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Conference moira::parenting_v3

Title:Parenting
Notice:READ 1.27 BEFORE WRITING
Moderator:CSC32::DUBOIS
Created:Wed May 30 1990
Last Modified:Tue May 27 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1364
Total number of notes:23848

1208.0. "pyjama/pajama party" by ROMCSA::FIASCHI () Mon Nov 11 1991 05:50

    Hello,
    
    I am writing from Rome (in Italy not in Georgia) and would like to know
    something about pyjamas parties from my American collegues.
    
    I alway do something "different" for the birthday of my older son (11
    years old) and this time I was planning on making this kind of party.
    The only things that I know are:
    
    - children sleep together (how many should they be?)
    - they play games (which games?)
    
    ... and then I know nothing else. We have not such a thing in Italy, so
    I think kids would love to experiment it!!!
    
    Thanks so much for your help and suggestions.
    
    Ciao
    
    Marinella
    
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1208.1A1VAX::DISMUKEKwik-n-e-z! That's my motto!Mon Nov 11 1991 12:3117
My son had his first "sleep-over" at age three.  He only had one friend, but I
wasn't sure how the friend would handle it (being away from home).  Wel,, they
did great - had a blast playing with the toys, staying way past their bedtime
(they were out by 9:00).

Rule of themb - never take on more than you can handle.  My sister had a sleep
over for her now 10 yr old (girl) and she had 4 friends.  Girls will play and
eat and giggle alot and entertain themselves.  Boys will probably want to "mess
around" (play with video games, toys etc.), eat major junk foods and watch TV 
and gab late into the night.  They may even be alseep by midnight!

Ask your son what HE wants to do and what would be fun for them.  I'm sure he
will get a big kick out of helping ot plan this.  Who would know better what 
to play and suggest for activities.  Something I think is fun, might be a 
real geeky thing to do to an 11 year old!

-sandy
1208.2Don't plan on sleepingPOWDML::SATOWMon Nov 11 1991 18:4424
     We have never had a sleepover with boys, but we have had a
couple with girls (9th and 10th birthdays).  I second the advice
to limit the number of attendees.  At the first one there was
something like 11 guests, and it was tough.  Even if they _tried_
to be quiet, somebody would snore, or roll over and disturb someone
else, and with 11 people that's some astronomical number
(consisting of factorials and exponents) of pairs that have to have
the last conversation before everyone goes to sleep.

     For entertainment, I suggest bunches and bunches of videos (I
assume you can rent them in Rome).  Make sure that they are
appropriate, and if there are any that are borderline, you might
ask the parents and see if they object.

     Also, be sure you now how the parents can be contacted, if
necessary.  At one party, one of the girls got sick, and we called
the parents.  Nobody answered (at 1:00 in the morning! -- the
father is a firefighter, and was at work, and the mother had gone
to an all night grocery store, leaving a seven year old at home
alone, but that's another story).  In a more common scenario,
parents of the guests take advantage of the "free babysitting," and
go out for the evening.

Clay 
1208.4Scary movies??ROMCSA::FIASCHITue Nov 12 1991 05:1618
    
    Thanks for the answers so far (I believe .3 doesn't belong here!). What
    I have seen from movies is also that they see terror movies or read
    scary novels. 
    From what I understand you just let the boys watch TV and eat, but no
    entertainement is really planned beside this. 
    One more question: where should they sleep? Do they bring a sleeping
    bag or do you have bed for all of them (!!!!)?
    
    Well, I have lots to learn but I am so curious about these things we
    see on American movies and that are not done at all in Italy. You have
    many more things for children as I notice in this notesfile: I hope we
    will get there one day or another. 
    
    Ciao
    
    Marinella
     
1208.5We did it here in GenevaTANNAY::BETTELSCheryl, Eur. Ext. Res. Prg., DTN 821-4022Tue Nov 12 1991 07:2544
I had a sleep over party for my son when he was 11 (now thirteen) at Halloween.
We had 7 boys which included my son.  I also have a younger boy and I had a
friend come.  She brought her smaller daughter and daughter's friend.  My 
friend and the two girls slept together in the guest room.  most of the boys
brought their own sleeping bags and I put them on an assortment of old
mattresses and air mattresses in the playroom.  My younger son slept in his bed.

It was great and also a very unusual thing for Geneva.  All the children came
in costume.  We started off with some games to get everybody acquainted (like
show a picture with many things for one minute, close the book and see how
many things they can remember from the picture, make up words from the letters
from a long word, etc.)  We then divided into teams and had a scavenger hunt.
That took a long time and the teams were very inventive.  Treasure hunts are
also great but take a lot more work for planning.  Next we played some
"wilder games" like races where you have to don a number of clothes, fill a cup
using a straw with water, carry the cup to a point, etc.

Next we told ghost stories.  Each boy had been asked to bring a ghost story to
tell.  We turned out all the lights and only had one candle going.  This was a
little bit difficult for the little (9 year olds) ones so, when I told the 
big ghost story, we blindfolded the participants and turned the lights on.  The
big ghost story was a tale of finding a dead body in the woods and saving the
parts which the boys then "felt" (peeled grapes for eyes, a dried apricot for
an ear, warm water for blood, an egg white for slime, etc.) Any one was free
to take off their blindfold and become an observer but four of them lasted to
the end.  They seem to enjoy being frightened at this age, as long as they're
in a group.  The little ones observed.

Then they watched scary videos for an hour or two while my friend and I heated
up frozen pizzas and other quick and easy things like popcorn.  They ate these
while they watched the scary movies.  The little ones stayed with my friend
and I.

We were having so much fun that we almost forgot the birthday presents and
birthday cake which we had at about 2:00 in the morning.  I think they only
watched two videos.

They finally stopped talking and slept at about 4:00.  Breakfast was a riot 
too.  All these bleary-eyed little boys around the breakfast table.

We also had a sleep over after my son had a "boom"- a boys and girls dancing
party.  The "in-group" slept over and helped clean up the next day.

Cheryl