First ever sleepover at our house, what do I need to know? Any tips?

[Cadelaide]

Four 9yo girls, birthday celebration.

What fun! I used to love it when my DD had her friends over at this age. This is what I used to do ..... Keep them very busy (it stops anyone feeling homesick). Check with other parents in case any of their children have allergies. Plan an active time when they first arrive as they will be v. excited. Do you have a wii? Four children can play on that if you have the controls? Get them to make their own dinner - making pizza dough is SO easy and they can choose their own toppings which makes picky eaters feel more at home. Have a selection of ham, chicken, mushrooms, sweetcorn, tomatoes, etc ready and a jar of pizza base sauce (with natural colourings) Yes, you will get flour everywhere but they will have fun. Put on some loud music while they are making their food. A chocolate fondue with pieces of fruit is great as they can help to chop the fruit and melt the chocolate! Once they have had their dinner, maybe you could let them play at beauty salons - nail painting fingers and toes is fun. They could take it in turns to do each others. Yes, it is very girly but really that is what they like ( I teach 8 year olds so I know rather a lot about them!)Then find a good DVD for them to watch while you make them frothy hot chocolate and cookies. It was shown on Jo Frosts programme last night that sugar does not make children hyper (colourings do).Set some rules in advance about when you expect them to go to sleep and stick to it - make sure you have mobile numbers for all the parents and most of all have fun! You have years of this to come and it is great.