Evie's Sleepover!

 Evie really wanted to have a sleepover to celebrate her birthday so we had a sleepover! It was fun but way more work than I had anticipated. 

I decided to test it out by having one friend spend the night before attempting six girls! That was good thinking because I learned a lot. 

Evie was so excited about her sleepover and had fabulous ideas about everything from food to games and of course the favors. 

Evie invited: Bonnie, Abby, Sarah, Molly, Callie and Leah. All girls that we know well and their families know us well. We have spent time in all of their homes with their families and they have all spent time with our family in our home. 

The girls arrived at 5 - next time I might do 6 if it is a big group! They all played and giggled for a bit. We did a scavenger hunt for items around the house.

Then, I had them work on decorating place mats for their dinner. We had pizza, fruit and veggies with dip for dinner.

Carl led them in a volleyball game after dinner - a streamer between two walls. They loved this but it lasted about two minutes. We played a few getting to know you games - this was one night that I was really using my teaching experience. 

After the games, it was time for cake and presents! Evie's friends know her well and she received such nice gifts that she is still playing with several weeks later.

I found some blank books at Target and they had a ball decorating those and turning them into friendship books. They all love to be BFF's - that phrase was repeated all night long.

Carl popped some popcorn and we put on a movie. They were up and down a million times wanting more snacks, drinks etc. Bonnie left right before bed because her Dad was out of town and they live near our church. Waking up little brother JT to come get Bonnie in the night would not be fun! We missed Bonnie but Evie may do the same thing at Bonnie's party!

Everyone was asleep by about 11 which I considered successful after our last sleepover when the girls were up at 1AM. 

They woke up a few at a time and everyone was up by 7:45. It was Evie's real birthday!!!

Carl made waffles for everyone and we had fruit and sausage. 

Evie opened her big gift from us after breakfast. It was Lea - American Girl of the Year.  Evie might not always love having a January birthday but at least she is one of the first girls to get the American Girl of the Year. 

I helped the girls get their stuff together and then Henry gave everyone a ride on his gator. He planned this in advance - what a sweet boy! I think the girls loved it too. 

All the girls were so well-behaved and nice to each other. We could not have asked for a better group of girls. I am so thankful that Evie has such good friends and that I LOVE their Mama's!

Tips for a Sleepover:

Be sure to have some crafts and games planned if you have more than two or three girls.

Alternate between active and quiet activities.

Assign each girl a spot for her belongings - they bring tons of stuff with them and it all looks alike. 

Get the High Float in your balloons. Our balloons lasted two weeks!

A fancy cake is not necessary - these girls barely ate any cake. Evie wanted cookie cake and I am glad that I went simple with a Publix cake.

Prep as much as possible in advance and consider hiring a babysitter to come help for a few hours if you have lots of girls. I'll hire a sitter for sure next time especially having a younger child at home too. Carl took care of Henry which was helpful but then I had lots of girls who needed me. Evie went to a sleepover with six adults - one for every girl there. I think even some help from 6-9 would be super helpful. Another mom would work too as long as her daughter was not there. Maybe a friend who only has boys! I am hearing that boy sleepovers are completely different from girl sleepovers. I'll find out in a few years! 

Evie had so much fun and would love another sleepover next year! Sleepovers are the least expensive party that Evie has ever had -less than $100 with food, favors, decorations. That is a definite plus! We told Evie if she had a small party then we could go to Chattanooga for the weekend. I thought it was the best of both worlds - she was able to celebrate with her friends and we were able to have a wonderful weekend of quality time together as a family.