![]() "Unless parents are very mindful about what their own values are, it becomes the new norm that you aspire to," he said. More than a decade ago, Doherty created a movement called Birthdays Without Pressure, to increase awareness about the unintended consequences of over-the-top parties. "But then the next day when I'm there, they've hardly slept - you know when you've just had so much fun you're wiped? - they don't even look at me."Īs popular as fancy slumber parties have become, "the commodification of a homemade ritual," as a recent New York Times' headline described the trend, keeps others awake at night.īill Doherty, a professor in the University of Minnesota's department of family social science, doesn't want to be the "birthday party Scrooge." But he's concerned about how the "arms race" of extravagant kids' parties (an inevitable offshoot of the elaborate wedding proposal trend, he noted) has come to sleepovers, one of the last bastions of simple, low-key fun. "When I go to set up, everyone's so excited and the birthday person just wants to help me with everything," Egan said. But they acknowledge that all their upgrades can't prevent the inevitable crash in a sleepover's aftermath. Party providers say they love the creativity involved in designing the chic sleepscapes and the joy they give their clients. For a fee, she offers decorate-your-own pillowcases, terrarium kits and a tabletop s'mores roaster. Egan, for example, includes goodie bags for kids (eye mask, toothbrush, toothpaste) and a "survival pack" for mom (ear plugs, tea bag, bath bomb). Most party themes are youthful and feminine ("Rainbow" and "Unicorn"), although they include "Sports" and "Camping." And most providers supplement the tent setups with extras. ![]() Local planners tend to have several tent parties per weekend - often booked by moms, though sometimes by grandparents hosting out-of-town grandchildren visiting for the holidays. "They all end in tears, and everyone wants to go home," she said. Parties for younger kids are often not so successful, Egan observed. Nyquist started hers after the birth of her third daughter, as did Bree Egan, of Slumber Party Solutions in Winona, Minn.īirthday parties for elementary-age girls are most common, typically with four to six tents, although Egan once did 12. Most of Minnesota's handful of slumber-party providers are small, mom-owned businesses. So they launched their party business as somewhat of an extension of the sleepovers they were already hosting. ![]() Ohotto, who lives in Blaine, and her twin sister, Brittany Kozan, of Minnetrista, have five kids between them. "Some of my favorite memories of growing up were of getting together with friends or cousins and staying up way too late and playing games." And making prank calls? "Absolutely," she enthused. Tiffany Ohotto, of Tiffany's Picnic and Parties, documented her childhood sleepovers with first-generation video cameras, filming dance-offs and other wee-hour antics. "They're trying to have the biggest and best birthday - that's the clientele." "They think it's awesome," Nyquist said of the moms who book her service. The most Instagram-ready dreamscapes, such as the one Kim Kardashian hosted for her daughter, are bedecked in tea lights and bunting, or accompanied by selfie stations and candy buffets. Services cropped up from Los Angeles to Ankeny, Iowa, with prices starting at around $200. Cheese, etc., helped accelerate the deluxe slumber-party trend. It's something different."ĬOVID closures of party rooms at Chuck E. For her, the tent event was definitely novel. "When you have three kids, you think, 'Where am I gonna go now for a birthday party to try to keep it new, and fresh, and mix things up, and have it be fun and exciting?' " Eull said. When her son requested a tent party for his 8th birthday, she booked Nyquist's services again, this time with a video game theme.įor some parents, especially those with disposable income and multiple kids, a few rounds of the youth birthday party circuit can make museum outings and bounce-house rentals start to feel like "Been there, done that, ate the cupcakes." "The girls watched a movie in their tents, they were playing games inside their tents, they wanted to be in their tents the entire time," Eull said. So Eull booked a slumber party service with Briena Nyquist of Tiny Tent Event Co., whose tie-dye themed gathering delighted Eull's daughter and her friends. Michael, Minn., mom saw a friend's photos of a cute little tent village, bedecked with matching bedding, accessories and décor - a sleepover worthy of the social media era. As her daughter's 10th birthday approached, Sarah Eull discovered that the classic kids' slumber party could do better than a mishmash of bedrolls scattered on the floor like so many empty pizza boxes.
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