Sleepover for dream girls

You've probably figured out that we're big on sleepovers. It's enormous fun for the kids and they get to hang out with their friends for more than just a couple of hours.

Lesley-Anne organised a sleepover as a belated birthday celebration over the Labour Day holiday and invited the female classmates from her primary school. It's funny but even after being in different secondary schools for almost three years, many of these girls are still closer to their primary school classmates. I think it has something to do with the small class sizes of GEP and there are so few girls that close bonds tend to form among them.

Most of them came over late after school and we provided dinner - shepherd's pie (which was a great hit at Lesley-Anne's last birthday party three years ago), broccoli soup and garlic bread. These girls love food and tucked in with relish. One asked Lesley-Anne, "do you eat like this everyday??" According to Lesley-Anne, one of the girls was once asked to write a Chinese composition on anorexia and she said, "Teacher, I can't! All my friends like to eat!" Heh.

Then there was the mandatory cake ritual and I thought it would be interesting to compare the photo with the one three years ago, when Lesley-Anne turned 12.

This is 2012:

and 2009:

It's so nostalgic to see how much the girls have grown (not all of them are in both pictures though). They're all blossoming!

They spent the rest of the night yakking and playing their favourite board game - Gift Trap. It's a terrific game for social events and tells a lot about the personalities of individuals. Basically, you move forward for giving gifts that people like, and also for receiving gifts you like. If you tend to give good gifts, it shows you know the people around you well. If you tend to get good gifts, it shows that others know you well.

One girl in the group kept winning and I wasn't surprised, she's a very perceptive individual. I predict she'll go far in life. Another turned out to be a disaster at both giving and receiving. Hmmm...

One of the girls gave Lesley-Anne a giraffe t-shirt and it was only later that the girls realised she had drawn it herself. The other girls were surprised, apparently the giver could only doodle stick figures back in primary school. Talk about hidden talents!

Here's another thoughtful, home-made gift. I love it, it's so creative.

Not all the girls could sleep over but they stayed up till almost midnight before they left. They were chatting and laughing so loudly that a feeling-left-out Andre came out of his room and pouted, "can you tell them some people are trying to sleep here."

In the end, only 2 girls could stay the night so it was a cosy affair.

Breakfast in the morning - simple fare of toast with Nutella or cheese, or cereal.

In the late morning, 2 of the girls from the previous day returned to rejoin the party, so the fun started all over again!

I know I've said this before but really, organising a party for girls is child's play compared to one for boys. Unlike at Andre's party, I didn't have anyone:

1) attempt to destroy my furniture
2) tear around the house trying to "shoot" each other
3) leave food and water trails all over the floor ala Hansel and Gretel
4) visit the kitchen 100 times to test out the fridge water dispenser

The girls even collected all the rubbish in a plastic bag and discarded it neatly after they were done. Civilisation, thou art female.

Lunch was spaghetti and they requested for the leftover broccoli soup cos they enjoyed it so much the night before.

Lesley-Anne really enjoyed the birthday/reunion party and it was great to see the warmth and camaraderie. These are lovely girls - they're bright but not full of themselves, sparkly and not catty, like some girls can be.

There are few things in life as precious as true friendship. I hope these girls will treasure each other for life.