Very first slumber party

[Sasha at Parenting.com]

Ready to host your first sleepover? Before you do, read our field guide to overnights, for tips on how to make it fun, handling awkward situations (like the 3am case of homesickness) and establishing ground rules to keep all those kiddos safe. Read our piece, and then tell us about the first slumber party you hosted – and if you dared to do it again.

[KcWorkingMom]

My niece, Erin, invited 16 of her friends to sleepover for her 15th birthday party. We bought her favorite treats -- chicken wings, twizzlers, kettle corn and lots of soda -- and set it all up on the bar downstairs. The girls put on their pajamas and proceeded to go to the backyard where they spontaneously performed scenes from Oklahoma. This was at 1 am and I'm thankful no one called the cops. At 3 am they moved the party inside and did a dance off. At that point, everything got blurry and I have no idea what they did after that. We survived the sleepover and created a memory. Six weeks later we had 13 boys for a backyard campout for my sons, Alex, 12 and Chris, 15. So, yes I've done it many times.