How to throw the perfect sleepover

It was only a matter of time.

Not only does everything seem to be about rainbows, unicorns and flip sequins in our house at the moment, now that the oldest has turned seven there’s increasing talk about sleepovers too.

I used to love sleepovers when I was little: staying up late, midnight feasts and giggling after lights out. The thing is, though, it’s a different kettle of fish now I’m a grown-up. BB has never been to a sleepover and I’ve never been in charge of one. What do we need? Where will everyone sleep? What will they do all evening?

So, it was timely when children’s bedroom specialists Room to Grow got in touch and offered to send us everything we needed to throw the perfect sleepover at home, including a cleverly-designed Snuggle Sac sleeping bag.

Needless to say the kids were besides themselves at the prospect of a home sleepover, and I must admit their excitement was rather contagious. Here’s what I discovered.

1. Be prepared. Don’t panic about having a bed for everyone – they don’t need their own beds and they don’t need their own mattresses, either. All they need is their own bedding. If you haven’t heard of Snuggle Sac before, they’re a range of fun and cosy roll-out sleeping bags – we’ve got the pink polka dot (£50) – in a variety of different designs with an integrated pillow case, so all you need to do is pop in a pillow.

Endorsed by The Children’s Sleep Charity, forget the scratchy, electric shock-inducing sleeping bags of your own childhood (or mine anyway!) With 100% cotton linings these are super soft and cuddly, and they come in their own tote bag, so perfect for sleepovers.

2. Plan a sit-down activity. Assuming you don’t want a bunch of over-excited kids running riot, sit-down activities like their favourite DVD are perfect (and the longer the running time the better!) That way, with a bit of luck, you might get a sit-down too.

3. Stock up on snacks. Because you simply can’t have a sleepover without snacks.

4. Encourage them to settle down by giving them a toy they can play with in bed. The clue might be in the title, but getting them to actually sleep during a sleepover is easier said than done. Giving them a toy they can play with in bed is one solution, like a space projection torch they can shine against the wall in the dark.

5. Don’t stress about bedtime! What with the novelty and excitement and the snacks the chances are they’ll be awake waaay past their usual bedtime, but don’t stress about it. It’s not like they’re allowed to stay up late every day, and it’s the sort of thing memories are made of. And you never know – they might sleep in later the next morning.

Have you reached the sleepover phase yet? Do you have any top tips? I’d love to know what they are!

We were sent the Snuggle Sac sleeping bag and everything we needed for a perfect sleepover by Room to Grow in exchange for this post. As always all opinions are my own and based on my own honest experience, and I would never recommend a product I don’t love myself.