It’s always fun to host the grandkids for a sleepover, but sometimes it’s a challenge to come up with something new for them.
A couple years ago, I came up with the idea of “camping in”. It’s a great option if it is too cold or raining to sleep outside. It’s not that complicated, and the kids love it.
1 – BUILD A FORT
One simple, easy, and inexpensive way of doing it is to let the kids build a fort with blankets draped over furniture, stairway railings, etc. and let that serve as their sleeping quarters. The challenge is finding a way to secure the blankets so that they won’t collapse.
2 – SET UP A PORTABLE POP-UP HUNTING TENT
Another easy way is to purchase a pop-up hunting blind, complete with windows and a door that can be opened or closed with zippers. The kids can put pillows and blankets on the floor for bedding and they are good to go.
3 – REMEMBER THE S’MORES!
No camping trip is complete without a campfire and s’mores. The easy way to solve both those problems is make s’mores in the microwave –they even have chocolate-filled marshmallows available in grocery stores now—and for the campfire, turn on the tv and put up a campfire video on YouTube. There are campfire videos that run several hours, so basically they have a safe campfire for the entire night.
4 – WEAR THEM OUT BEFORE YOU TUCK THEM IN!
It makes for a long, exhausting night for the grandparents if even one kid can’t go to sleep. I usually let them stay up later than they do at home with their parents. I feed them a snack, have them brush their teeth and go to the bathroom, then let them play and watch movies on tv until “Granddaddy’s bedtime”.5 – HAVE A ROUTINE
5 – HAVE A ROUTINE
As I said, I let them stay up later at my house, purely as a matter of survival for myself. The more worn out they are, the less struggle it is for me to get them to sleep and the better they sleep once they are down. So, even though that differs from their routine at their home, it is the routine when they are with me. Once it gets to be “Grandaddy’s bedtime” we continue our routine by doing our prayers and have a short story time. Following that, I’ll sing to them. I’m not the greatest singer. I wouldn’t even say I am good. But it is part of our routine. I have a list of ten songs –mostly Elvis classics, mixed with a few others—that I always sing, and nine times out of ten, they all conk out right away.
6 – BREAKFAST
In the morning, I put some Ego pancakes in the toaster and breakfast is served. They play at my house until it’s time to go home. All in all, it’s a fun and easy way to enjoy time with the kids.
7 – TAKE A NAP
No matter how smoothly and efficiently our sleepovers go, I’m always tired by the time the kids go home. I usually lay down for a couple hours of peaceful sleep.