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Sleepover Food

If you are a parent, especially the parent of a girl, sleepovers are a fact of life.  Girls love sleepovers.  They love to have them, the love to go to them.  My daughters and their friends like to sleepover at our house.  Especially with the older girls, the teens, I walk the line between being nosy and letting the girls have their space.  It's hard to do, especially when you hear the older girls texting and talking on the CELL PHONES to boys during the night and staying up ALL NIGHT.  Here are some the things I do so that my girls have successful sleepovers:

Trust but Verify
This is a general rule for kids, especially as they get older.  But this is critical during a SLEEPOVER situation because you have a "pack" of girls, cell phones and there is always the danger of someone "inviting" boys to come over.  This has not happened with my daughter but I know of situations with some of my friends where boys came over after the parents were asleep.  You have to TRUST that the kids won't do this but VERIFY that they are following the rules.  You have to stay awake.
As painful as it sounds (and it is), once the kids hit 12 years old, you need to make sure that the sleepover doesn't have any "uninvited" guests...by being awake. 

Pop, Candy and Popcorn!  Oh My!
I buy extra pop, candy and popcorn for the girls sleepovers.  I put out bowls of candy, chips and fun food for the girls because that is what they love to eat with their friends.  I always buy more than I think the girls can possibly eat and then the girls ALWAYS devour everything in seconds after I put it out.  It's scary sometimes how much chocolate a group of girls can eat.

Paper is Your Friend
The day after a sleepover is hellish----why make it worse by having a kitchen full of dishes piled up?  PAPER PRODUCTS are the answer.  Get some plastic cups for all the girls to drink out of because no one remembers where they put their glass. You'll go through a pack of 50 plastic cups for each 8 girls sleeping over, or at least that's my formula.

They will be LOUD and They Will Not Sleep
Plan on the fact that they will be extremely loud.  You should plan on the level of noise increasing 10 times the normal noise level.  It comes with the territory.  Same with the sleep factor.  They will not sleep until at least 3am.  It's the law.

Provide Options....Then WALK AWAY
Provide the girls options of things to do.  Have a few movies that everyone (or almost everyone) will want to watch.  Have some appropriate games, like Dance Dance Revolution or other games that aren't just for two people.  Make sure that everyone can play a little or don't bring out the game stuff.  It will only cause problems and arguments.  After giving them various options....WALK AWAY.  The debate that will go on between 8-10 girls on which movie to watch is mind boggling.  It's better to just let them decide.

Have the Tylenol Handy
Keep the Tylenol handy...for you.  The level of noise for a group of girls is so intense that I usually find I get a headache after the first two hours.  Breathe deeply and take your Tylenol.  It will be over soon.