A Fun Kiddie Sleepover

Not counting the ones with family friends who my parents left me with, I think I experienced a typical sleepover only once during my childhood days in elementary. It was my friend’s birthday, and she had invited a bunch of us to spend the night over and try their new pool. It was only after I answered Papa’s long list of questions, gave him the names and number of my friend’s parents, and promised that I would behave and be polite did he reluctantly allow me to go. Although it happened only once, I recall we enjoyed ourselves immensely the entire time, wishing that I would get to do it again (I did, but that was after several years when I was in university, and again only after more questioning and when my friend’s mom assured Mama she would take care of us).

Which is why, when Caila and the daughters of our friends (who are also part of our KFC family) told us that they wanted to have their very first sleepover at our home the following Thursday (which would fall during the Eid holidays), I was delighted. Of course we told them we would think about it, but deep inside I was all for it.

Because, simply put, sleepovers or slumber parties are fun! They give kids more opportunities to get to know each other more and play to their heart’s content.

To say Caila was excited was an understatement. She was the one who reminded me to ask J & B’s parents and confirm the date. Even before our friends agreed, our eldest had already started making a list of all the things we needed to make the sleepover a fun one. And when she woke up on Thursday morning, the first thing she said was “Yes! It’s sleepover day!” Never mind that some of my colleagues and their families were coming over for lunch that day. All that mattered to her was her sleepover.

So was it as fun as Caila had thought it would be? You bet it was. There was hardly a dull moment, and except for the usual teasing and quarrelling between Caila and Sophie (which happens all the time anyway), the girls all got along peacefully.

Just in case you're wondering, here are the things that helped make the kids enjoy. If they have another one (not too soon, though ☺), we’ll probably prepare pretty much the same things.

• Food and Drinks. Lots of it! There were only 4 kids at our sleepover (2 guests and 2 of our own) and all of them were girls, but they had huge appetites. They had spaghetti and rice & kaldereta for dinner, nachos & cheese dip, bread, cereal, and a glass of milk each for late night snack, hot chocolate drink, cereal with milk, and toast for breakfast, Pringles for morning snack, rice and adobo for lunch, and Pepero and leftover rice and adobo again for afternoon snack. Plus so many other things I can't remember ☺

• Comfy Sleeping Arrangement. The 3 older girls all slept together on our airbed which was laid out in the living room. Sometime in the middle of the night, Caila said she wanted to sleep in our room, but we insisted that she sleep with her friends since that was the point of the sleepover.

• Temporary Tattoos. The girls had fun choosing among the colourful designs and sticking them on their arms or the back of their hands. It was like they were marking their friendship with the tattoos.

• Board Game. Our girls have a giant Snakes & Ladders game which entertained the kids for several minutes, including Sophie who simply enjoyed rolling the dice and letting her sister move her marker.

• Getting to Know You Questions. I had originally prepared 9 questions and the girls would just have to answer 3 each, but later they wanted to take turns answering all of them. And when they were done, they asked me to prepare more questions, and later again, still more questions. Of course I obliged. It gave me a chance to get to know them more, plus it allowed me to share some information to their parents.

• Books. It was already late at night but they still couldn’t sleep, so to keep them busy but quiet, we took out Caila’s books for them to read until they finally closed their tired eyes.

• Music. I had songs in my phone that they’re familiar with which I played in the car on our way to Discovery Gardens. It made them wild! Ok, not wild-wild; but they did sing their hearts and lungs out. It made the long ride pass quickly and not boring.  Check out a clip of their mini-concert here ☺

• Amber the Dog. J & B are familiar with my sister’s dog because they met her last December at our camping fellowship. And since she’s trained and doesn’t bite, the girls enjoyed hugging and playing with her.

• A Swimming Pool. The reason why we went all the way to Discovery Gardens on Friday is because my sister invited us (including J & B’s parents) to use the pool nearby. Since it’s summer, naturally the kids were excited to beat the heat and swim in the refreshing water. They swam and splashed about to their heart’s content until the skin on their hands and feet were wrinkled.

• Token. Actually, this was from my sister which she gave to the 4 girls before we all left her apartment in the afternoon. They were already tired and sleepy, but the chocolate Frozen surprise eggs they received made them energetic and happy all over again.

If we hadn’t gone swimming and just stayed at home, other things we could have done were to go to the nearby park and have a picnic, or bake mini apple muffins, or even play charades. Anyway, maybe next time.

After all, I’m sure that sleepover won’t be the last ☺