Argh - dd will be turning 12 and is desperate for a sleepover party. Please help me plan it....

[Earlybird]

I have successfully avoided hosting a sleepover party 'til now, but think I will finally have to give in this time.

I need ideas for all of it, so it is fun for the girls and doesn't send me to the loony bin. If it matters, I am a single Mum, so there will only be one adult to facilitate and manage!

Here are some questions:

How many should we host - ideally? Space won't be a problem, and people 'round here tend to tell their friends to just bring a sleeping bag and pillow.

Food suggestions - I'll have to feed them in the evening and in the morning. And maybe some snacks too. Any ideas that will be yummy and easy to prepare much appreciated.

Activities and/or games - need suggestions for how to keep them occupied. Don't want to do a pamper party, as that has been done over and over. Also don't want the house completely trashed, so please no suggestions for extra-messy activities. Also, party will be late Feb, so everything will happen inside the house. One last thing: dd and her friends are mostly book loving academic and musical 'geeks' (self described), but of course, they love to have fun.

Schedule - What time should i aim to have guests arrive and depart? Also, i know they'll stay up late, but don't want them awake 'til midnight and up at 6AM. Do I insist on a 'lights out and mouths shut' time? Or just leave them to it?

i know if this is planned well, it won't be a nightmare (could actually be fun!) - but would dearly love to hear from those who have attempted similar and lived to tell the tale.

Thanks so much.

Don't plan it for them. Let your dd invite who she likes, she chooses what they do (watch dvds?) Order them a couple of pizzas and leave them to it. Oh and a bowl of cereal and juice in the morning is quite enough.

I second what face says.

Perhaps a bit of toast in the morning too and maybe some popcorn for the films

Pizza and garlic bread for tea, or invite for 7 and just do sweets/crisps etc. DVDs if they want, explain that other people would like to sleep in house at some point, toast, variety pack of cereal or croissants I'd provide, be clear about pick up time too!
Oh and they have never been as bad as I feared

The only warning is get your DD to choose her guests carefully.

DD2 has friends who would stay up all night in Y5 and friends who got grumpy at 11pm

DD2 will do either and her lot were very good at sharing sleep overs round so the two groups didn't end up at the same one.

DD1 only ever has the same two girls who have known each other almost from birth, so they sleep if their tired and don't if they're not.

I had 6 girls over for dd1 sleepover party on new years eve. they arrived at 5.30 straight away they played just dance on the Wii theye got into teams and did competitions and then the two winners played against each other. that kept them pretty amused for about hour then I ordered pizzas. after pizzas they all got into pjs and played poisonous smarties. then went up to bed watched a movie with some Doritos. two conked out by 10 and the rest was awake until 1 when I pit mtg foot down and switched the movies off. one of the girls set an alarm on her iPad at 5am. luckily they slept through and I turned other off. in the morn the tend to amuse themselves and then had breakfast at about 9 they played poisonous smarties and the Wii again and then I dropped them home at 1
would I do it again....no! lol u get no peace but then it is only one night.
good luck

I suffered through this last year :o

I got the girls to come at 5 on the Friday. I set them up in the kitchen making Pizzas (shop bases) which went down really well and kept them busy for ages. Then they made their own ice cream sundaes for desert.

It wasn't that much effort in the end and they actually offered to pitch in for the washing up too!

Then I just left them to it in DD's room. They arranged their beds, got on PJ's and had a DVD night with popcorn etc. And midnight I said no more TV and lights out. They did chat for a while but were all out by 1am.

The first girl surfaced at 9am!

Cereal, toast and juice covered the breakfast - which they sorted themselves pretty much. They watched DVDs and listened to music and generally shreiked over goodness knows what!

I made plain cupcakes which they decorated for snacks, went over the road to the park and then we started walking them home. I actually had very little input with them - they amused themselves. DD invited 5 friends and luckily they were a good group.

Ohh forgot to add - I got some of those plastic wine glasses and let them decorate and write their names on them with permanent markers. They made their own fruit cocktails from a mix of juices and lemonade or sparkling water. Added in some ice cubes and cocktail umbrellas and they spent ages putting on fake grown up posh voices like proper laydees :o

Thanks for suggestions.

I'm wavering between leaving them too it (so nothing too 'planned'), and wanting to make sure they don't get bored.

Mytwobeautifulgirls - never heard of poisonous smarties. How is it played?

poisonous smarties- get a bag of smarties pour onto a plate or the table on person goes out of the room and the rest of the group pick a smartie to be the poisonous one. the other player comes back in and begins to eat the smarties. when the pick up the poisonous one they all shout poisonous smartie. is good fun but I usually say they can have uo to 4 smarties if they dint pick the poisonous one. or the whole lot could be gone before anyone else gets a turn.

keeps the occupied

If you wanted, you could hire a kareokee machine, if they are all music geeks.... But pizza for tea is great and popcorn for films, and make sure you have a spare place for the early birds to sleep.