How To: Host a Sleepover (in 1999)

Hey ladies!

I know everyone is sad that Christmas is over... as am I... but unfortunately we do have to move on. I have been reflecting lately on why Christmas doesn't seem as magical as it did when I was a kid... and the only logical answer I can come up with is that adults work. Aside from all of our wonderful teachers (bless their hearts), I don't know anyone who is getting 2+ weeks off to  play with new toys and stuff their faces with Christmas desserts. (At least that's what I remember doing over Christmas break). But also... is there a more perfect time for a sleepover?

Seriously. I remember elementary and junior high Christmas break as being prime time for sleepovers. Stay up until 6:00 AM on a Monday night? No problem... no school. The most taxing thing I will have to do on Tuesday is write my name in bubble letters with my new glitter gel pens. I think I can handle it.

I have been to some pretty fantastic sleepovers in my day, but the best sleepovers... the most memorable sleepovers... had a few staples.

1. Rock Tumbler
- and/or extensive polished rock collection. I mean, if you have a rock tumbler, obviously I have extra interest in your slumber party. I will be there with bells on. And by bells, I mean a pillow case full of rocks that I need polished up.

2. Cheesy Teen Dramas
You really can't invite a bunch of creepy 12 year old girls over without having a romantic chick flick on deck. 10 Things I Hate About You, Now and Then, She's All That? Check, check, check! Seriously, we would go nuts for Freddie P. And is anyone else still dying to know how Christina Ricci duct taped her boobs down every morning and then peeled it off at night? Sounds awfully painful. But I wouldn't know. At 12, I was just happy to have graduated out of my Minnie Mouse training bra.

                  

 

 

 

3. Spice anything

I highly doubt it was just my friend group who had a major crush on the Spice family. Five was the magical number when it came to deciding who to have over for a sleepover. And no, it wasn't because there were limited sleeping bags. Ginger, Sporty, Scary, Baby and Posh did not do doubles.

And yes, I desperately wanted to be Baby.

*Bonus- owning Spice World or Spice Girls cassette/CD to dance to while in respective roles.



Gangs all here!

4. Recipe for at home spa treatment from Seventeen

Get together with the ladies and not have a spa day? That would be ludicrous. My very favorite memory is blending up cucumbers and bananas with some sort of oil. Smashing the concoction into my scalp, and then wrapping my head in saran wrap and baking in the hot Summer sun. My hair smelled like rotten cucumbers for a whole week. We may  have done it wrong.

 

5. Phone Book
Close your eyes, point, and....how else would you randomly select a number to prank call!? Of course, the selection was limited to a few pages of our small town. Busted on a long distance prank call? I think not.
 

 

6. MSN IM
This came later, of course, but it was nothing short of revolutionary. Game changer: simultaneously talking to all of your crushes. And maybe even under the alias of a friend's profile!? Junior high girls: the original Catfishers.

**Addendum- if the host of the sleepover happened to have an older sibling, time was carved out to:
 

1. Sneak into his/her bedroom and dig through their belongings.
 

2. If they happened to be present in the home (and..bonus..had friends over) eavesdrop on their conversations. 

And yes, in case anyone is wondering... I am back to work today and dreaming of having a 90s sleepover. Granted, life is pretty wonderful right now- but who wouldn't go back for one night?!

Especially when you can end up looking like this.

 

XOXOX!