9 year old birthday party

[sweetymom]

My son is having a slumber party-all boys. It will be him and five others. In the past I've organized games, structured stuff etc...Should I leave it up to them to entertain themselves or should I offer a little bit of structured play? I have no idea what to do except to let them eat pizza, go wild, stay up late watching movies etc...Any ideas?

[Marsupialmom]

I would have structured play available when things get to roudy.

You see it getting wild "Ok, lets see who can do........"

[UnschoolnMa]

I think I would offer some games up to them, let them know I am available, and then let them be. Pizza is a great food idea for slumber parties I think. Get a couple of movies, and let the fun begin.

[Pinoikoi]

I would plan a recipe that is kinda messy that they can help with.. like an ice cream pizza? I bet they would have a lot of fun designing that.. my 7yo would, that's for sure...

actually, my 10yo brother has slept over a couple of times.. they love tents, playing "card" games like yugioh, or similar- most of the time they do play pretty unstructured, but you are planning more kids than I have experienced...

as the previous poster said, some planned activity for when they are too rowdy is great...

also, I would really think about the start time.. if they arrive before dinner and stay until 10 am that is a whole lot of time for them to come up with that next exciting adventure- at your expense.. I would say they arrive for dinner "pizza" at the earliest... and have definate pick up arrangements for the morning.

[Red]

A few things that worked for me:

Let them make their own pizzas. Buy the dough, some sauce, LOADS of mozzarella cheese, pepperonni, peppers, onions, and then a few more original choices...anchovies? Brocolli and walnuts? kids like to experiment. Just make sure they know it's supper.

Do have some things planned. You might not need them. Then again......


Decorating cupcakes is a winner, or cookies. Is there snow there? Could they skate for a bit? Or sled or have a snow ball fight? Or could you organize another outdoor game they love?

A big favorite here is hide-n-seek-in-the-dark, indoors. Block off one or two rooms. Shut offf the lights. Hide in the shadows. This is way more fun and a lot harder than it sounds.

Is there room to set up a tent indoors? Or can you make some sort of Tipi? Supply flashlights, have them bring sleeping bags, etc.

If they like board games, have some in sight.


Have fun!