so we were able to use this space as the “spa”, a dance floor, and for sleeping. We added a rotating disco ball, disco ball pillows, and disco ball balloons to give the room a fun party vibe!
Sleepover Necessities
When I was growing up and attending a sleepover, we either brought sleeping bags or made palettes on the floor. These days it’s quite different. Most kids don’t have sleeping bags, so we figured the best way to handle sleeping arrangements would be to make sure we had enough air mattresses for everyone. We have quite a few of these, and borrowed the rest from family and friends. Luckily, since I love and hoard bedding, we had almost enough sets of sheets, pillows, and blankets for each bed on hand!
I think it’s super important for each child to feel comfortable with the sleeping arrangements. So we made to sure to provide plenty of items that the girls might need including extra blankets, bottles of water, and extra lighting (like these rechargeable lamps and shades).
Sleepover Must-Haves
If you are embarking on your sleepover journey, I hope some of these products and ideas are helpful! Our sleepovers won’t always be this large, but it was so fun to make this one extra special for Margaret’s 10th birthday.
If you’d like to read more about the sleepover details including how we planned for the event, a party timeline, parent communications, tips and tricks, and more, be sure to check out my complete guide to sleepovers!
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