Help me get through 24 hours...

[Dreadingitliketheplague]

Of what I can only describe as hell. My DS is going to be turning 9 in a few days, and, as I am as skint as a very skint thing i thought it would be cheaper to do a sleepover....for 7 9yo. What am I going to do, It was a great idea at the time, although, now the evening is slowly creeping up on me, im am absolutely dreading it. What can I do to entertain seven 9 year old boys? Pin the tail on the donkey and pass the parcel are apparently "lame" as is board games. Help me please, My life is in your hands MN'ers

@WhenTheSharkBites I dont have a massive garden, but I do have a big wall outside, so I could get them to draw targets with chalk and then throw water balloons at them, Home made pizza and ice cream "studio" idea is fab too. Im thinking of making a bowling alley too.

Thanks everyone, I think I may just get through it, If I remember to buy wine

Another good one is to design and make paper planes and have a competition. Flying them down the stairs (supervised obvs.) is great fun if it's late or the weather is bad, otherwise outside. Lots of YouTube videos you could show using your TV and they could look at making alterations to improve the design to fly better/further.

You could make slime or space putty but I would confine this to the kitchen and have small named tubs to (confiscate!) store each child's putty.

Marshmallows on their own or s'mores

I offer you the shortcut known as Scots S'mores - the Tunnock Teacake BBQ'd in its own foil.

With a foil packet, you can also pop your own popcorn on the BBQ.

Both of these are safe enough for children to do on a BBQ under adult supervision.

When I was hosting parties for boys in that age range we would have a water ballon fight. You fill small balloons with water and throw them at each other. I’d get right in the thick of it.

What times have you actually put?.24 hours is INSANE! I'm desperate for them all to go home so I can tidy and get back to normality the second I open my eyes in the morning 😂

I offer you the shortcut known as Scots S'mores - the Tunnock Teacake BBQ'd in its own foil.

Genius! Now I'm hungry

@ShesABelter...3pm-3pm I was thinking that by the time they all got here, watched a film and eaten they would want to go sleep, and then by the time they are up, dressed and had breakfast the next day it would be time to go, Im now thinking this was a ridiculous idea and not really sure why I thought it would ever be a good idea. Im going to embrace it, its only 24 hours, Its only 24 hours, Its only 24 hours...

Maybe do a couple of games like the after eight game where you have to get it into your mouth from your forehead? And the cereal box game? Where you tear off a piece and have to pick it up with your mouth...

Dare I say slime?

Take them to the park in the dark. Could you give them each a cheap head torch as a take home gift?

I think making a den is a great idea and, possibly, a treasure hunt? One idea to save loads of money is NOT to do Party Bags. Other parents will thank you!

Ds is having a sleepover on Wednesday. They're definitely going in a tent! We're going to have a barbecue then up to the park for a kick about and in for films and sweets. If they can stay away from the tent and it's warm enough, I may let them have a water fight. Ds also loves laying a huge tarpaulin down, putting soap and water on it and running and diving on it. That's always a hit

Just had a thought, Can you still get disposable cameras? How good would that be? Sending them home with a camera full of memories

Yes you can still buy disposable cameras. eBay is your friend...
That's if you really want a bunch of kids going home with pictures of their bums... that's what mine would do 😂

Just thinking of games, we used to play a fun one at school Xmas party. There's a bar of dairy milk on the table. Everyone takes it in turns to roll a dice. When you land on a 6 you put on oven gloves, pick up a knife and fork and try to chop into it (through packaging) it's your turn till someone else rolls a six.

Ah good wholesome fun

Easy on the sweets they might not be quick to settle as it is - lots of sugary sweets not your friend in this instance. I like pound shop glow sticks in 500 ish ml soda bottles filled with water to weight them as nighttime glo bowling either tape glow on star stickers on normal ball or glow stick inside something hollow like old hamster ball. We used to use bubble wrap sheets obvs have to be exactly the same size then get the kids to exhaust themselves jumping up and down first team to pop all is the winner. Make pizza bases let them top their own, less likely to moan more likely to eat it. For kids human hungry hippos if you have access to ball pit balls and four washing up bowls, they lay down (arm length varies with height so adjust start spot accordingly) stack balls in a net bag or clean linen basket, release them, they have to only extend their arms and plastic bowl keeping body still, kids use the washing up bowl like the hippos mouth to pull balls back to their team mates team with most balls wins. As you have an odd number you might have to have a couple of rounds and a deciding final. If you have ribbon or leftover tape from Halloween. Create a pretend laser obstacle course ala mission impossible, or Zeta Jones nicking a painting if you have a narrow hall it’s ideal. They have to negotiate by going over and under the tapes - keep in mind the capabilities and the height of kids to try to make it fair. You can mark for style, accuracy or speed.

My son had a sleep over for his 9th birthday. I did treasure hunts with sweets, dancing (flossing) competition, dance off's, pizza making and den/fort making with loads of bed sheets and cushions. I had their parents bring them round at 6pm and pick them up at 10am and it was a very long 16 hours. It was the first and last big sleep over my son will have

You think they'll want to go to sleep after a film and food? They'll probably stay awake until midnight!

: ) warn your neighbours! split bananas & put chocolate square in them! invade pound shop cheap water pistols and/or get a bubble bottles play ghosts with torches or a game of murder (kids that age love that - real worry!) sardines? where you have to find nominated person in cupboard & hide with them the last person looses! version of musical chairs/ statues/ just get cheap ice cream & cornets & sprinkles … look in library for books on games for parties or outside or look on internet!

a couple of taskmaster type challenges

Change the time. Honestly, change it to 10am. They’ll be vile the next day so send them home to nap.

Is it too early to fire up the barbecue for a Tunnocks Teacake? misses point of thread

Try to knacker them out as much as you can physically before they settle down for the film. Do you have a park in walking distance? Take them down there with a couple of footballs, and let them burn off their excitement for a couple of hours. Then home for pizza, film etc.

Far too long a party!

My parties are:

Arrive 5pm
Leave 5.30pm for activity - bowling/trampoline place etc
Arrive back 7.30pm
On to ps4/games console whilst l order pizza
8pm - pizza and cake
8.30pm - pinatta/ grown up pass the parcel (wearing gloves to make it harder)/pin tail on donkey
9pm - pj and set up sleeping stufg
9.30pm - film and popcorn
11pm - bed

2am - threaten parent's will be called

9am - make breakfast

10am - parents collect

I'd text all parents and change pick up time to 10/11am.
Don't hit the wine till after they've gone.
They will not sleep.
There will be an argument.
There will be lots of noise.
Set rules of the sleepover and where they can go in the house at the very beginning.
Put away anything precious.
Go easy on the sugar and the hyper games - mix it up with some chill out time. You don't want to get them worked up into a pack mentality and a Lord of the flies scenario.
Do not be afraid to lay down the law if it feels like it's getting out of control - YOU are in charge.
Keep your eye out for the ones that might be wobbling.
Be prepared that your child will be a nightmare for the following week because of the lack of sleep.
Start a MN thread on the night and we'll see you through.
Good Luck!

Just leave them to get on with it. My nine year old would be mortified if I tried to involve myself with games and stuff for his friends at a sleepover.

They play football, computer games, eat, maybe draw, watch YouTube.

I am allowed to provide the food.... 😀

I did this last year for DDs 9th birthday, there were 10 of them.

They made Slime, I ordered pizza and chips (my local does BOGOF so it was around £25), popcorn and chocolate and a film, they slept in the living room, bought a load of glo sticks for them which went down really well, and other than that they basically entertained themselves.

The clean up the next day when they’d gone took me 2 hours!