Tell us your top tips for surviving sleepovers and have the chance to win £100

[Carriemumsnet]

DryNites want to know your top tips for surviving sleepovers (whether your child wets the bed or not). Do you allow midnight feasts (conveniently moved to the earlier time of 8pm) ? Is it best to just leave them to it and live with the consequences? What do you do with early risers? And if you do have a child who wets the bed (or has a friend who sleeps over who wets the bed) how do you deal with that with sensitivity?

Everyone who offers a tip will be entered into a prize draw to win £100 vouchers for the store of their choice.

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Wait till they are all 14 then put them in a tent down the bottom of a very long garden.

We have a z bed just a cheepy from Argos, the covers come off and go in the washer.

we take ds's matress off his bed and put it next to the z bed, on the floor make it like a camping trip for them.
we have those sheets with the plastic backs, they are fab so we put them on EACH bed so that there is no issue about one being different.

We get them some "goodies" pt them in a bowl each with a carton of drink (non spill) set up the portable dvd player allow them to choose a dvd then leave them to it.
ds is 6.

Its very very special because it is so different from the normal routine, so ds absolutely LOVES having sleep overs.

One regular sleepover child brings those pull up overinght pants, he knows where ds's bin is and descreatly pops it in in the morning, i come and take the whole bin out when they are playing out etc. ds never comments, never even notices i think as pjs are put on in the bathroom after cleaning teeth.

Its good fun.

last weekend they were up and dressed by 6.30am, trying to get into the back garden to go on the trampoline!
I set up a dvd for them, made them a drink and we all snuggled on the sofa till a decent hour for trampolining

I do one of two things. Get dh to take them out till quite late (they are boys so don't want to hang out with me) to lazer quest or summat. Then they come in and have snacks and go up to bed. OR get a film in that I know they want to see and fill the room with popcorn. I find that we have to occupy them or it's bedlam.

Timed bouncing competion on the trampoline before bed. Quickest to do 1000 bounces. Tires them out quite well I find

Winner gets to choose whatever cereal they like for breakfast.

Keep bags and clothes/wash bags downstairs under your close control at all times to avoid everything getting tipped everywhere and lost when they explore your child's bedroom.

I have a sofa bed downstairs and put a single duvet on the bottom and they sleep in sleeping bags, it could all be washed if needed.

Down stairs they can watch a little tv and natter and not distrube the rest of the household.

My one child who does rise early come upstairs and gets into my dd's bed and reads to save waking the rest of the house up as we are not early risers on a weekend

Alcohol

• Run them like dogs during the day to tire them out

• Invest in ear plugs and gin

Put them all to bed in one room and throw in a massive bag of junk food. The important thing is that it must be easy to vacuum it away afterwards, so dry food like crisps, biscuits and popcorn.

Avoid chocolate.

Give bottled drinks with spouty lids, preferably water or whatever coloured drink co-ordinates with the decor in the room.

What we are trying to do here is minimise the housework. Forget healthy food, one night won't hurt, and squashed bananas are a nightmare to get out of carpet.

Send them to have the sleepover at Grannies house - that's what I do anyway

Do it on Friday night so they're good and tired after the school week, and have two whole days to recover.

Choose the invitees very carefully ...

My rules are
Never on a school night or if you have something important to do the next day

Only one friend sleeps over (dd only 8)

Do not wake me up before 7 (last time DD's mate got her up at 5.30 -my DD was horrified!)

Blind eye turned to all nicking of biscuits

No more than 2 kids. Preferably 1. Practice hissing "if you don't stop messing around RIGHT NOW X is leaving and never coming over again"

Have a serious rule that anyone who keeps talking or messing about after a certain deadline will NEVER be invited to a sleepover again. Stick rigidly to any ban for at least a year, and only relent for unimpeachable reasons.

Maximum two friends
Confiscate any excessive sweets you come across
Ditto fizzy drinks
If we feel able to do without the sofa and TV for the evening DP and I leave them to it on the sofa bed in the living room [10 year olds]
Make youself at least semi-decent before coming downstairs as little Ella will be giving her mother a detailed description of your appearance later.
Lock the doors. DD1's last guest apparently got dressed and threatened to go home at 2.00am. Imagine how that would feel when you came down the next morning.
Don't "act weird" mum.

DS & dd have been having sleepovers round at their joint best mates since very young (I think dd was 2 when she first went)

Our rules are 'stay in bed once you're put to bed', and 'my house, my rules'. Anything else is fine - the fun of sleepovers is that you stay up late and get away with stuff, surely?

DS (at 6) is only just dry at night. Don't think his wearing 'pj pants' was ever an issue. He knew to dispose in the bin & wipe himself down, so just got on with it. He has been very blaze about it though.

Less successful was the sleepover guest who I assumed was dry at night because her mum forgot to pack any night nappy. She got through three sets of bedding before we realised our mistake...

Have heavy sleeping DC! We had friends to stay and their DD chose to sleep in DS's room with him - he was the ultimate disappointing sleepover companion, as he fell asleep mid-sentence 30 seconds after lights out

ooh ooh, I have one even though I have never hosted a sleepover. (successfully done by my friend

If they are refusing to go to sleep and keep switching the light on, have a power cut.

Loads of duvets/sleeping bags on the floor in the lounge, leave the hall lights on so everyone knows where the loo is at night/children who are a bit afraid of the dark have a bit of light without having to own up to their friends and microwave popcorn is a lifesaver.

At your desired bedtime for them, trip the socket switches in the fusebox!

PLan nothing the next day as you will be very tired and so will your dc.

Get them all to sleep downstairs - you wont hear too much when trying to sleep

Ban all sugary foods after 8pm, and put a film on for them, will help them wind down.

Finally, plead with them to be quiet and threaten to tell their mums if they don't!

DD is 10 and has overactive bladder thereofre requires meds but can still be wet. Her best friends who stay over know this and except it. I have always stressed to dd and parents of her friends tht she has a medical condition. This seems to take any embarrssmment or stress out of it.

When they stay over, i leave them to it, but go to bed myself at about 10.30 turning lights out and they go to sleep! They normally spend the eve in her roomwatching dvds.

Make them sleep in separate rooms - they get popcorn/dvd and later bedtime - but then friend sleeps in our study on a made up bed. They can still get up & play early, but at least they go to sleep at a sensible time.

Since imposing this rule I'm now happy about weeknight sleepovers!

Let the children make their own pizzas for tea/ supper.They get to choose what goes on which might help with fussy eaters.
Give visiting child a torch at their bedside in case they can't find their way to the light switch in the night

We try to do Friday nights or holidays only, usually all my three DCs have a friend each, have a rule to stay in their pairs, not to annoy the others! I encourage my three to plan a few ideas of activities (games, wii, trampoline, makeovers etc) so they are not racing round trashing the house/garden. And yes, choose friends carefully!
Midnight feast are fine, usually they have arranged to bring goodies themselves, but I donate a packet of choc eclairs or bowls of popcorn. But I do nag for good teeth brushing before they sleep.
We generally let them go to sleep whenever...for my Dss 11th birthday he had 3 pals, they stayed up all night playing the wii and watching dvds, they had a fab time!
They love sleepovers, they are a real treat, and we always have a special buffet breakfast of croissants, pain au chocolate, crumpets and a fruit platter.
Another top tip is to have a mid morning pick up time already arranged, unless you are good with sleep deprived children!
One of my DSs pals wears dry-nights, very subtle,don't think my son even knows, as his pal puts them in a plastic bag when he goes to the loo, and takes it home.

Have boys who are into Ninetendo DS's. You won't hear a peep out of them, as they play all night....

otherwise my tip is, take them out for a big walk/bike ride/game of rounders around 6pm, then they are physically tired.