Pajama Jam

So happy to welcome you back to this week’s childish discovery.

Movie night, popcorn, late night fun, lots of screaming and hair pulling. Yep, you guessed it, the chickens are having a sleepover.

My sister and I grew up surrounded by different people from different backgrounds. It exposed us to diverse cultures and personalities. Growing up, we did not have much materially, but our house was always filled with friends coming over for sleepovers or just to hang out regardless of what we had to offer them.  My Mother taught us the importance of fostering friendships at a young age, and the values learnt from this lesson, formed a great part of the people we are today.

Friends From Day 1

Friendship is like candy to children. Its easily received and easily given, no criteria necessary. They see a possible companion and immediately bond in remarkable ways.

This week’s lesson learnt from our little ones is the importance of sharing, tolerance, and unity – all fostered through friendships.

This weekend had us hosting three beautiful boys for a sleepover. Now I am not going to lie, I can barely survive a full weekend with 2 girls, so the prospects of 3 very energetic boys added to the mix, had me tempted to go MIA lol. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I found myself having as much if not more fun than our pyjama jammers.

Growing up I realized fun is not limited to monetary means or extravagant excursions, but rather is created by the company and the experiences we share. This weekend had us reliving this experience and seeing them recreated through the lens of a different generation was both nostalgic and beautiful to witness.

So, if you have had several requests for a sleepover from your little ones, and you’re struggling to think of ways to execute it successfully, here are some tips that allow your chickens to have fun without breaking bank and overly exerting yourself.

Tips For The Ultimate Sleepover

Binge Watch While Binging

• We all love watching a good flick, and nothing is better than eating all your favourite eats while fully immersed in a mega block buster movie. The best way to restore some semblance of order and have everyone seated and still all at the same time is to have a stream of their favourite movies lined up. Nothing gets children focused like a good family movie – for a little while anyways 😅.
• An array of snacks and goodies will get them cooperating. Prepare a big bowl of popcorn, a few snacks, and sweets and their all set to go. This is only promised of course after a full nutritious meal and acts as a good incentive to finishing this meal.

Get Them To Cook So You Do Not Have To

• Having them prepare their own meals is incredibly rewarding. The kids feel empowered and of course enjoy every second of creating their own fun eats, and you delegate while chillaxing- it is a win!
• We bought ready-made frozen pizza bases and had them put toppings of their choice on each pizza. What’s easy and fun about this is that the topping does not need to be overly complex, something as simple as cheese and ham is delicious and pizza approved.
• Give them the ingredients and let them go crazy!

Pick A Song And It’s A Dance Paaaarty!

• Its not a sleepover without a dance party. In our household we love music and we love jamming to it twice as much. We never need an excuse to dance to a good tune, so we decided why not get the kids to join in on the fun.
• Friday dance nights are a vibe. We each get a turn to pick a song, and everyone must dance to the song whether we know the song or not. Once the song is done someone else gets a turn and on it goes until we tap out.
• What’s fun about this is that it can go on all night, whether you have rhythm or not, the embarrassment pales in comparison to the laughter and fun experienced.

Overall, a night well spent 😂. A space where A parent or adult is chaperoning, or minding children should not be daunting. Yes, discipline and order should be maintained but fun is always on the agenda especially when values can be imparted. Forming good relationships and making friends are an intrinsic part in our lives, fostering this at a young age is just as much a priority in raising children right.

Join me next week and see what other fun, hair pulling but insightful activities we get up to. There is no limit to the different ways we can learn from being like children!