Kids' sleepover: how to organise one without losing your own night's sleep

A successful kids' sleepover comes down to a few simple rules: not too many guests, a short, clearly announced programme, an easy dinner, a bedtime set in advance and an adult on hand all night. The rest is a bonus. Here's the complete plan, from invitations to breakfast, with the questions to ask parents and the precautions to take so that everyone gets a good night, you included.

Before the sleepover: preparing with the parents

A kids' sleepover is mostly won before it even starts. When you send out the invitations, ask each family for:

• a phone number they can be reached on all night;
• any allergies and dietary requirements, for dinner as well as snacks;
• bedtime habits: cuddly toy, night light, door left ajar, fear of the dark;
• collection time the next morning.

Also say what to bring: pyjamas, toothbrush, cuddly toy, a pillow if needed, a sleeping bag depending on your set-up. And let them know you'll call the parents if a child wants to go home: it happens, it isn't a failure, and it's more reassuring for everyone when it's said in advance.

How many guests? Fewer than for a regular birthday party. The number of beds and the number of adults present set the limit. Three or four well-supervised children are better than a big gang that's impossible to get to bed.

The programme: short, announced, and winding down gently

Children cope better with an evening when they know what to expect. Announce the programme when they arrive, and build it so that the energy drops as the evening goes on:

1. Arrival and afternoon snack: bags down, everyone picks their sleeping spot.
2. An active game: a treasure hunt around the house, a pyjama parade, dancing.
3. Dinner: simple, made together if possible.
4. A calm activity: a film, a board game, bracelet making.
5. Bedtime: teeth brushing, a story or torchlight, lights out.

The classic mistake is saving the most exciting activity for last. A pillow fight at 10 pm delays bedtime by a good hour.

Activities that work

• The pyjama parade. Each child comes into the living room showing off their animal or character, with the matching call and walk. Have “prizes” for everyone: the funniest, the softest, the scariest.
• The torchlight treasure hunt. Lights down in one or two safe rooms, a few hidden clues, a little treasure to share at the end.
• The blanket fort. Chairs, sheets, clothes pegs: the activity that keeps them busy for ages and becomes the evening reading corner.
• Home cinema. A film chosen in advance, suited to the age of the youngest guest, and checked with the parents if you're unsure.
• Speedy baking. Cookies or make-your-own pizzas: the activity and dinner in one.

Avoid scary games at bedtime: a ghost story that goes down a storm at 9 pm means a guest who wants to go home at 11 pm.

Dinner and breakfast

Keep meals simple and easy to adapt for allergies: pizzas or wraps to fill yourself, raw veg sticks, a dessert to share. Check every ingredient if a guest has a food allergy, including in the evening biscuits and sweets.

For breakfast, plan something quick to make, as children often wake up early after a sleepover: pancakes made the night before, cereal, fruit, juice. It's also the perfect moment for one last group photo in pyjamas, before the parents arrive.

Bedtime: the part that needs planning

This is where it all comes together. A few reflexes:

• Announce lights-out time from the start, and stick to it. Children still need a lot of sleep: the Assurance Maladie gives around 12 hours per 24 hours at age 6 and 9 hours at age 12 (ameli.fr, children's sleep, in French). A very short night takes its toll the next day, at your house as well as at the parents'.
• Set up the beds before dinner, so that bedtime doesn't turn into yet another activity.
• Have a night light and leave a door ajar: not everyone sleeps in total darkness.
• Put screens away at bedtime, phones and tablets included.
• Stay within earshot all night, and tell the children where you're sleeping.

Safety, without spoiling the fun

A sleepover is still a children's party, with the usual precautions:

• No flames. The London Fire Brigade points out that costumes should be kept away from naked flames, and recommends battery-operated candles or glow sticks instead (London Fire Brigade, fancy dress costumes). For atmosphere, LED fairy lights and torches do the job very well.
• Pyjamas in the right size. Legs that are too long or trailing feet make children trip on the stairs.
• Younger brothers and sisters? Keep small decorations, bracelet beads and hard sweets out of reach of children under 3.
• “Off-limits” rooms: make it clear where children can and can't go, especially for the treasure hunt.
• An adult on hand from start to finish, and sober: they're the one who drives if a child needs to go home.

The dress code: pyjamas that make the party

Pyjamas are the theme, so they might as well be funny. The hooded one-piece is perfect: it can be worn all evening, keeps children warm when they sleep on the floor, and turns every child into a character for the parade.

The Kids' Plush Animal Onesie comes in eighteen designs, from cat to unicorn by way of shark, dinosaur or capybara, in fleece flannel with ears or horns on the hood and two hidden pockets. Sizes run from 100 to 140 and are chosen according to the child's height; the cut is deliberately roomy, and an opening at the back means there's no need to take everything off for the toilet.

If the parents want to join in the next morning, the Family Fleece Onesie offers the same animal in kids', women's and men's sizes. And for sizing, our guide to choosing the right adult onesie size gives grown-ups the right reflexes: measure, then take the next size up if in doubt.

The next day

Send each child home with all their belongings: one bag per guest, packed the night before, saves the big sort-out in the morning. For fleece pyjamas that have served as both costume and nightwear, our guide to washing fleece pyjamas without damaging them explains how to keep them soft for a long time.

In a nutshell

For a successful kids' sleepover: not too many guests, the parents' information gathered in advance, an announced programme that goes from lively to calm, a simple dinner that takes allergies into account, a lights-out time that's set and kept, no flames, and an adult on hand all night. As for the outfit, a hooded onesie in the right size covers the parade, the blanket fort and the night. And if it's the grown-ups who want their turn, our guide to a grown-up pyjama party takes over.

Cover photo: gladys rovetta / Unsplash