I don’t know about you but I am hoping that when my girls grow up they continue to want to hang out at our home with their friends. I hope to keep the communication channels open and working even during the hormonal surges of the teenage years, and imagine our home as a low pressure, respectful safe haven for a gaggle of gangly teenagers. I know I have a long way to go and a lot to learn as a parent in order to transform this vision into a reality but it has been on my mind a lot lately. So when Immy asked if she could have a PJ party during the recent school holidays, I swallowed the first reaction of my befuddled, sleep deprived brain (“No way!), and instead found the words, “Wow, that sounds like a fun idea,” coming out of my mouth!
Realistically, I knew I needed to keep the gathering low key and so I suggested to Immy that we keep the guest list short (just three friends plus herself) and that they as they were all still a bit young for a sleepover (just 5 years old), that we host an afternoon/evening party and then the kids could all go home to sleep. She readily agreed and I got to thinking about how to make our impromptu gathering run as simply and smoothly as possible. Here’s what we came up with..
Immy’s PJ Party
Time: 3-7pm
Attire: Pyjamas!
I covered our large, eight seater dining table with a disposable plastic tablecloth and set up four places with big Lego boards and low sided tubs of bricks and other pieces. I was happy for the children to also play in the playroom or Immy’s bedroom but given that most five year olds love Lego I thought this could be a good way to kick things off. I am happy to say it worked.
I bought four plain, white pillowcases and some fabric pastels to add to our fabric markers so that each child could decorate a pillowcase of their own. Add four new pillows and the party revellers had bright new pillows and pillowcases for movie time and to take home after.
I had the ironing board set up so that I could give each a run over with a hot iron to set the design before the pillow was used. Be sure to check the directions of your fabric markers or crayons to see what is required to set the design.
The Pyjama Party Menu
Party food was kept simple and kid friendly – pizza, chicken nuggets and oven fries for dinner…
… and a DIY ice cream sundae bar for dessert. The children had a choice of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream, accompanied by sliced bananas and strawberries, mini marshmellows, colourful sprinkes and wafer sticks. Yum!
The party goers made up their sundaes and then settled in to watch a movie and just a short pillow fight later, four hours had passed and it was time to go home, new pillows tucked under arms. It was easy, Immy had the best time and I felt like we had taken a very positive step towards Project Cool Mum Hangout House!
I would love to hear your stories. Have you ever hosted an impromptu party just because?
Need more party planning ideas, check out Our Party Plan: Help for Planning Your Next Party and 3 Pinterest Party Planning Pitfalls to Avoid.
Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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