Your children are going to have a lot of hopes and dreams when they grow up. One of those is going to be a huge sleepover with all of their best friends and relatives—and it’s going to be a nightmare for you. Let’s admit it, we probably don’t have that much space to house an entire class of children, and the logistics are going to be rough. What food are you going to cook? Will you order food? Will you get enough sleep? Is it going to tire you out?
Despite all the possible complications and issues you might run into, it’s part of your parenting journey to assist your children in realising their dreams and giving them the support they need to live a comfortable life. So without further ado, let’s roll up those sleeves and start planning the ultimate sleepover for your children.
1. Speak with parents
Get in contact with the parents of each child that your own child wants to invite. Make sure you speak to them about dietary requirements, emergency contact numbers and allergies that they may have. If possible, coordinate with other parents about what would be best for their child so that no one is left out or has a bad experience. You also need to consider where the parents live and when it’s suitable for them to come and drop their child off at your home or when they plan to pick up their child.
2. Sleeping arrangements
If you want to give the children the most comfortable night, then consider reading up on air mattress 101. Air mattresses are softer and more comfortable than traditional sleeping bags, and you won’t have to tell your guests to bring their own bedding. Air mattresses are easy to set up and can be stored away for future use, for example, if you have friends or family visiting or if you want to set up temporary bedding for one reason or another.
3. Cooking or ordering?
If there are children with specific dietary requirements, then it’s a good idea to consider cooking up a meal yourself with the help of your partner or the children themselves. You could even turn it into a form of entertainment. For example, you can gather the children and make a cake or small cupcakes together and have them design their own using sprinkles, icing and other tasty snacks.
4. Plan entertainment
Whether it’s video games or board games, you want to have a list of entertainment for the children to take part in. If you are using video game consoles, then prepare some child-friendly games such as sports and Mario on the Nintendo consoles, and buy enough control pads so that the maximum amount of players can join in. You can also consider renting a film or looking for something on a subscription service such as Netflix or Amazon.
5. Monitoring children
It’s important that you keep an eye on all of the children whenever possible. The last thing you want is a dispute or argument to break out between the children or for someone to feel left out. If you plan to take them outside at some point, then make sure every child is within your vision at all times and seek the help of someone older such as your other children, your partner or one of the parents.