Slumber parties are very popular for kids, especially during the summertime when they don’t have to worry about going to school the next day. No matter how young or old, getting to stay up late and hang out with their friends in their pajamas is tons of fun for kids and can be a great way to celebrate your child’s birthday or another special occasion. Although preparation is important, spending lots of money isn’t necessary for a sleepover to be fun, so check out these ways to save money while giving your child and their friends have the best night of their young lives.
Preparation is Key
Where is everyone going to sleep? Should your child’s friends bring their own sleeping bags and pillows? What if someone forgets a toothbrush? Is there a curfew so the rest of the family can get some sleep? Before hosting a sleepover, you should take all of these questions into consideration to prevent any snafus from happening on the actual night of the sleepover. If you have limited space, then you’ll probably have to limit the number of friends your son or daughter can invite (fewer kids also means less chaos and less money you’ll have to spend on food and drinks). It’s also best to have back up supplies – sleeping bags or blankets, pillows, toothbrushes, etc. – just in case someone forgets theirs. Setting rules is also important for avoiding accidents (which could be a liability for you as the adult party host, if someone gets hurt) and keeping the noise to a minimum after 10 or 11pm so the rest of the family can sleep.
Pajama-Rama
If you’re hosting a sleepover to celebrate your child’s birthday, then it’d be fun to get them new pajamas for the special occasion. There are hundreds of different styles of affordable children’s pajamas available on Amazon, eBay, and other online outlets, or you can stop by your local Target, Walmart, or Gap to see if they’re selling quality pajamas for reasonable prices. Alternatively, you can find coupons or coupon codes for apparel from lesser-known clothing retailers through SumoCoupon. No matter where you go, you can expect to pay anywhere between $5-25 for new pajamas, depending on where you buy from and whether it includes a top or not.
Food and Drinks
Typical sleepover food consists of delivered pizza and soda, but it’s possible to get a little more creative without shoveling out extra money. If you want to offer the kids something a little healthier than greasy pizza, consider making spaghetti at home and serve it with bread and a fruit bowl. Enough pasta and sauce for a party of 8 should cost you less than $6 or $7, you can find a loaf of bread for $1.50 or less at your grocery store, and depending on what types of fruit and how much, your fruit bowl will cost around $5-10 to put together. Add lemonade or milk on top of that ($3-5 for enough for 8 kids) and your overall cost for a full dinner is $14-20, or about the same as 2-3 pizzas would cost.
Entertainment
In addition to dinner, you may want to buy some popcorn bags to give the kids if they decide to watch a movie (a must-do activity for most slumber parties). You can stream a film from Amazon for $2-5 (depending on how old and/or popular it is), rent one on demand through your TV for $3-8 or rent a DVD from your local Redbox for $1.29 per night. Local libraries also have some DVDs available for rent free-of-charge or for a nominal fee as well. If you have Amazon Prime or a Netflix subscription, you could also find a movie to stream for free. For other forms of entertainment, break out the board games or ask other parents to borrow their games. For kids who have gaming consoles, consider hosting a tournament in which they compete for small prizes (Mario Kart multiplayer racing is perfect for this).
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My kids have not had slumber parties yet but I’m going to keep these tips in mind for the future!
Great tips! My kiddos are young (and boys) but the season of slumber parties is quickly approaching.
I have such great memories of slumber parties when I was a kid. Love all of your tips, especially the preparation one.
These tips are also in handy for when family with little ones come to visit. I love making those memories!
Love the idea of doing pasta instead of the traditional pizza party. You’re right if they just have a movie to watch and some snacks, you’re good!
What great tips!! I remember slumber parties when I was little – can’t wait until my kids are old enough to have their friends sleep over!
Cute ideas! We have so many kids it always feels like the slumber parties never end around here. lol
Great tips! I’m planning a 8 year old slumber party – perfect timing!
We’ve hosted many sleepovers at our house. When my son was younger he’d have groups of friends. Now he still has friends over often, just usually one at a time.
I’ve had my fair share of slumber parties here and I know there are more to come so new ideas are always good to have on hand.
These are great tips! We love having slumber parties!
Great tips! It seem like every time The Teen is invited to a slumber party she has to buy new pjs! Love this post!
We used to have such fun at sleepovers! We put all the blankets and sleeping bags in the living room, popped up some popcorn and watched movies.
These are really great tips. After everything mentioned, it would cost much at all to host a slumber party.
Those are great tips! I used to love a good slumber party. I wonder if my boys will ever want to have any or if that’s a “girl thing”.
I’ll have to keep this handy as Goo is now in school and I’m sure we’ll be having slumber parties soon.