8 girls for 8 year old sleepover birthday party?

[Dref]

Hi all,

Does 8 girls for my daughters birthday sleepover sound mad? She would have an outing in the day (a high energy one for 1 hour) then pizza and cake at ours. She really wants the sleepover part because she has wanted this since last year when her brother had one (but he only had 3 friends over).

Has anyone else done this and was it ok? It's possible some will decline the offer of this part which would be great but I don't want to ask a select few from the group to stay the night.

It will be fine. They might not sleep loads but they will have fun and she will remember having an awesome birthday.

8 is quite young. Do you know the girls and their families? Will they feel comfortable sleeping over or may they get teary and want to go home? We've only had two girls sleep over at once who knew us well and lived in the next street in case they wanted to go home.

Do you actually have space/bedding for 8 kids? We don’t and I wouldn’t want someone not sleeping because they’re only in a sleeping bag on the floor (for example). So in our house it’s limited to 4 because that's what we can provide a bed/camp bed/mattress for.

Thanks for your messages. She's so upset I haven't said yes so I'm feeling a lot of emotional pressure now.

We have a spacious house but if they wanted to sleep together they would have to be in the living room or her brother sleep in our room and I put 4 in each of her and her brother's bedroom, which may create an issue.

8 girls is going to be hard work especially after a long exciting day. For a first sleepover I would only have 2-3 girls, couldn't you invite on another day instead?

Could you do a sleepover with a select few on a different date?

What about a “sleep under”? I read about them recently. You sort of do all the slumber party activities and they get changed into their PJs and watch a movie etc but then their parents come to collect them at say 9pm and take them home to bed!

You're insane 😂

Boo hoo, frankly! 8 eight year old girls is too much. Has she already promised everyone she’s having them all over for a sleepover?

I’d put money on there being at least one falling out overnight, and one of them will probably bring a phone.

I missed that it would be her first sleepover. Absolutely not 8 kids!!

I wouldn't have that many 8yos staying over, no. Just do the outing and pizza / cake and then have a couple of close friends stay

I did this and it was such a dramatic evening. The girls got so overexcited and there were arguments and tears at one point. I remember sitting there at midnight counting down the next 12 hours til their parents came to collect them.

Saying that, she still remembers it now, and remembers it as being one of her best birthdays.

It's just one night.. you got this!

Wilhelmina Bunter, how did you manage to only have a few friends stay without it creating any hurt/bad feelings with the others?

i would say max 4 including your daughter, the bigger the group at that age, the more potential for tears. They definitely all need to be in the same room otherwise they will just flit between the two all night.
My top tip for tween sleepovers is to not have the kids arrive until 4/5pm and have them picked up at 10am latest. They get all the excitement but it reduces the amount of time for falling out and bickering!

I think at that age 8 kids is too many and to be honest they are still a bit young. They prob won't sleep much and some might even get upset/ want their mum etc.

Hi thanks everyone, good to have a range of perspectives and tips. We've told her no sleepover with that many - she was devastated - but is there a way of having three stay without causing offence to the others? I'd feel it a no go to encourage secrecy between them but can't see how that would work because one is bound to be excited and mention it to others.

Take the decision out of her hands. Let her tell the girls YOU picked who is staying over, or draw names out of a hat? I wouldn't do 8 girls at that age! Five tops.

It's one night. Give them the living room, the telly and a visual and physical boundary for when it's "telly off and sleep time" (make that about an hour before you want it it be, midnight or something, and let them crack on.

Please don't invite 8 girls and only have a few stay over. That's all they'll be talking about and you're creating a divide already. Some parents might be annoyed too if their kid hasn't made the grade.

Just put some duvets in the living room and let them all sleep there. Keep the parents numbers in case the girls want to go home. I'm sure the parents will be on stand by anyway. Having said that, I wouldn't let my kid sleep over at this age, so invite them all and some may say no anyway but at least you've done the right thing.

The same way I invited some children to parties and not others. Yes, they might have discussed it at school but that's life. Not everyone gets invited to everything. Most parents (with any sense) accept that and nobody seemed to fall out over it.

I think it's fine to invite 8 people to an activity and then a handful to the stuff at the house. Or just invite 3 to the whole day. Or invite them all if you are really keen to. I wouldn't, but some people would be fine with it. It doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things

I wouldn't host or let my dd go to a sleepover at that age either fwiw, so you may get a few people declining which will make your life easier!

is there a way of having three stay without causing offence to the others

Do it on a different day. Otherwise it’s obvious from the start of the party - some turning up with overnight stuff, whispered plans about midnight feasts etc - and it sours the party for the rest of them.

Thanks all. She woke up this morning and said she'd be fine with three over on a different weekend. Phew. Not quite the birthday sleepover she had in mind as well as the outing but she seems to like the idea of having her group sleepover without it being part of her actual birthday. I can now de-stress myself from the high emotions of yesterday evening 😜

I like this idea! Never heard of it before but sounds ideal

I agree! Definitely another option to have up my sleeve for future configurations