Little lady slumber party

Sleepovers are a hit with youngsters; especially young girls. Slumber parties are popular birthday parties. Youngsters younger than eight years old might feel pangs of loneliness missing their moms, so it is perhaps better to plan slumber parties for kids older than eight years. Limit the total number of kids to no more than six. Always aim to have an even number of youngsters so that there is never an odd child out.

A slumber party involves two meals, evening meal and breakfast.

Evening meal at a slumber party

A midnight feast is always a hit with youngsters. If they are about eight years old, let them go to sleep at about 10 pm. Set an alarm for about 30 minutes later. When they wake up - that is if they had slept at all - they can indulge in a "midnight feast". A "midnight feast" is a meal late at night, often in semi darkness. Eight-year-olds prefer that the food served at a "midnight feast" is all the foodstuffs that they enjoy most: sweets, chocolates and cold drinks. Ask your child before the party what favourite eats she would like to serve at her "midnight feast".

If it is winter and you have a fire place, show the youngsters how to prepare melted marshmallows; by pushing a marshmallow onto a fork, heating it over the fire until it appears to start to melt, then eating the melted marshmallow. If it is a birthday party, a theme cake will be a hit. Negotiate with your child what theme cake she would like. Most of us are not professional confectioners, so you may have to have the cake baked by a professional. Another great idea is to serve an ice-cream cake instead of a conventional baked cake.

Let the youngsters prepare their own microwave popcorn.

Sleeping arrangements at a slumber party

Ask your young guests to bring their own sleeping bags to the slumber party, or build a pudding-pie-bed.

Youngsters think that a pudding-pie-bed is very "cool". A pudding-pie-bed is a communal bed that the youngsters share.

Build a pudding-pie-bed by placing three mattresses next to one another on the floor. Make the bed up by placing three pillows at the one end and three at the other. Cover the bed with large double bed blankets. Although it maybe a bit squashed, the fun they have sleeping in a pudding-pie-bed outweighs the discomfort. The youngsters can also sleep in their sleeping bags on the mattresses.

Slumber party games and activities

Make sure that you have plenty of DVDs suitable for the youngsters.

Place party accessories in separate containers. For a girls' slumber party here are a few ideas for activity containers.

1. Playing hair salon. At your local supply store buy a collection of cheap hair accessories, such as hair clips, hair bands and ribbons. Include a tube of hair gel and hair glitter
2. Looking glamorous makeover. Many of us moms have loads of "old" bits of make-up. Put these bits in a container for the slumber party. Add to these bits kids make-up; you will find attractive sets at many toy stores
3. Dress-up. I have always kept a big, old suit case that contains second hand adult clothing for my daughter and her friends to play dress-up with. If you do not have a dress-up suitcase or box, make one up with your old clothes that you haven't worn for a while. At your local party store, or supermarket, you may find a few glitter wigs, hula skirts and other dress-up accessories that you can add to the dress-up box.

Put the containers out for the youngsters so that they can select what activity they would like to do.

Slumber party rules

Before the party, give your child the "good-host" talk. If watching DVDs are okay, discuss how long they can watch. Explain that solitary activities should be avoided.

Once all the guests have arrived, explain the house rules. This should include explaining what rooms (such as yours) are out of bounds, as well as any limits on phone, computer, etc., use.