Thursday, August 8, 2024
Have you ever had a sleepover with your Littles?
If so, or if you might be planning one,
this is the post for you!
Today, Laura is sharing highlights from her family’s recent Cousin Weekend
and providing ideas for fun ways to keep those Littles engaged
during an overnight or weekend together!
Last weekend, we headed to the lake
for our annual Cousin Weekend!
When our girls were growing up,
we spent countless weekends at the lake
with my parents and my siblings and their families!
We all have such special memories of these years
and are grateful for the love of family and faith that Nana and Papa
instilled in each of us!
As a result of these and so many other shared memories,
our kids - our Middles - still love spending time together
AND
now we've also added a new generation of their Littles to the mix!
While we were missing one Little cousin and several family members
(due to one family trip and thanks to Covid for others 😞)
these three (along with our two month old Little P)
kept us busy with LOTS of Cool Cousin fun during this year’s Cousin Weekend!
When they weren’t swimming or fishing or golfing,
we, of course, had a few other activities ready to go, as needed!
After all, as a retired kindergarten teacher, I try my best to be prepared!
We had our own mini Family Olympics!
We watched a few movies to wind down
and, of course, the Olympics were on the screen throughout the weekend!!
We even enjoyed our Olympic Snack Cups
while watching the women’s gymnastics all around finals! GO USA!!!
In fact, we wrapped up our Olympics celebration with
bowls of Olympic Flames (orange sherbet) and Gold Medals (golden Oreo cookies)!
What an easy and refreshing treat!
Looking for your own Olympic Treat or Sweet? If so, check out this post!
During the early morning hours
(when the mommies and daddies were trying to catch a few quiet moments)
OR
in the evening when we were getting out those last bursts of energy
before winding down for the day,
our Littles and I found some fun ways to spend this PAJAMA time together!
Check out 3 of our faves… GRAND ways to have fun in your PJ’s!
During our Cousin Weekend
we had one morning when the Littles’ parents had work obligations
or were busy with a baby…
This GRAND came to the rescue with some simple pillow fun!
Luckily, we were able to create a large open spot downstairs! We simply moved the coffee table and any other furniture/objects that might prove to be unsafe. Then we grabbed the cushions from the sectional as well as nearby throw pillows and bed pillows, too. We were all set for our pillow fun!
A Pillow Tower!
Our Littles took turns building a tower with the cushions and pillows we had available! We cheered each other on and helped as needed as we watched to see who could build the tallest tower without it falling down. (It a Little's tower did fall down, we'd yell, "Timber" and all the Littles would fall into the pile on the floor!)
One of the Littles suggested that we play “Wreck It Ralph” by knocking down the towers! This was a hit as one Little became “Wreck It Ralph” and knocked down a tower which was then followed by another Little (sometimes with a bit of GRAND help) who became “Fix It Felix” and built it once again!
Hot Lava!
Oh my goodness! This was fun! The Littles and I made a “road” by placing the cushions around the floor. The carpeted area became the “hot lava” as each Little jumped from one cushion to another until they got to the staircase and safety! This activity challenged their ability to balance yet each Little found success… some faster than others!
A Pillow Tunnel!
Our little engineers had fun building the cushion/pillow tunnel and then, of course, moving through it! Watch out! The challenge was to make it through without the tunnel collapsing around you!
We added a flashlight and closed the drapes for some extra special fun!
More Pillow Fun!
The above three ideas kept us busy for the time needed but I was prepared with these additional (and easy) options, too!
• A Classic… A Pillow Fight!
Of course, your Littles can go to town with their pillows and have an old fashioned, free for all pillow fight!
OR you could add a touch of safety (a great option for young Littles) by giving our version a try! After clearing an area,. two Littles stand, facing each other with a bed pillow in hand! When they hear the word “GO” the two Littles hit each other below the shoulders while everyone else counts to 10! Invite the Middles (the mommies and daddies) to join in the fun, too!
• Whack a Little!
Do you remember that arcade game, “Whack-a-Mole”? This game uses the same premise! Littles pop up from behind the couch as other Littles or others gently whack them with a pillow! The goal, of course, is to not get whacked! Again, invite the grown ups to participate! Littles will love whacking mom and dad!
We love a good puppet show and our Littles put on the best!
I usually have a few crafts available for the Littles to work on
throughout our weekend together.
Last year, our crafts and puppet show focused on Fairy Tale Fun!
The above photo is from our presentation of The Three Billy Goats Gruff!
If interested, you can find our Fairy Tale craft and puppet show ideas in this post!
This year, thanks to my OGL blogging partner, Laurie,
our craft focus was sea creatures!
Last week’s post, Under the Sea, inspired me to bring the supplies
to make a few simple projects…
Paper Cup Jellyfish!
Paper Tube Octopuses!
Pool Noodle Fish!
Envelope Sharks!
If you’d like the details for each, including our easy directions,
In hindsight, I wish I had brought some blue crepe paper to the lake!
We could have quickly made a fun backdrop for our sea creatures with it!
As it was, we had a good time making up sea-worthy stories with our creatures!
There’s nothing like a flashlight to intrigue Littles and keep the fun flowing!
I had bought 3 small flashlights for the members of our Cousin Club
who I knew would be old enough to play with them!
However, I also knew that the pink flashlight would be in high demand
as I knew that Little L and her older cousin have both declared pink as their favorite color!
So, to act preemptively before we began,
I shared the news that the flashlights belonged to me
and that I was happily sharing them with our Littles!
We then drew straws to see who would get to pick his/her flashlight first
with the understanding that we’d go through this process again
prior to each activity!
Previewing with Littles and helping them understand expectations ahead of time
really helps set the tone!
However, thanks to the mosquitos that were swarming outside,
our Flashlight Fun took place in one of the bedrooms instead!
We look forward to a repeat outside... without the mosquitos, that is!!
Flashlight Stomp!
We played a very simple version of this game! All you need for this activity is a flashlight and a group of players who can move their feet quickly! We turned out the lights as best we could (a bit of a difficult feat for Littles with early bedtimes). I was the “leader” and used a flashlight to project light on different areas of the carpet. Our Littles tried to be the first one to stomp on the light before I moved it to another spot! Sometimes I moved the spotlight slowly and other times quickly! Eventually, our older Little was able to take a turn as the leader, too!
Flashlight Hide and Seek!
I hid several objects and toys around our space before the Littles joined me. Once we were ready to play, we turned off the lights and I said the name of an object. Then the Littles turned on their flashlights and went hunting for that item. The first person to spot each item got a point. We kept playing until all of the objects had been found! (NOTE: The older Littles and I had made a deal ahead of time that we'd let two year old Little L find a few items that were easy to see!)
A Flashlight Fort!
I’d been saving a large cardboard box (from an ottoman I’d recently purchased) and this was the perfect occasion to use it! The Littles had fun decorating the outside with markers. (We decided not to cut out windows because they wanted it dark inside!) Then, they gathered blankets and throw pillows, books, card games, a snack and, of course, their flashlights! They had some cozy jammie fun inside!
We kept the fort up and available for quiet time activities throughout the weekend!
And Our Favorite, Of Course… Flashlight Reading!
You know that we take every opportunity we can to encourage reading! Whether you are reading to your Little(s) OR they are reading/looking at a book by themself, a flashlight always adds some extra coziness and excitement to the experience!
While Laura didn’t get a photo of this fave activity, Laurie did while she was taking care of her Little D earlier this week! Such a good reminder that you can pull out a flashlight and a few books during a fun weekend adventure or as a quiet afternoon activity! No matter when or where, your Little(s) will love it! ❤️
And… just in case you are wondering how our flashlight saga turned out...
Little L forgot that she was ever interested in the pink flashlight
and was completely content with her green one!
SUCCESS!
Each of the Littles ultimately had their favorite to play with all weekend
and this GRAND is looking forward to future weekends
when our Littles are old enough to play flashlight games at night!
Well… Cousin Weekend 2024 is now in the books!
Woohoo!
While we had loads of fun and created lots of new memories,
I’m also grateful for blissful moments like this one from the past weekend…
My hubby captured this photo while everyone else
was boating out on the lake!
This precious respite with Little P was just what I needed…
A few hours of peace and quiet in the midst of it all!
While my parents - our beloved Nana and Papa - are no longer with us,
their legacy continues
with one or more Cousin Weekends planned each year!
We’re so grateful for it all!
If you’ve got an overnight or weekend planned
with your own Littles,
we hope some of our ideas have given you some food for thought!
SO,
grab your jammies, fluff your pillows and remember…
We’d LOVE to hear from YOU!
If you have memories of your own Pajama Jam fun with Littles,
please share your ideas or advice!
We know that these experiences will evolve as our own Littles grow
and we also know that our readers have lots of expertise!
Feel free to comment at the end of this post
or, if you prefer, you can reach out to us at ourgrandlives@gmail.com!
You can also share your ideas with us, by tagging us on social media!
(You'll find our social media links at the top of each post!)
Check us out there - we’re always sharing new content!
Next week, we’ll have two posts to share with you
before we take our own Summer Break for a few weeks!
On Monday, we’ll be back with our last SUMMER FAVE of the season
and then
our final post of our summer series,
3, 2 ,1… GRAND SUMMER FUN!
will follow next Thursday!
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I LOVE hearing about you families! And I've got to tell you I just love the cousin pact. What fun Pajama jam ideas.
Thank You so much for sharing with Sweet Tea & Friend's August link up.
I love all these ideas! The flashlight ones look especially fun. And there really is something special about cousins! Thanks for sharing this post with us at the Will Blog for Comments #45 linkup. Hope you'll share more posts with us at #46 which starts Monday.
So many fun activities! I loved playing hot lava as a child and now my two boys play it too! You are such awesome grandparents. :) x #MMBC
You all are creating such fun memories. I love how creative you are!
Thanks for sharing all of this for us at the Homestead Blog Hop 510.
Laurie
Ridge Haven Homestead
Aw, I just love these ideas! It looks like everyone had a fun time! Thank you for sharing with us at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #50.
Steph@CrazyLittleLovebirds 🤗