This summer has been the summer of sleepovers.
The Dudes have still not ventured out to enjoy them at anyone else’s home, but we seem to have become the place to be for sleepovers when it comes to little Dudes in our hood.
Clearly it’s my awesome mommy-ing in the form of showering Dudes with sweet treats and yard tent building that brings all the boys to my yard. Literally.
Okay, I lie.
I’ve never built a tent in my life and I have no intention of ever getting down like that.
But, I am awesome at commissioning the building of tents for the enjoyment (and eventual middle of the night horrification from strange yard sounds that winds them up sleeping on my living room couch instead) of young boys. And, Dumb Dad has sorta become a pro at putting up those things without injuring himself, kicking the dog, or cussing anyone out too badly.
He’s come a long way that guy.
For my part, I am sort of a big deal when it comes to sleepover treats of both the edible and nonedible variety.
Want to know how to make sleepovers awesome for the Dudes at your house?!
Duh, of course you do!
Dumb Mom’s Guide to Awesome Sleepovers: How to Make Your Crib the Official Speezot for Dude (or Chick) Sleepovers
1. Get tasty treats. Even more fun? Let them get in on the making of said tastiness. We’ve made ice cream and roasted S’mores on the grill with our slumber party guests this summer. We also did pizza once but it didn’t come out very tasty for anyone over the age of 10. I stumbled across an awesome cooking with kids blog that is now officially my go to site for finding tasty things to get Dudes working in the kitchen.
2. Have cool bedding. First sleep over we hauled out all of these musty-smelling-never-used blankets from behind the couch for them to sleep on. Probably those kids wanted to go home immediately and never come back. And they all woke up smelling like tail. We decided to wash those blankets for the next get together and we even bought some sleeping bags from Target. I seriously need to look into getting something cooler, but a humongousaur pile of cheap sleeping bags and Ikea pillows (seriously, they only set me back $1.99/ea) work perfectly for now.
3. Do something different. Or, just haul out Just Dance 3 for the Wii and systematically dismantle their confidence by beating them badly in dance battles. Not your idea of fun? You are not human can check out some of these crowd pleasing party games. Just pick something easy that they can do ALONE. That’s really the whole point of having a friend sleepover right? Getting someone else to entertain your kids all night so you can lick the brownie batter bowl in peace!
4. Make something different more awesome. Movie nights are HUGE at Casa de Dummies and we don’t need a sleepover to enjoy one. But, since we have been reviewing the 3M Mobile Projector that plugs directly into my iPad allowing us to project movies all huge like onto my wall, movie watching with a group of Dudes has become significantly more awesome. We set it up so we could stream Spy Kids from Netflix onto the wall in the playroom where The Dudes were spending the night, and then, Dumb Dad and I went in the living room and watched a grown up movie. Like a date! Side note: we took this bad boy on vacation this summer too and it was cool to let The Dudes watch a movie on one side of the room while we tuned into the Olympics on the other. Because we’re obsessed.
5. Tell scary stories. But not too scary. There’s a thin line between entertaining a kid and scarring them for life. No Chainsaw Massacre. No Freddy Kreuger. And, in the name of all things holy, NO CHILDREN OF THE CORN. Stick with the silly ones that end with you saying boo and them nearly peeing your dirty blankets. Dudes love those!
Have you let your little people have sleepovers yet? Will you ever?
Check out this iVillage video to see how me & my iVillage homies feel about the subject…
And be sure to check out the 3M Mobile Projector. It really has changed the way The Dudes interact with the iPad. No more crowding around that thing, throwing elbows and insults to get a better look. They can play their games, watch their movies, and even read books together much more easily!
*I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of 3M and received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
We too have become the “it” spot for sleepovers. I have realized a dude sleepover is MUCH easier than the girlie sleepover. I need a guide on how to become the unsleepover place!
Break rule #5 above. Seriously kids will scatter, parents will call.
Buddy’s closest friends are the kids of our friends, so yes, they have had many sleep overs already (parents included, because sometimes it’s just not safe to drive home after THAT many beers).
What kind of kids are sleeping over that don’t bring their own sleeping bags??? My kids take their sleeping bags and pillows everywhere they go.
You’re good then, because out of the kids that came to my house this weekend, only two had a pillow or sleeping bag. I don’t know what’s up with that because to me, a sleepover of more kids than I have means I likely have no place for them all to sleep unless they’re packing in 3 to a bed. I get out comforters to pad the floor but I hate fighting through a flat on the mattress sleep after having to give up my pillows.
#5 has me whispering Malachiiiiiiiii. Don’t do it. My middle girl had a sleepover this past weekend. I wound up with 7 girls ages 8-12. And my 2 yr old boy. Um, yay? I thought of renting Signs but then figured maybe it was a bit much for the 8 yr old (I can’t remember it exactly, but I think the ending was spooky?). Anyway, outside of the pool and the moonbounce, I let them have at the basement. Movies, Wii, snacks, and please stop talking to me.
My oldest is only 7 (the other 2 boys are almost 6 and 4 and 3/4; the girls are 3 and 2), so we haven’t done the sleepover thing yet. Not sure when they’ll start but, as they’re homeschooled and don’t know many other kids well enough for me to let them spend the night (either here or there) the first will probably be with their cousins (of which they have many). I know I was having practically weekly sleepovers at his age with my sister’s house and they continue to be one of my best childhood memories.
We did a birthday sleepover last December that went over pretty well, and Cady has had one friend stay over a few times. Girls are super into dress up so that always goes over big at our house. I’ve also found that the Just Dance is a big hit.
We do sleepovers with some boundaries, but like Jenny, I do get nervous. And…um…I want that 3M projector! I think you should totally “lose” it. :- )
Just an FYI the new Coleman tents literally pop up in 60 seconds. SO. Freaking. Awesome! (Ya know, IF you wanna try out the whole camping in the backyard thing again.)
That projector sounds amazing. If you lived in Podunk (like me you) could totally say it was lost in the mail. Our mail system loses everything! Not even a joke….
Oh, I love this so much. I cannot wait to have sleepovers at our house (I think). My son has been itching to have a friend sleepover but we just haven’t been able to coordinate our schedules. I love the idea of that projector though. I want one for my own movie nights!
Yep- we’re on for a 9th birthday party sleepover with the backyard tent this weekend! And yes, we do have one of those Coleman pop-up tents- they ROCK! I’m so jealous of the 3M projector. I want one of these babies….. don’t they want you to do a giveaway or something?
We’ve done it once…won’t be doing that for a while again.
PS Loved the projector, too, and didn’t want to send it forward, either!