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I even suggest omitting the street address from the invitation. If the parents know where you live, purposely leave out some other bit of pertinent information. Sure, it sounds a bit cloak-and daggerperhaps even bordering on deceitful. But the point is to make the parents call for directions, etc. and then you are guaranteed an RSVP. Now THAT is clever!

3. It's Either Them or You.

Someone is going to go crazy, either the parents or the kids. Too much over-planning and organization can stifle a slumber party; after a certain age kids just want to do their own thing. So while I had a loose framework as far as what the girls could do, I just sort of let them fill in the blanks themselves.

For dinner, I set out a bowl of pasta, a bowl of sauce and a variety of kid-friendly finger foods and soft drinks then let hem help themselves. I even skipped the traditional birthday cake and ice cream and went with about ten different types of flamboyant Little Debbie and Hostess snack cakes instead. The girls squealed at the sight of a tray full of their forbidden favorites piled high on a tray. They stuck a candle in one and did a Diva-version of Happy Birthdaypriceless.

For party decorations, I draped "fairy lights" (white Christmas lights) around the picture windows in the sunroom and floated helium balloons up to the ceiling. The sofas were draped in comforters and the floor was covered with pillows and overstuffed cushions. By the time I was done it looked like a magical padded room. Perfect!

As far as activities went I provided a couple of DVDs and gave each girl her own spiral notebook and pen, which I had intended to use for some games I had planned. Also, most of the girls had brought their own "pretend" makeup and dress-up clothes. Needless to say, the DVDs went unwatched and the notebooks were used to write secret notes to each other about boys. They gave each other make-overs and started a couple of rival girl-bands before the night was through. I pretty much stayed in my room, with periodic forays into their territory.

It is good to remember that before the night is through, someone is going to go crazy, either you or the kids. And trust me when I say that the kids will definitely enjoy that little trip a lot more than you will.

It was a heck of a night. But was it a success? That depends on what your idea of a successful slumber party is.

The girls were loud, excruciatingly so at times. There was a huge mess for me to dig out the next day, of course. During the course of the evening one or two of the girls got their feelings hurt, but they all made up and moved on. They stayed up late, had way too much sugar and weren't able to get the last traces of makeup off of their faces.

But four years later as they enter their teens, the girls still talk about that slumber party. It has become something of a legend for them and a badge of honor for me. And one of my definite successes!

Learn more about this author, J. Audet.
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