pajama party!

We had originally scheduled Rachel's birthday party for last Friday night. When she woke up that morning with the stomach flu, we scrambled to make other plans. The gym membership which would have allowed us to have a swim party expired in 2 days, so that was no longer an option. I sat down on Friday afternoon and prayed about what to do instead. An idea popped into my mind. I ran it by Rachel and she enthusiastically gave it her endorsement.

Last night her friends arrived dressed in their pajamas, some with their pillows in their arms. Most were current or former 3rd grade classmates, and two were neighbors. All giggled and admired the dog (some more closely than others!) Then the party began.

The first activity was a crazy game called sixes. Each girl had a piece of paper, but there was only one pen available. They took turns rolling the dice and whenever someone rolled a six, they grabbed the pen and began to write numbers furiously. The first girl to reach 100 was the winner. They loved this game, and we went two rounds. Eric joined in and did all he could to make things even more exciting (by almost winning twice!)





Next the girls used fabric markers to write their names and create a border on a pillowcase. Then they passed them around, drawing pictures on each girls' pillowcase. They tried to think of something that symbolized what they saw in their friend, or something that friend liked. Then one at a time, the girls stood up and got hear what their friends had drawn for them and why. The smiles were heartwarming as each girl was affirmed and loved.


I talked briefly with the girls about friendship, using our activities as illustrations. They agreed that while our dice game was fun, it was stressful and felt greedy. Sometimes in our friendships we can act like that, selfishly competitive and grasping for what we can get out of our friends. But the better way to act is to pursue love, thinking of others, building them up, and affirming what is good in them. (Both of these activities are found in Dannah Gresh's Secret Keeper Girls Friendship Pak. And thanks to my friend Pam for the tips after she had her own party last week!)


At that point everyone was more than ready to have cupcakes!

Then we turned on the movie Samantha and popped popcorn. Some had seen it already and wandered off into the house to find something to do. A few asked to have a pillow fight.

The world of girls is not an easy one to navigate. Already in third grade there are struggles, and for one girl in particular, last night's activities did not come naturally. I'm thankful for the opportunity we had to give the girls some encouragement in their friendship skills. Some left hardly able to wait until bedtime when they could sleep on their new pillowcases. When everyone was gone, Rachel simply said, "Mom, that was fun!"

Yes, it was fun, and I hope meaningful as well. I need to ask God for help planning birthday parties more often!