A Summer Tradition: Sister Sleepover!
…or Brother Sleepover, for that matter! I just happen to have all daughters, so this little tradition we created has been dubbed “Sister Sleepover.”
It came as an idea to me when our youngest, B, was only two years old. She was transitioning out of her crib and into a big girl bed, which meant the nursery was no longer a nursery but another bedroom. B’s bedroom, specifically, while her two big sisters shared the other bedroom.
B having her own room didn’t seem to bother anyone…except for me. Growing up, I nearly always shared a room with at least one of my four sisters, and I treasure those late night giggles and talks still to this day. So how was B going to have that same experience if she was in her own room all of the time?
Neither bedroom is big enough to fit all three girls into, even with a bunkbed. We plan on buying a bigger house eventually, but we don’t know when that will be. And while she was only two when I was thinking about all of this, I knew it wouldn’t be long before she started to feel a bit left out.
Sure enough, last summer, B started to ask why she couldn’t sleep in her sister’s room. I explained there wasn’t any room in either bedroom for all three to share a room, but maybe since school was out, we could try to have a sleepover. A sister sleepover!
We don’t allow sleepovers in the traditional sense, so this also felt like a cool way to give our kids that experience in a safe environment. So that weekend, I had the girls tidy their rooms together to make space for the knock-off nugget couch. Then, they had to peacefully decide which bedroom they would all sleep in together that night, or the sleepover would be cancelled. This forced them to work together and listen to each other. Then they worked together as a team making beds of couch pieces and transferring stuffies and pillows from one room to the other. This quickly became their favorite part of the entire experience — making their little “nooks” beautiful for the night.
They practiced extra self care with eye masks, lotions, robes and slippers after their baths, all while blaring T-Swift and Kesha. We put on a Disney movie and had snacks. Then, it was off to bed — but they didn’t have to go to sleep right away at a sister sleepover. They stayed up later than usual under the lamplight, reading books to each other, playing quiet games, and giggling their little hearts out.
Sister sleepover was such a success last summer that it was transferred into this school year, but on the weekends only. It gives the girls something to look forward to all week long, and it helps as motivation to listen well and to be helpful, lest the much-anticipated sleepover be cancelled. In fact, B’s teacher has told us several times this year that B’s favorite day is Friday, because that means she gets to have a “sistah sleep-ova!”
With summer literally around the corner, I am looking forward to Sister Sleepover’s return to full-time status. Those sweet, incredibly funny, little girl laughs are music to my ears!
So if your kiddos don’t share a bedroom, perhaps give Sister Sleepover a try. You’ll create magic this summer if you do!
