The most amazing sleepover ever: The essentials

They were the highlight of my 13-year old social life. Sometimes they required weeks of preparation, sometimes (if your friend’s parents were really cool) they were planned the afternoon before. I’m talking about sleepovers. Staying the night at a friend’s house - or having your friends stay over at yours -  promised a night during which you would gossip about every girl in the 8^th grade, confess your secret crushes and laugh so hard you woke your  (friend’s) parents up. It was the most serious form of girl bonding. Because being older shouldn’t mean you can’t  have a super fun night with your friends and because I’m feeling slightly nostalgic for my ‘tween’ years, I made a list of essentials to throw the most amazing sleepover ever.

Great Girl Movies
Most of the time watching movies was our ‘main activity’ during slumber parties. Usually during the second film someone would hit pause, to tell about ‘that crazy thing that happened in the locker room the other day’ and bring an end to our planned movie marathon. Or we would just spend the entire movie discussing which actor was cuter. Still, the movie choices you make for your fantastic night in are important. If you chose them well, they will get you into exactly the right sleep over-y girl-y mood.  Something about seeing other girls, who just wear a lot cuter outfits than you, experiencing the turmoil of life (and love) makes it easier to open up to your friends about your own stories. Some of my recommendations are ‘John Tucker Must Die’,  ‘Mean Girls’, ‘Clueless’, ‘The Sleepover’ (how fitting), ‘Easy A’ and any other movie that contains a group of best friends, video montages with awesome musical numbers and fabulous make-overs.

The most unhealthy snacks in existence
Besides being a fun-packed night, the sleepover was also a chance for me and my friends to  (secretly) break from what our parents called ‘a healthy diet’. For one night our parents didn’t have any control over what we put in our mouths, as longs as the didn’t find out. I still have many fond memories of hiding bags of chips underneath my pillowcase. Because we didn’t know when we would be able to consume a combo of Skittles, Pringles and Sprite again we would usually eat so much that by the end of the night we swore we would never touch candy again and were experiencing a very bad sugar high. Any food is good for a sleepover as long as it is unhealthy and can be bought with a middle school-budget. Supermarket brand soda, budget-size bags of chips, pixie sticks and gummy worms are all a great choice. If you really want to throw a cool girl’s sleepover and have your very own dinner, order a pizza.

The worst kind of magazines
You really don’t need to be reading up on Chanel’s new designs for fall during your epic night in. What you do need is many pictures of cute actors, ‘What Type of ……. Are You’- quizzes and really-lame-but-somehow-hilarious fill-in stories. Basically buy the worst magazines you can find. I still remember very well how we used to sit around with very earnest faces as we found out ‘what the colors in our room said about our personality’ and read what Zac Efron’s dream date was, but at the same time laughed out loud at how completely unrelatable and ridiculous everything written in these wonderful publications was.

Your cheapest and boldest make-up
Just like going on a fast-food binge,  during sleepovers we also broke from the way we usually treated make-up. In the days most of the sleepovers happened some of us weren’t  allowed to wear make-up yet and those of us that did kept it simple, because our parents and teachers would never be okay with bright purple eyelids.  Staying up until 2PM gave us the opportunity to break the rules. During those nights make-up got a whole different meaning for us. It wasn’t about looking pretty, but about having fun . It wasn’t about what our parents wanted or what the boys thought looked nice, it was about us  and how much we enjoyed putting color on our faces. Although your make-up skills might be a bit better than those of a 13 year old, when you have a sleepover don’t have anything but fun with your eye shadows and lipsticks. Experiment. Give your friends the ugliest make-over ever. Paint all your nails in three different colors. Do each other’s make-up with your eyes closed. Put on all your eye shadows on all at once. Try to make 20 different braids in your hair. Anything goes when your sleep-deprived and have a drugstore-bought make up kit.

Your comfiest (preferably ugliest) pyjamas
Comfort is key when it comes to dressing for your night in. Laughing until you cry, lying on top of each other in a too small bed, braiding each other’s hair – it’s hard work that needs the right attire.  There is something really great about planning a spontaneous sleepover and having to use your friend’s old PJs or oversized camp shirt to sleep in. You look anything but ‘sexy’ and probably quite ridiculous, but if your friends are wearing their ugly PJs/oversized shirts as well you’re looking ridiculous together - which only adds to the collective face-stuffing  secret crush-confessing mood. (Or your friends look really good and they can laugh at how unsexy you are. Also great.)

Everything you wanted to tell your friends ever
What I remember most of all the sleepover I threw and went to was how spending the night with your friends on the bedroom floor made you enter a whole new social territory. Anything could be confessed during those nights together. Nothing was too embarrassing, shocking or lame to be shared and (most of the time) what was discussed in the bedroom stayed in the bedroom. So huddle together in your sleeping beds and share that story about how you kissed a guy you actually didn’t like, the bra you stole from that girl because she made the dance team instead of you and how you still sometimes cry over the guy you broke up with two years ago.