Life in Pajamas

25 Things To Do In Pajamas

25 things to do in pajamas from Ellie Badanes

Dreaming Of Snow Days

Ahh...the forcast is looking very strong for that "Snow Day" hope to become a reality. Of course you're wearing your pajamas inside out tonight and putting the wooden spoon under your pillow. Just seems like a good idea to help that dream along. Ice cube in the toilet is new to me but I'm all in favor for anything with possibilities. Pity those in warm climates who don't have the dreams we in the north have...a snow day! The happy thought of a day to ourselves, a day to just not be part of because of snow. Whether you are 6 or 66 it makes no difference, we all love, love, love a "Snow Day." It's a gift, a gift. If you're lucky to have a snowy day of relaxation, peace and family...celebrate and enjoy and hopefully do so in comfy pajamas.

 

Make Some Sleepover Fun with a Scavenger Hunt

For many kids, this week is Spring Break and the perfect time to host a sleepover with friends. At The Pajama Company, we love sleepovers and think a Scavenger Hunt is a super fun way to make memories and get all guests working together.

A Scavenger Hunt is great fun to plan and can be done in your house, yard, neighborhood, town, mall, park or really anywhere with activity. Divide your party into a few teams depending on how many guests you have. It's good to have at least 3 per group. Each team gets a card, paper, or small poster with a list of things or "activities" that must be found or done.  No need to physically collect the item, the team just ticks it off when found or accomplished.  Set a time limit for the "Hunt" and everyone meets back when time is up. We love mixing up the list with physical items as well as activities. Depending on the ages of your guests, consider having teen or adult chaperone's if doing the hunt at the mall, in town or in a neighborhood. Now is the time for a little creativity to come up with a list packed with fun. Remember once the team has seen the item or accomplished the activity, the box is ticked. Some activities require a picture so be sure to bring a cell phone or camera. Here are some ideas we like.

*Find a purple crayon

*Find a teenage boy and ask him to sing his favorite song when he was 5

*Find a teenage girl and ask her to sing her favorite song when she was 5

* Find a dog and write down his/her name

*Find a cat and write down his/her name

*Ask someone over 50 to sing his/her favorite song when he/she was your age

*Find a sweatshirt or tee shirt with a sports team logo and write down the team

*Find a Mom and tell her you love her hair

*Find a Dad and tell him you love his hair

*Find a mans shoe size 12

*Find a Grandma and ask her favorite movie of all time and write it down

*Find a Grandpa and ask his favorite movie of all time and write it down

*Find a pair of pink flip flops

*Find a chocolate chip cookie

*Find a penny

*Find a woman with hair past her waist and get her autograph

*Find a man with a mustache and have a team photo together

*Find a child or adult named "Abby"

*Find someone wearing red socks

*Go in a restaurant and get a team picture with a family of strangers

*Find a firefighter and ask what is his favorite disney movie of all time and get his autograph

*Find a child or adult named "Ted"

*Find a baby who can do a "high five"

*Find a couple over 50 holding hands

*Do a good deed for a stranger and write it down

*Find a puppy and say "I Love You"

* Find a policeman and ask what is his favorite character on Sesame Street and get his autograph

*Find who is on the cover of "People" Magazine this week and write it down

*Find someone drinking coffee and ask to have a sip

*Find a couple over 60 and ask them to do a ballet twirl or ballet move together

*Find a woman over 30 and get her to yell "I love Justin Bieber"

Whether your scavenger hunt is in a neighborhood, town or mall, we think you have some ideas here to get started. Share your ideas here and have a fun party.

Hey 2012..I've Got A Good Feeling About You and Me

Hey 2012...I've been thinking about us and I have a good feeling about you and me.

Tonight, 2012,  I have a good feeling about you and me. We're going to get along just fine. This year I've given up on New Year's Resolutions. I don't feel the need to tell you that I'm thinking about being a better person, that I'm thinking about spending time on the elliptical, that I'm not going to eat cake.  Hey 2012, I think you're fine with that too because I think you, 2012, are all about celebrating the year ahead. Yes, celebrating a year of good things.  As I said, 2012, I have a good feeling about you and me. Cheers to our year together!

I'm Now a "Quidditch" Mom?

I've prided myself in managing to escape the "Soccer Mom" years.  Not being a "Soccer Mom" wasn't  a path I insisted on or overtly encouraged, I think I just got lucky. I remember standing  on a cold and rainy  field not once, not twice but three times for each of my children as toddlers playing soccer in the wee hours on an English morning.  The atmosphere was wonderful.  We parents watched the action while commiserating abut our shared circumstance.  We felt sympathetic towards each other and celebrated any achievement on the field together.  We shared our thermoses of coffee.  We felt a kinship.  I must say I liked that. 

I never experienced the sideline atmosphere while watching an older child play soccer but imagined it might be different from the toddler years when just lying down on the field was cute.  Aside from one isolated Fall as a middle school "Football Mom" I have escaped the sideline experience entirely...until tonight. 

All is well, all is calm this evening when suddenly my high school senior daughter announces she has joined the "Quidditch" team and that soon she will be playing matches.  I see in her eyes and hear in her voice that she is luring me to become a "Quidditch Mom."  I'm slightly stunned tonight because I have managed to not be a sports Mom of any sort for an extended period of time to only find that now in my final "High School" hours I am to be a "Quidditch" Mom?  I appreciate that this sport is not exactly mainstream but it seems to still require an appearance on a field and quite possibly on a field on a cold and rainy morning.  How funny to now be in my 12th year of high school with my youngest very very close to graduation only to have a "Quidditch" team enter my life.  Yes, I had o google it.

Perhaps this is just a moment to reflect on my good fortune to date. I can recreate the scenario from many years ago and once again bring a thermos of mediocre coffee to a cold and rainy field and stand among my peers.  Go "Quidditch" team..woo!

 

Because it's Raining

Because it's raining, today was the perfect day to head to the movies.  Today it was the 4:00 show of "One Day" starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Surgess.  It was a story encompassing twenty years and the lives of two people.  I was crying by 5:00 and really crying by 5:47.  Was the movie that sad or did I just need to cry because today is the day after Labor Day, the "official" end of summer and it's raining?  Perhaps some days are just meant for crying. 

Now that I've stopped crying I can take a moment to reminisce about my favorite "Saddest" movies over the years.  I think "Old Yeller" was my first sad movie and would become one of many dog movies to make me cry.  I must admit that "Airbud" was a rough one for me (my dirty little secret) as was "Homeward Bound" and "Because of Winn Dixie."  I was actually very upset at "My Dog Skip" when Willie went to college.  There is something so sweet about the love and loyalty of a dog.

I've also found myself in "Sad Movie" tears around Christmas.  I have a regular shelf of films for the occasion and yes, a few require the tissue box.  Please tell me I'm not the only one to be touched to tears by "It's a Wonderful Life."  That bell on the Christmas tree just says it all.  "Holiday Inn" with Bing Crosby and Fred Astair is another Christmas favorite of mine with a sweet ending. I also cried for an embarrassing amount of time after watching "The Holiday" back in 2006.  I think it was the story of Kate Winslet as Iris Simpkins and her friendship with Eli Wallach who played the Oscar winning writer Arthur Abbott that affected me most.  They saved each other.  It was so sweet. 

I so prefer happy endings, especially at Christmas.

As far as my "Sad Movie" experience goes, yes, I'll cry if a character gets hit by a bus although I'd really really rather that not happen.  I'll also cry when a genuine love story unfolds to a happy ending.  In an attempt to recover from my "One Day" afternoon, I watched "Notting Hill" and found the film truly cathartic. The combination of self-deprecating charm, quirky friendships and unexpected romance made the movie just so sweet and replaced the earlier sad movie lump in my throat with a new lump...but a happier one I can live with. Thank you Hugh Grant.

It's been a long time now but I also can remember a particular evening when I cried for more than a couple hours after watching "Beaches" with Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey.  Some may think Bette's song "Wind Beneath My Wings" is about a man but no, it's a song about her best friend. It's a song about friendship.

So, tonight I thought I'd check out a Saddest Movies of All Time list.  Do you agree? Would these films make your top "Saddest" movies list?

1.  Titanic

2.  The Green Mile

3.  A Walk to Remember

4.  The Notebook

5.  Grave of the Fireflies

6.  The Bridge to Terabithia

7.  The Pursuit of Happyness

8.  Schindler's List

9.  Marley and Me

10.  Beaches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get Ready For Irene with Flashlight Games and Pajamas

Up and down the east coast today we are preparing for a little lady named IRENE who seems to be heading our way.  We're gathering our supplies:  water, food, flashlights, candles, batteries, pajamas.  We're moving items out of harms way in our yards, homes, apartments. We are getting ready for what the weekend may bring.  We're experts on surviving "Snow Days" in our pajamas but a hurricane might bring a few new challenges. 

Let's hope we don't have power outages but just in case...it's good to have a few games and stories ready for the dark...just in case!

Flashlight Games

1.  Tag  It's a classic but in the dark with a flashlight is even more fun.  Instead of tagging the person with a tap on the shoulder, the person who is "It" tags the player with a beam of light.One person is chosen to be "It" and the rest hide.  When the "It" player has counted to 20, he/she says "Here I Come" and must tag each player with the beam of light.  The last player left is the winner.  Another version of Tag is the reverse.  For this version, every player needs a flashlight.  The person who is "It" is the only one to hide and everyone else counts to 20.  Each player than goes in search of "It." When a player finds the "It" player, her/she joins them in the hiding place.  Soon everyone has disappeared and the one left still looking has lost the game.  In the dark this version is even more fun and spooky!

2.  Flashlight Limbo It's a classic party game but with this version, instead of using a pole two players create a beam of light with their flashlights by standing across from each other and creating the beam.  Lower it slightly for each round until there is a winner.

3.  Flashlight Hunt This is kind of like a scavenger hunt but in the dark.  Hide some objects around the house, give each player a list of what they need to find and off they go!  The more creative the objects and the hiding places the better.

4.  Statues  In this game one player is the "Tour Guide" and one player is the "Tourist." The rest of the players are the "Statues."  The "Tour Guide" and "Tourist" turn off their flashlights and count to 10 while the "Statues" scatter and strike an artful pose. The "Tour Guide" then leads the "Tourist" to each piece of "Art" shining the light on the still player and describing him/her with funny names or stories hoping to get the "Statue" to move or laugh. If the "Statue" moves than he/she is out.

Games to Play in Total Darkness

1. Guess the Object This is often a Halloween game but will work great for Irene.  Gather a few items with squishy or weird shapes...nothing sharp of course.  Players sit in a circle and each item is passed around the circle until someone guesses what it is. The spookier the item, the better.

2. Scary Storytelling All the players sit in a circle.  One player shines the flashlight on his/her face and starts the "Scary" Story with a sentence, the next player in the circle adds the next sentence and so on.   It's best when the story gets more and more scary and exciting!

3. Two Truths and a Lie Sit in a circle.  Each person one by one shines the flashlight on his/her face and must tell everyone two things that are true about himself/herself and one thing that isn’t.  Mix up the two truths and a lie however you please.  Everyone has to guess which is the lie.

 

 

Today I'm Working in Pajamas

Yup, today I'm working in pajamas.  Working in pajamas is nothing new for me, I've loved pajamas for years and thinking back on it, I've done some of my best work in pajamas.  I've had some of my best ideas in pajamas.  I've written some of my best tweets and blog posts in pajamas. I thought of starting a pajama company wearing pajamas. I love to be comfy, I love to lounge.  I'm not sloppy, my pj's are fabulous.  My pj's are fun prints, my pj's are wonderful cottons. My pj's are often ironed, crisp and fresh.  I wear mascara and pink lipgloss with my pj's. 

I know I'm not the only one working happily in my pj's.  I think there are a lot of us out there creating, writing, innovating everyday in pj's.  I love to say that I'm pretty lazy, I love to lounge. Being lazy is really a state of mind, it's being comfy, it's settling into a great chair in pj's and laptop ready to work.  Being lazy is a virtue. As Pooh Bear famously said,  “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”  Sometimes slowing down the pace of life is so productive. 

So today, cheers to all of us working in pajamas.  Cheers to all of us creating, writing, thinking in pajamas.  Today is our day.

10 Things To Do In Pajamas...Plus 2 More

Here are 10 things to do in Pajamas. What would you add to the list?

1,  Write a Blog Post

2.  Shop...online!

3.  Garden

4.  Cook

5.  Watch Seinfeld reruns

6.  Work all day

7.  Go on a date...a pajama date

8.  Take The SAT

9.  Dream

10.  Sleep

+1 Open presents on Christmas Morning

+2 Pose for Christmas Picture in Matching Family Pajamas

It's Bedtime - Let's Party!

If you’re like many women today, you have a core group of long-time friends that help you make it through the day. Away from husbands, children, jobs and the everyday chores of life, these friends sustain you, entertain you and keep you sane.

You’d like to show these women how much they have enriched your life. Hubby is out of town and Grandma’s willing to watch the kids. Why not treat your friends to a pajama sleepover?

Make it unique with stylized invitations, an unusual focal centerpiece with games and gifts galore! Grab some flannel from the yardage store and cut out cute little pajama pants. Draft your invite on the computer, cut and glue it to the flannel and you have a custom-made invitation that can be delivered or mailed.

Make your decorations unique and fun. We know it's summer but if you have an aluminum Christmas tree sitting down in the basement, haul it upstairs and decorate it for your sleepover. You can use toothbrushes, samples of shampoo, conditioner and soap, disposable razors, and mini-sized stuffed animals to decorate the tree. Use the biggest pair of slippers you can find as a tree topper. If you choose to put lights on the tree, choose a blue soothing color that can be used as a giant nightlight.

If Christmas in June is just a little too "out there," you can create a party theme around a single item like a teddy bear. Spread them around the room, use them as a centerpiece and have one ready for each of your guests to take home.

If you want an unusual activity, plan a game personalized for your guests. Play a game called Who Know Who Best? Make up a whole bunch of questions about your friends. The possibilities are endless.

What was the name of their secret crush?
Who had the first date?
If they were going to be an animal, what would they be?
Who was in labor the longest with their first child?

Divide the women into two teams, give them a piece of paper and a pen and grace the winning team with a prize. It’s a guaranteed crowd pleasersand one that brings back fond memories and lots of laughter.

Or you can plan a scrapbooking activity. Take pictures of everyone in their pajamas, add some old photos, make copies and let your friends go to town with mini-albums, loads of colorful trims and paper and everyone can create a special memento of the night.

If you would rather create an old time slumber party, have lots of drinks ready to serve along with popcorn and chick flicks. You can always play charades, the blindfolded makeup challenge or tell ghost stories before lights out.

Party gifts can range from a new set of pajamas to a fun-filled goodie basket of bath soaps and lotions. Personal items like manicure sets, vanity mirrors and mini-massagers are great as party favors too.

Whatever your plan, have a breakfast set up for your guests in the morning before they head out the door. It’s a pajama party that will go down in the annals of your friendship as one of the best nights ever!