Sleep Over Birthday Party Ideas

I have found that as my kids have gotten older, the parties become much easier as the themes are much less elaborate and they are happy to make their own fun, and thus require less planning.  My daughter did a sleep over theme two years in a row, but only had a "half sleepover for her 8th birthday the girls were picked up late in the evening.)  You will see two sets of pictures as the activities, cakes and decor were a bit different for each party, but I have combined the ideas in the description.

Invitations:

The first invitation was cute.  I stuffed the pillow, so it was actually 3D, although it is hard to tell from the photo.

This invitation came with a paper doll that could slide in and out of the sleeping bag.  She is resting her head on a real mini-pillow.  The girls were told to bring their invitations to the party and they then designed clothes for their doll.  The orange pull tab at the bottom slid out to reveal the party information.  The back of the invitation was made to look like a brochure with details about what the kids would be doing, timelines and a checklist detailing what to bring.

Decorations:
Birthday Banner (I always make one of these to coincide with the theme)
Table Cloth ("dress table to look like a bed")
Set up the living room with lots of pillows and blankets


Activities and Games:
Decorate a Pillow Case with fabric markers
Designer Paper Dolls (handmade to go with the invitations and scrap booking paper for clothes)
Kiss the Prince (Kiss the Poster - blind fold, spin around and girls had to kiss the poster)
Pass the Present (Wrap a small prize/gift in several layers of paper.  Works like musical chairs, but when the music stops, whoever is holding the present gets to unwrap one layer.  Whoever unwraps the final layer gets to keep the gift!)
Watch a movie
Girls were invited to bring their cameras and take lots of fun pictures throughout the activities
Musical Pillows
Foil Fashion Show (split the girls into partners or small groups and give them a roll of cheap tin foil.  Have them design clothes and accessories out of the foil and then get "dressed-up" for a fashion show.  They loved this!)
Twister
Karaoke
Just Dance (Wii)


Loot Bag Ideas: (I usually buy one or two larger items and try to avoid the whole $store/candy loot)
Mini Scrapbook album with embellishments
Glow Sticks
Pillow Case (decorated at the party)
Paper Doll with their own designer clothes
Flashlights/headlamps
Movie Rental or Pass gift card
Bag of Popcorn or microwavable popcorn bag


Food:
Chocolate Fondue (fruit, mini cream puffs, marshmallows, pretzels, etc)
Pizza
Cake and ice cream (of course)
Popcorn, liquorice and grape floats for during the movie
Waffles with White Sauce and berries for breakfast

Pajama Party (8th Birthday)
I just realized that it is hard to find photos without party guests in them!  Here are a few that give a good idea.

Homemade Bunny Slipper Cake

Homemade Sleep Over Cake for 9th Birthday Party.  The headboard was made out of gingerbread cookie and the little flowers on it were candies.  It was lots of work, but turned out well!

Scrapbooking:
I am also a scrapbooker, but wanted to keep my necessary layouts manageable, so that I could stay on top of my must do layouts each year.  I am making keepsake albums for both kids, but keep my layouts to two per year per child.  I do one layout of their year at a glance and one layout of their birthday party.  I do several other layouts as well, but not in their keepsake books.  I have a Christmas album, that I update with one layout per year and have one School Days album where I scrap book school memories including concerts, special events, teachers, field trips, etc.  This gives me a total of 7 "must do" layouts per year and all others are just for fun!  Vacations are compiled into hardcover online photo books that are fast and easy to put together.