Collins's Birthday Slumber Party

Confession- it was all my idea. Back in January when we were brainstorming ideas for Collins's 8th birthday party, she was lukewarm on all the themes we were considering- rollerskating party, art party, gymnastics party. Then the idea popped into my head- what if we did her first-ever slumber party for her birthday party? Just have a couple of her closest friends over, order pizza, watch a movie, simple, right? She LOVED the idea, and we were off to the races! 

First- they would go to Claire's to go shopping! Second- they would go ice skating! Third- they would watch a movie! And also- can we make a personalized invitation to mail to each girl separately? And can we get them each a gift card to Claire's for their party favor? And can we have a Howling Cow ice cream sundae party? And can we paint nails? You get the idea. Excitement levels were at an all-time high. 

The only problem is that Collins was so excited she could not hold all this information to herself. As soon as she hit school that first day after we decided on this party, Reeves and Alice knew every tiny detail. And then Liza heard them all talking, and she wanted to come too. (Also- according to Collins- Liza is really good at painting nails so for that reason alone, she should be invited.)

The slumber party quickly morphed out of control, and it was still a month away. Next thing I knew all the girls were planning to get their ears pierced at the party. 😨 And no worries- Alice was just going to surprise her Mom with her new holes! The ear piercing is all we talked about for days. Because you know, Collins and Alice had been practicing at school- they had been pressing their nails into their ear lobes to make an impression- because this would make the actual procedure less painful. So glad they had all this figured out.

You see what we're dealing with here...8-YEAR-OLD GIRLS!!! So I quickly realized that I made a mistake thinking having four 8-year-old girls over at my house for 18 hours was a good idea.

But alas, the party day arrived and we were ready...

We considered sending Addie and Luke over to Gigi's to spend the night, but decided they should stay and be a part of the fun. This was good with Addie until Alice, Reeves, and Liza arrived and immediately started stealing and hiding Big Fred! It was all in good fun, but poor Addie had her hands full with this crowd...

Ice skating did not work out because of timing so we decided to do a painting craft instead. They all painted picture frames, and they turned out really cute...

Then we loaded up our big bus and set off to the mall. I am not kidding you when I tell you that those girls were running through the mall to Claire's they were so excited. People were looking at them strangely, but they were in a hurry to spend their gift cards at the tackiest store in the mall. As Collins says- "everything in there sparkles!". She's right. I ran trying to keep up with them!

They picked out some quality items- slime, fake nails, and clip-on earrings (thankfully no one got their ears pierced that day). Alice and I were the only ones on "team no-fake-nails". Liza put hers on on the car ride home. :)

I tell you those girls were cracking me up in the car. The dramatic and silly things that came out of their mouths was hysterical. Being around them made me remember how fun it was to be eight, and I realized I was living vicariously through them with this whole party. I was having a great time, too!

We got back, and they immediately wanted to put on their pj's and dress up their American Girl dolls, too...

This is where things got messy...they wanted to make slime. 😳 Apparently Alice collects slime, and she knew EXACTLY how to make it. Hours later when I found green slime on my kitchen cabinet doors and floor- I shut down that operation.

 We moved on to dinner...

and the ice cream sundae party! I thought I might feel bad for not making Collins a birthday cake, but surprisingly, I did not. :) It was nice to make it easy on myself this time.

Alice had a belly ache during the dinner portion of the evening, but it magically cleared up during dessert!

 They didn't go overboard at all...

Happy birthday, sweet girl...

 

 On to presents where Collins got to unwrap lots of girly things...

and then movie time! Luke wanted to watch "Hotel Transylvania 3", but I made him go to bed. The girls were actually really sweet with Luke, and he had a lot of fun hanging out with them.

Once Addie and Luke were asleep, I thought it was time for me to take a break from the whirlwind of excitement and requests. I had just sat down with Brian and a glass of wine when Liza came downstairs and asked, "Ms. Fork- can you come paint our nails??". Sigh...sure, Liza, I would be happy to. :)

Finally, lights out at 10 p.m. But Reeves insisted that they read before bed...

Ugh, they did not go to sleep quickly. It was probably 11:30 p.m. before all was quiet, but I guess that's what is supposed to happen at a slumber party?

The next morning we fed the girls orange rolls (they were all skeptical at first then loved them) and lots of bacon and fruit. Then they made friendship bracelets and watched "Just Add Magic"- a totally girly show. 

Of course they were not ready to go when their parents arrived around 9 a.m. But my husband sure was ready! :) They were actually really good so we cannot complain. It's just a long time to host very chatty energetic girls! There was no drama or meltdowns thankfully. We only had tears once when Addie felt left out. But the girls got along great and had a fabulous time.  

In the end, I was very glad we celebrated our precious Collins in this way. Being eight she was ready to design her own party and sleep over with her favorite friends. It was the quintessential 8-year-old girl party! And one we won't forget for a long time. :)