Birthday parties are obviously times to celebrate, but they can also be very stressful, especially if you end up with a house full of energetic girls who are “bored.” Below are a few suggestions that may help your next party go more smoothly.

First, have a plan.  It may see like it works just to throw a bunch of kids into a room for 12 hours or so, but this isn’t always the case “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” so they say, and I think it is true.  If you can keep your guests busy, it will make things less likely to get out of control.

Secondly, if possible, try to incorporate an already planned outside activity into your party.  For example, if your sleepover follows a football game, that is three hours of entertainment for your guests that is automatically taken care of.  In the fall, there are often spookhouses, hayrides and corn mazes in operation, too, and these provide a few hours of fun before everyone heads for your house.  A late night scavenger hunt at a 24-hour store is always a hit with this age.  Just be sure to stress that your guests understand the importance of safety and courtesy, even late at night.  Reward the winning team with paper crowns from Burger King, pirate hats from Long John Silver’s or Disney Princess tiaras (available in the party section at Walmart). A fun morning activity is a silly string “war,” preferably done while everyone is still in pajamas (in case of stains). 

Thirdly, have plenty of snacks on hand.  Of course, birthday cakes and cupcakes are standard fare, but provide salty foods, too, to counter the sugar.  Potato sticks, chips, pretzels and fruit a good options.  Also, large tubs of microwave popcorn lend a fun touch to your movie-watching late at night.

Fourthly, cute favor bags help send a nice “thank you” with your guests when they leave.  Some fun and inexpensive items to include are fake diamond rings  (available in the party section of Hobby Lobby), light-up pacifier shaped suckers (available at Dollar General Stores) and nail art striping brushes (also available at Dollar General Stores).

Lastly, give them a camera!  Most girls this age love to take photos of themselves and of each other.  If you hand them a camera, you will be sure to have tons of candid, random shots of you party.   You may upload them to a photo sharing site, such as Walgreen’s, Walmart, Photobucket or Facebook.  Be sure to send a link to your guests or put the the images on CD as a thoughtful party favor.

Remember, it is a blessing to have children to celebrate, so relax and enjoy!