Life in Pajamas

Mom & Me Sleepovers

No activity better illustrates girlhood than the sleepover. The cornerstones of sleepover activities - microwaved S'mores, glam makeovers, movie marathons - are best enjoyed by happy kids in pajamas.  Today, however, we love the idea of the "Mom & Me" sleepover and we have a few ideas for the night.

Hotel Sleepover

Hotel sleepovers give kids a sense of adventure and fun. Packing a bag and heading on a mini trip is always exciting.  Whether you dress up and enjoy a special restaurant or put your pajamas on and order pizza, the fun of being at a hotel is a sure memory maker.  Kids love having Mom's undivided attention and a hotel sleepover is a great escape from all the distractions of home.

Spa Sleepover

The spa sleepover is a perfect party theme. Mom can be the "spa consultant,” and  apply makeup, nail polish and expertly wield the curling iron to glam up all the sleepover girls. For extra fun, take “glamor” photos and print them for the girls to take home. End the night with a pajama fashion show.

Baking Sleepover

Yummy, fun food is key to a great sleepover.  Rummage through some recipes and find cookies, cakes and breads that are easy to make. Have all the ingredients assembled beforehand and purchase a few extra sets of measuring cups and spoons. Pick up some chef's hats and aprons for all the sleepover guests.  Grab some pictures or video of the goodies straight from the oven.

Game Show Sleepover

Go a little "Retro" and become the old fashioned Game Show host.  Teach your sleepover kids how to play "Password" or "Concentration" or "Jeopardy." Have some fun little prizes for the winners.  Need a refresher on the rules? Not a problem, just head to you tube to see some old classics. 



        

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. 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 that’s not possible, 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 pleaser and one that brings back fond memories and lots of laughter.  Conversation Tins are ready made fun and also make a great gift for each of your guests.

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 hot chocolate, 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, eye masks, mini-massagers are great as party favors too. Bloomsberry chocolate bars at $5 each put a smile on everyones face.

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!

"Snow Day" Sleepover Games Perfect for Today

Snow Days are perfect "Sleepover" Days. Bonus days off school are the perfect time to invite friends over and celebrate Snow Days together. We’ve scoured the web and come up with some fun games for you and your friends.  Give these a try and let us know what you think.  Also be sure to share your favorites with us.  Let the fun begin!

From www.birthdaypartyideas4kids.com and www.partyplan.co.uk come these ideas:

• Nail Polish Birthday Spin Game-Place several colors of nail polish in the middle of a circle of girls.  Have the first girl at the sleepover spin a bottle of nail polish.  Whoever the cap is pointing to when it stops must paint one of her fingernails that color.  Then that person spins the next color of nail polish…and so on.  Pretty soon everyone has really crazy hands and toes!
• Foil Make Over Game-The object is to create the best outfit out of aluminum foil.  This can be played individually or if you have lots of girls seperate them into teams.  Give each person or team 1 or 2 rolls of aluminum foil.  You can add accessories like belts, sunglasses, jewelry, hats and more.  Have the girls create tops, pants, dresses, skirts, bikinis or shorts.
• Blind Make Over Game-The first person puts on a blindfold and does the makeup of the second person.  Then when they are done the second person puts on the blindfold and does the makeup of the third person.  Draw numbers to determine the order.  Be sure to take pictures when you are done!
• Sleepover Ball Game-Buy a large inflatable beach ball and in permanent marker write questions all over it.  Place everyone in a circle and throw the ball to someone.  The person who catches the ball must answer the question that their right thumb is touching.  After answering the question they then throw the ball to another person.  Here are some suggestions for questions:  What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?  What is your favorite color?  What are three words that describe you? Who is your favorite band/singer? What is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you? What do you say when you talk in your sleep?  What is your biggest phobia?  If you were invisible what would you do?  If you were an animal what would you be?  Who is your secret crush? What was your last dream about?
• Candy Hunt- Ask everyone to bring a flashlight to the party.  Before everyone arrives at the party ask a parent or sibling to hide candy all over the yard.  When it gets dark have everyone take their flashlights outside and hunt for the candy.

And from www.girlgamezone.com come these ideas:

• Snuggle Bug-Designate one person at the party the “Snuggle Bug” by putting slips of paper into a bowl (all blank except for the one that has the SB on it).  Whoever picks the “SB” is the “Snuggle Bug”.  All the guests are in the same room (with the lights off throughout the house) at the beginning of the game.  Then the “Snuggle Bug” gets to go and find a hiding place.  People roam throughout the house and ask other players, “Are you the Snuggle Bug?”  If the answer is no, then they keep searching.  If the answer is yes, then the person has to join them in the hiding spot and snuggle up to the SB.  As more guests find the SB and snuggle up, the hiding space becomes overcrowded and the game ends when the last person finds the SB.  Maybe have a “booby” prize ready for the last person!
• Kiss The Poster-get a nice poster of your favorite pop star, rock star or celebrity.  Have each girl put on lipstick and take turns putting on the blindfold and kissing the poster.  The person who kisses closest to the celebrity’s lips gets to take the poster home!
• Tapper-With everyone in the room, one person is chosen to be the Tapper.  The Tapper goes into another room where he/she can’t hear the other players.  Meanwhile everyone hides in their sleeping bags or under pillows and blankets.  You can also make decoys by putting pillows/stuffed animals under a blanket to make it look like a person.  Then someone gets up, turns off the lights and goes back to their hiding spot.  After everyone is settled, you yell to the Tapper to come in.  The Tapper comes into the room, with the lights off, and taps on someone.  If you get tapped you have to say “Yes?” in a weird voice (or say something else, it’s up to you).  The Tapper has to figure out who was speaking.  If the Tapper is right, the person tapped has to be the Tapper next and everyone gets a new hiding spot.  If the Tapper is wrong, he/she has to tap another person.   Or one by one the Tapper can guess each person until only one is left.
• Blair Witch Hide and Seek-A new type of hide and seek to play using a cell phone and a house phone.  Wait until it’s dark and turn out the lights.  One person hides with a cell phone.  In the pitch black, everyone goes looking for this one person.  Every so often he must call the house phone and give clues to where he is hiding.
• Two Truths and A Lie-Sit in a circle.  Each person one by one 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.

Try some of these games at your next sleepover and have fun

Spooky Halloween Sleepover Fun

Halloween is the perfect time for a spooky sleepover.  With decorations available everywhere it's easy to go all out inside and out.  Put pumpkins outside your door and fake spider webs inside with all the creepy decorations you love.  Be sure to add the spooky sound effects with a Halloween CD or download.  Halloween party food ideas are easy to find all over the internet.  We love the Ghoulish Halloween recipes found here, including chicken "fingers", "night eyes", "eyeball assortment", "bat wings" and "mad scientists".   Make your party complete with some perfect games.  Here are a few ideas:

• Pass The Pumpkin (Perfect for younger kids)  This musical chairs type game involves passing small pumpkins and gourds and when the music stops the person without a pumpkin is out. Play until there is a winner. Kids sit in a circle and you hand out one less pumpkin then children in the group. Then instruct the children to start passing the pumpkins when the music begins to play and continue passing until the music stops.  Once the music stops the child without a pumpkin is out of the game.  Now remove a pumpkin from the group and restart the music. This pattern continues until you have one pumpkin with one winner.

• Worm Bobbing Each player is given a bowl with 6-8 worms all mixed up (should be same amount for each person) in the whipped cream.  The worms can be gummy worms of course! Then with their hands behind their back they must bob with their heads into the bowl of whipped cream and  pull out the worms and place them on the plate. The first one to finish wins. Blindfolds make it even more of a challenge.
• Scary Stories is always a classic.  Everyone sits in a circle in a darkened room, each holding a flashlight.  One player starts the game by saying "Once there was...." and goes on to say one or two sentences.  The next player continues the story with another sentence or two.  Once everyone has added to the story one person in the circle can end it.  The scarier the better!
• Spider Web requires only a ball of black yarn.  Everyone stands or sits in a circle.  One person starts with a ball of black yarn and begins by holding the end piece and throwing the ball across the circle.  The person who catches the ball must say a halloween word, grab a bit of the yarn and then throw the ball across the circle.  Continue until the ball is nearly finished and a huge web is created.
• Mummy Wrap is always fun.  Teams are split into pairs with one person being the mummy and the other being the wrapper.  Each team gets one or two rolls of toilet paper.  When the game begins, the wrapper begins wrapping the mummy with toilet paper circling around and around covering as much as possible.  The best mummy wins!
• Memory Game is a fun twist on a popular game.  Find about 20 different Halloween items.  We love the bowl of cold spaghetti, rubber bats, ping pong ball eyeballs, skulls and more.  Place everything on a tray and cover with a cloth.  Each player gets a paper and pencil and has 60 seconds to look at all the items before they are covered.  Because it's a memory game each player then has to remember what spooky items were on the tray and write them down.  Of course, the one with the best memory wins!
• Monster Mash Freeze Dance is so much fun for kids and adults.  Put on this classic song full volume and have everyone dance, dance, dance but when the music stops everyone must freeze.  Whoever moves is eliminated.  The last one dancing is the winner.
• Witch Hunt involves picking up a bunch of cheap witches hat from your local discount store.  Hide them in random places around your house or yard.  Have your guests run around finding them and the one who finds the most wins.
• Worst Makeover Ever rewards the most disasterous makeover.  Divide your guests into teams and give each team a bag of makeup.  They are told to do the worst makeover ever.  Everyone votes on the biggest makeover disaster.

When everyone is settled in comfy pajamas choose one of these spooky movie classics keeping in mind what is best for the age group.

• Hocus Pocus
• Nightmare Before Christmas
• Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory
• The Blob
• Rosemary's Baby
• Nightmare on Elm Street
• Saw

Tell us which horror classic films we missed and any other recommendations for a perfect kids sleepover.

Perfect Movies For Sleepovers

A stack of great movies is a must for a perfect sleepover.  Which are your favorites?  Here are a few of ours:

• Mean Girls
• Freaky Friday
• High School Musical
• Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants
• The Kid
• Now and Then
• Tuck Everlasting
• Bend It Like Beckham
• Because I Said So
• Princess Bride
• Just Like Heaven
• Enchanted
• Grease
• How To Loose A Guy in 10 Days
• Dirty Dancing
• Splash
• Footloose
• Pretty Woman
• Big
• 13 Going on 30
• The Holiday
• The Bodyguard
• Nottinghill
• 50 First Dates
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• Legally Blonde
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• Clueless
• Charlie's Angels
• The Princess Diaries
• Never Been Kissed
• A Cinderella Story
• Monty Python and The Holy Grail
• Happy Gilmore
• Hairspray
• Runaway Bride
• While You Were Sleeping
• Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Romancing The Stone
• Pretty in Pink

OK...so which ones have we missed?  Share your faves here...

More Sleepover Games We Love

Try out a few of these games during your "Dog Days of Winter" sleepovers.

Kiss The Poster This is a good game for teens and a girls party in particular.

Get a nice poster of your favorite pop star or celebrity. Then all the girls put different on lipsticks and take it in turns to be blindfolded. They must then kiss the poster.

The person who kisses closest to the celebrity's lips gets to take the poster home and wins a small prize!

Slippers Games

Here are some fun variations on the "Slipper Game" for your sleepover. You can always use shoes if everyone does not have slippers.

1. Collect all the players' slippers and put them in the center of the room. On the word "Go!" have players race to find their own slippers and put them on first!

2. Play the game again, this time blindfolded

3. Play "Hide the Slippers." Tuck the slippers into nooks and crannies in another room, and have the players try to find their own first.

4. Set out the slippers in a row, and have each player take a turn matching a pair of slippers to the matching feet.

5. Sit in a circle and pass the slippers around - with your eyes closed! - and try to identify your own just by feel!

Snuggle Bug 

Designate one person at the party the "Snuggle Bug" by putting slips of paper into a bowl (all blank except for the one that has the SB on it). Whoever picks the "SB" is the "Snuggle Bug".

All of the guests are in the same room (with the lights off throughout the house) at the beginning of the game. Then the "Snuggle Bug" gets to go and find a hiding place.

People roam throughout the house and ask other players, "Are you the Snuggle Bug?"

- If the answer is "No", then they keep searching.
- If the answer is "Yes", then the person has to snuggle up to the SB.

As more guests find the SB and snuggle up, the hiding space becomes overcrowded, and the last person to find the SB is the loser. (Have a "booby prize" ready for the loser).

Spin the Bottle - Nail Polish 

Get 10 bottles of nail polish and arrange them in a circle. Get a bottle.

You choose someone to go first and they spin. Whatever color the bottle lands on they have to paint a finger with it ! Do this until everyone has painted all 10 !

Never Never

Supply each of your guests with 20 jellybeans (or any candy of your choice).

The first person makes a true statement about themselves that begins with the words, "I never...". For example - if one person has never told a lie, then she would say "I have never told a lie in my life". If the statement (without the "I never") is true for other guests, then they must eat a piece of candy.

Everyone should take at least one turn. Keep playing until it is obvious who will end up with the most candy - that is your winner!

Check out more at www.partyplan.co.uk

Perfect Sleepover Games

Just stumbled upon www.party411.com which is packed with great suggestions for sleepover games and activities.  Here are a few I love:

No-Mirror Make-Over

One of the best themes for a sleepover party for teenage girls is a Makeover theme. Host a beauty contest in which the contestants have to apply all of their make-up without a mirror. This is a game in which the most hideous contestant wins the prize. Make sure to take some nice blackmail photos of all the contestants!

 

Ingredients

• Makeup

To Play

• On the invitation tell the girls to bring their makeup...all of it!

• Have everyone set it out.

• Then, set a five-minute timer.  Everyone has five minutes to put her makeup on without a mirror.

• The girl with the most hideous makeup on wins.

Junk Food Frenzy

This is a great game that will keep your tummy full and keep you laughing.

 

Ingredients

• Index Cards

• Dessert Recipes

• Ingredients to Make the Desserts

• Measuring Cups & Spoons

• Baking Dishes

• Bowls

To Play

• Dig out some of your favorite dessert recipes and copy the instructions on index cards.

• Buy ingredients for all the desserts and place them on the kitchen counter.

• Shuffle the cards and divide the guests into two teams.

• Have players take turns drawing cards.

• Each player reads the card and takes the listed ingredient.

• When all the ingredients have been distributed, give the teams thirty minutes to prepare a dish using the ingredients accumulated by the individual players.

• When the dishes are complete, have each player taste and eat the results, then vote on the best tasting dessert! For a fun variation, give both teams the same ingredients and see what different desserts they come up with (without using recipes).

Dance Off

If your party is at a restaurant or community center, a dance off is perfect to get everyone dancing.  Hire a D.J or band to provide entertainment all night.

 

Ingredients

• Dancefloor Light Up Jewelry

• Noisemakers

• Pink Glow Light Bracelet

• Poster Board

• Markers

To Play

• At a dance off people dance for as long as they can until the music stops.  And if they stop while the music is still playing they are disqualified.

• Coordinate a time when the music can start for the dance off. A good time would be after dinner.

• Make cards out of poster board and markers that say, “You Are Out.”  Ask a few of your relatives or your little brother or sister to keep score.

• Hand out glow bracelets; light up jewelry, and noisemakers to everyone who is going to dance.

• When the music starts grab all of your friends and start the rump shaking.

• As soon as someone stops dancing the scorekeeper raises the sign that says “You Are Out.”

• The last few people on the dance floor are the winners.

• You can play several rounds and also award prizes for best dance moves, most creative, or most ridiculous.  A great prize for this game is inflatable mircophones!

Check it out and share your favorite sleepover games here!

The Dog Days of Winter

Yes, it's that time of year when many of us want to just stay curled up in our pajamas, hiding under a duvet and maybe not come out until the first glimpse of spring!  With the holidays over, life is maybe just a little bit boring. No more parties, no more late night shopping, no more decorating the house. It's just winter now. Just winter. The short days make it hard to find much energy.   It's hibernating time, pure and simple.  So let's make the cave perfect for the season.  First requirement, perfect pajamas of course. Warmth is of utmost importance.  Feeling wrapped up and cozy will make hibernating more enjoyable.  Next, gather your favorite books, DVD's, newspapers, magazines, journals around you.  Stuff that makes us happy is very helpful now.  The TV, the laptop...well for me are key. Food and drink, well that's all about preference but I would say, yes, very key also. Maybe you have a favorite winter food, a favorite winter drink. Actually, it's always nice to hibernate with friends and family so I suggest inviting one and all into the cave.  Now is the perfect "Sleepover" season.  How about you, are you surviving the  "Dog Days of Winter"?  

Partying In Your Pajamas – Have an Adult Sleepover!

 

The holiday season also means it’s the party season – why not take advantage of the time of year to have an adult pajama party?  There are many fun-filled activities you can prepare for your guests and planning for an adult sleepover is easier than you might think.  Following are some tips and tricks for making your holiday pajama party a fun and festive event.

 

• Drinks and snacks – be sure have a variety of beverages available, both cold and hot, and have snack food such as cheese, crackers, bite-sized vegetables, popcorn, chips and dip available to munch on.

 

• Make a list of activities – it might not be all about conversation or movie watching.  You could have an adult sleepover that includes your guests making their own party favors!  It can be an arts and crafts project, something that reminds your guests of pajama parties from their childhood.  Have a stock of fun games on hand for added enjoyment.

 

• Fun pajamas should be one of the center points of your adult sleepover -- the more outrageous, the better, with bonus points for feathered robes and the big bunny slippers!

 

• Pick a selection of movies to suit the theme of your party, if you have one.  If the participants in your pajama party are women, consider renting modern "chick flicks," as well as classic romantic black and white movies.

 

• Continuing on the girls’ night in idea, why not bring the spa to your sleepover?  Take the time to indulge yourselves with masques, facials, foot soaks, herbal treatments, and even delicious chocolates.

 

• Designate a “quiet corner” – this is an area where the first of the sleepyheads in your pajama party can nod off.  Typically, some adults will want to sleep early, others will be up till dawn.

 

• To breakfast or not to breakfast -- decide whether or not you're going to provide breakfast and what to have.  It can be as basic as coffee and doughnuts or as elaborate as a continental buffet.

Fund-Raising and Sleepovers Go Together

 

We’re coming up on the holidays, a time for gathering and a time for giving.  As the gift giving season draws near the number of fund-raising events increases.  These events have taken on many shapes and forms over the years, ranging from church carnivals, to bake sales, to ping-pong tournaments and more.  If you are involved with a charity, you know that sometimes coming up with a unique and fun idea is not an easy task.  This year, consider holding a sleepover to help raise money for your organization.

 

Our busy schedules sometimes mean that there are not enough hours in the day to work, run errands, and take care of the kids, never mind trying to work in events.  A sleepover can be a great way for your charity to ensure a big turn-out by “turning in” – after all, sleepovers happen at night!

 

As for where your charity could hold a sleepover, many museums across the country offer sleepover events for their younger patrons – with just a few phone calls, you could likely organize a fun night out at a museum.  These sleepovers can even be family events, ensuring an even greater turn out!

 

While we usually think of children when we hear “sleepover”, it doesn’t mean that it needs to be a children’s event.  You could challenge the members of your group to spend the night in a haunted house, or create a team challenge where offices spend the night at work, or you could even host a themed pajama party, one that includes a midnight feast and breakfast the next morning.

 

Having a sleepover event to fund-raise for your charity or organization can be a fun and memorable way to engage your community and to raise money at the same time.  Consider holding a sleepover this holiday season!