INVITATIONS
- Photocopy and cut out pictures of your guests, using a yearbook or snapshots
borrowed from parents. Fold construction paper into a side-fold card. Open the card
and place a cut-out head near the top, leaving room for a body. Dress the body in
pajamas by cutting out a pajama shape from a piece of flannel fabric and gluing it
underneath the head. Close the card and cut out a hole in front to reveal the
child's face. Write "You're invited..." on the outside of the card, and "...to a
PJ Party!" on the inside, along with the party details. Mail to guests.
COSTUMES
- Ask your guests to dress in sleepwear- pajamas, long Johns, robes, and slippers.
- Tell the guests that teddy bears, blankets, pillows, and other sleeping accessories
are also welcome.
DECORATIONS
- Set up the party room to look like a giant sleeping area.
- Spread out mattresses, or cover the floor with sheets, blankets, and lots of
pillows. Host the party right in the middle of the giant "bed."
- Keep the lights dim.
- Play lullabies for background music.
- Hang up pictures of people who are sleeping or are dressed in pajamas.
- Set teddy bears and other sleepy-time items around the party room.
GAMES
- Play the Slipper Game. Put all the guests' slippers into a pile. When you say
"Go!" have the kids race to see who can locate and put on his or her slippers first.
- Play the Slipper Game again, but this time blindfolded. Have each guest, one at
time, feel the slippers and try to guess which ones are his or hers.
- Play Hide the Slippers. Tuck the slippers into nooks and crannies around the party
room. Let the guests try to find them in a kind of treasure-hunt game.
- Set out all the slippers in a row, and have the kids match the slippers to the guests.
- Have the kids close their eyes, pass the slippers around in a circle, and i
dentify their owner just by feel.
ACTIVITIES
- Make Pillow Case Creations. Have the kids bring a plain white or lightly colored
pillow case to the party, or provide them yourself. Set out felt-tip pens and puffy
paints, and let the kids decorate the pillow cases.
- Tie-dye the pillow cases. Tie knots in the cases, dip the entire cases in fabric
dye, untie the knots, and dry the cases in the dryer.
FOOD
- Have a Breakfast Buffet any time of the day, by offering a variety of cereals
and breakfast foods. Let the kids choose what they want to eat.
- Serve hot chocolate in coffee mugs to wash down breakfast.
CEREAL PILLOW CAKE
- Bake a rectangular cake; cool.
- Cover the cake with fluffy white frosting so it looks like a soft pillow.
- Crush a cup or two of colorful sweetened cereal, such as Trix or Fruit Loops,
and sprinkle over the Pillow Cake.
FAVORS
- Send the sleepyheads home with tiny teddy bears.
- Give the kids new toothbrushes to use at home.
- Hand out small pillows or pairs of sleep socks to go with the kids' pj's.
VARIATIONS
- Choose another fashion theme for your party. For example, have a Fashion Mistake
Party, where the kids come dressed in clothes they hate or bought by mistake; a Grunge
Gear Party, where the kids wear their grungiest clothes; a Parent's Closet Party,
where the kids wear something from mom's or dad's closet; or a Baby Clothes Party,
where the kids choose something a baby might wear.
- Take the kids out to a coffee shop for a midday breakfast-still dressed in their pajamas!
HELPFUL HINTS
- Warn the kids to dress warmly enough, and to bring a robe and extra socks just in case.
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