My daughter Riley turned 9 this month and requested a sleepover birthday party. To make it extra special, I created a dream-themed sleepover including a canopy bed dining table, DIY Monogrammed Pillows, DIY Dream Journals and a Jelly Syrup Recipe kids can make by themselves.
Set The Scene The girls completely took over my living and dining room for this sleepover! I transformed the entire space into their very own dreamy hangout with bright colors and some of Riley's favorite dream elements—rainbows, clouds, stars, sheep and unicorns. Be sure to add in plenty of colorful pillows like this Large Green Pillow.
This Giant Inflatable Unicorn greeted each guest when they arrived and set the tone for a magical day. All the girls wanted to take photos with this mystical beauty!
Sweet Dreams Canopy Bed Dining Table Create a wow-factor moment at your party and transform your dining table into a Canopy Bed! How cute is this? There were "oohs and ahhhs" when the girls walked into the room and saw this stunning setup!
To create this, simply push your dining table all the way up to the wall on the short side and hang the Cool Colors Canopy Tent from the ceiling at the end of the table. Cover the table with linen or a blanket, then decorate it with a variety of pillows like these Large Blue Pillows and Purple Pillows.
To make it look even more like like a bedroom, I created a bench at the end of the bed table with two square ottomans, a Pink Fleece Throw and Purple Pillow.
The Placesettings Finish the table off with simple placesettings so as not to take away from the "bed look" of the table. To create some sparkle, use a Silver Diamond Rim Charger and layer a solid colored paper dinner plate on top. I embellished the plain plate with a gold foil unicorn sticker I made with my Cricut Explore Air™ 2. You will need to top the unicorn plate with a clear dinner plate the same size so you can eat on them.
To match the gold of the unicorn on the plate, use Gold Cutlery embellished with Moon & Star Charms. These Purple Plastic Wine Glasses pulled in the purple from the canopy and matched the party theme with the Dream Charms I tied to the stems. The girls filled the glasses with milk and had a birthday toast before having cake. After the party, I washed these out and sent them home with the girls.
The Activities For Riley's party, I took them all out to an amusement park. Before they left, they made matching friendship charm bracelets. It was a quick and easy activity you can do simply by stringing the leftover Laugh, Dream, Love, Family Charms, Moon & Star Charms and Red & Pink Enamel Heart Charms on Black Round Stretchy Cording. Once they were done, we were off!
When we returned, they all got into their matching pajamas that I customized with my Cricut. They listened to music while coloring their own canvases. Oriental Trading has a variety of Coloring Canvas Kits to choose from that come with markers.
The Favor Table Instead of just putting party favors into a bag, I like to create a party favor table. I used a 9 Shaped Number Mylar Balloon and bling table chandeliers to decorate the table along with a cute Plush Sheep inspired by the phrase "counting sheep." Place Mint Green Paper Bags out on the table and sit a Plush Unicorn party favor in front of each.
Make Your Own Custom Party Favors When you have a smaller guest count like I did, you can make custom personalized party favors for each guest more affordably than if you had a large guest count. I like to make custom party favors that guests will actually keep and use after the party.
DIY Dream Journals These DIY Dream Journals make a perfect party favor for your guests. They double as a party favor and party activity as the girls can write and color in the journals during the sleepover. Click HERE to see how to make them.
DIY Monogrammed Pillows Each of the girls got their own personalized DIY Monogrammed Pillow that they could take home and display in their rooms. Riley LOVES hers! Click HERE to see how to make your own. These make great gift ideas and room decor too!
Serve an Easy Breakfast After a late night sleepover, it's best to serve an easy breakfast. In fact, I like to get the girls in on the action and make their own. This is easy to do with frozen waffles topped with Jelly Syrups that they can make themselves in the microwave. Have you ever had Jelly Syrup? You MUST try this. It is so YUMMY and super easy to make with just a few steps! Click HERE for the recipe.
Be sure to check out my DIY Monogrammed Pillows, DIY Dream Journals and Jelly Syrup recipe. Party Ideas, Styling and Photography: Tonya Coleman of Soiree Event Design