a little hotel sleepover
(aka why I didn't post on Monday)
Sonia and Zoe have a friend (named Zoe, actually! And they both have middle names that start with G.) who moved here 3.5 years ago.
(almost 3 years ago, when they were all much smaller!)
Sadly, she's moving to the Midwest in just a few weeks. And that's doubly sad because her mom is one of my best friends too.
Sigh.
The girls have had lots of sleepovers together, but I thought it would be fun to do a slightly more special sleepover before she moved away.
We started out by seeing an afternoon showing of Wonder at the second-run theater.
(I thought it was quite faithful to the book, which is saying something because I often am irritated by movie versions of books!)
Then I stopped to get the girls milkshakes, even though we'd had no dinner, and even though they each had a box of candy at the movie theater.
It was a sugary day. 😉
Then we stopped in at Aldi, where we bought a rather obscene amount of snacky foods.
And instead of heading home, we went to a local hotel for the night.
I'm super lucky because my brother works for a huge hotel chain, and his associate discount can score us some awesome prices on hotel rooms.
So, I was able to get a room at a nice hotel with two queen beds and a trundle bed for $39.
This hotel also came with an indoor pool, which was very important. Because in January, swimming is a lovely treat!
Kind of like eating watermelon in the wintertime.
After we swam, we went up to our room...
...where we ate snacks (instead of dinner!) and watched a Harry Potter movie.
In the morning, we enjoyed the free hotel breakfast and another swim before we checked out.
It wasn't anything really fancy or adventurous, but it was just enough out of the ordinary to be lots of fun.
I don't know why I haven't thought of this local hotel night sleepover thing before, but I'm pretty sure we'll do it again when a special sleepover is just what the doctor ordered.
I'm not sure if there's anything helpful here for you guys (Get your brother hired at a hotel? Eating more sugar than usual is really fun?), but I just wanted to share. 😉
This was such a lovely idea. How fun for the girls (and you). A fond & special memory for them.
Lovely idea! We hunt around for super cheap hotel deals and then take family staycations in our home city every few months. Like you we eat snack food, swim lots and overindulge at the breakfast buffet. Making memories, right?
Exactly, it's a lot less expensive than going out of town even if the hotel price isn't as good as Kristen's so it's worth it to splurge a little.
When you're a kid, few things are more fun than hotels with pools. This is what I remember from my own childhood, and this is being confirmed by my own children, who are out of their minds with excitement when they get to swim at the hotel pool when my parents visit (and stay at a hotel, yes, because we have a two-bedroom house and four children).
Well done, Mom.
Friends moving away is rough! What a nice treat!
I too enjoyed Wonder, not quite as good as the book (but that's not surprising), but did a good job holding true to the story!
What a delightful special treat...and blog. My kids LOVED hotels with pools and free breakfasts with waffle-making waiting lines (don't ask ME) on trips. We often said we could have just checked into a local one, and they would be ecstatic without traveling.
Perhaps your daughters will get to visit their moving buddy at her new home some day. Maybe email and Skype can help them learn that friends become a part of you even when they move. We lived in an area where people moved a lot, and my grown kids are still in touch with some of the short-time friends from there.
You are a great mom to think of this and pull it off. They will forever remember.
There is something so special about swimming in the winter, it always feels like a luxury to me:) I am sure your daughters will always have fond memories of all the time you have spent making things fun for them and their friends.
What a treat! I have fond memories of always stopping at hotels with indoor pools when my mom and I would drive from Georgia to Minnesota to see my grandparents. My 3-year-old got her first taste of indoor swimming at a hotel this fall, and it was just as magical for her!
Credit card points are another way to pay for hotel rooms without spending out of pocket!
Wow that sounds like so much fun! And it's such an original idea too.
It's so nice and generous of you to buy the kids so much snacks and stay at a hotel to make this sleepover more memorable. I'm sure the kids will remember it fondly for years to come!
I think it was a super creative and special time for the girls! Sounds like lots of fun (:
What a fun post! Thanks so much for sharing. "Slice of life" posts are nice -- and it's so nice to see yet again that frugality doesn't have to come at the expense of joy! The hotel set up is certainly sweet, but not as sweet as this adorable friendship! Yay! 🙂
My kids have been invited to hotel slumber parties before where the parent rents 2 adjoining rooms and invites as many kids as fit. They usually have pizza and cupcakes. We're not big on sleepovers with people we don't know really well, so my kids have never stayed, but they have partaken in the swimming/pizza and had fun! One caution for those considering this plan though is that there are no life guards at hotel pools.
This is a great idea! I know you will all be sad to see your friends go, but you get to enjoy this special memory forever. I never thought of renting a hotel for that special treat.
We have been lucky in that we haven't had hardly any dear people move away, but that sounds like a fantastic way to wish someone farewell. I hope everyone can stay in touch.
Aww, this sounds like so much fun! I'm sure all the girls will remember this for years. 🙂 I grew up in an Army family and was always so sad to move away from my friends; poor Zoe!
This is a good reminder that a treat doesn't have to be fancy or expensive to be memorable and fun.
What a super day & night! I've thought of doing this but DH didn't find it appealing.. I'm so glad you all shared your great time together as I loved the pics!
Haha, Mr. FG would seriously not have enjoyed himself at a hotel sleepover full of girls! So that's why I went without him. 😉
My brother-in-law works in the hotel industry and we have enjoyed some good pricing as a result! 🙂
We have occasionally done an overnight at a motel/hotel with a pool during the years as an inexpensive getaway. We usually go within an hour of our home so it feels like we are "traveling". I think a change of scenery/routine and the chance to play works wonders for the psyche.
And you hope he never finds another job, right? Ha.
What an ABSOLUTELY wonderful idea. A day and overnight of TONS of fun... and a bit out of the ordinary. A very special time making special memories. I vote that YOU get Mom of the Month award Kristen! What a blessing it must have been to all.
When I was in elementary school, one of my friends had a birthday in January in Ohio, so she always had a hotel birthday with indoor swimming. I looked forward to it every winter. Sounds like your "going away" get together was a hit.
This is exactly the kind of experience the girls will remember for decades. I'm sure YOU had fun, too! Thanks for sharing.:-)
We just did this for my son's 16th birthday! We hooked up the Xbox in the room, and the boys had a blast! Not quite as inexpensive as your hotel rate, but still fun and memorable. We told him we would do something "big" at 16, so this fit the bill! 🙂
I LOVE IT!!! I might just do that with my 2 girls one night!
This was a fun post to read. Thank You for sharing.
It is a super fun way to have a sleepover! We've done this for my son's birthday. He invited two friends and they swam, ate pizza, and played games, had the complementary breakfast, and swam until check out time. They had a blast!
How nice to get the discounted rooms. That would make it even better!
This is such a great idea! We don't need to spend a lot of money to have a great time and the giggles and memories are soooo worth it! Excellent job Mom.
What a wonderful thing to do for your girls and their friend! A great memory for them! There's nothing like staying at a hotel with a pool when you're a kid!
And little soaps and shampoos! Don't forget the joy of seeing those for the first time as a child.
Well, now how are any of us even going to try to win Mom of the year when you pulled a move like that?? Just kidding, that sounds like the cutest night ever and I’m sure the girls will remember it fondly forever. I’m sorry to hear you are losing a friend too. You rocked it on that amazing night
As ZZ's meema, this post made me really happy, really sad, and really tearful. Thank you for fostering these friendships!
Aww. All the feels!
Such a wonderful idea, the girls will remember it always. You are such a great Mum. Have a lovely day.
Fi
This was such a fun read! Thanks for sharing!
The only birthday party (of mine!) that I remember from late elementary and middle school was when my mom got a hotel room, let me invite a couple of friends, ordered pizza, and brought us cake. We spent the evening swimming until the pool closed and then had hotel breakfast, and it was awesome!
My youngest child has a December birthday while his two older siblings have summer birthdays. The youngest complained that he would never be able to have a pool or lake party because his birthday is in the middle of winter. A few years ago, I took him and a few of his friends on a hay ride to look at Christmas lights, pizza for dinner and then surprised them with a stay at a semi-fancy hotel with an indoor pool. It was a big hit and my son was very appreciative!
Aww, that's so great.
So good for the soul to recharge with friends! Hugs for your loss of nearness!
What a fun and memorable time for the girls! I hope they can stay connected across the miles.
As dairy farmers, we don't get a way very often as a family...but living near a very "touristy" area, there are lots of motels with minutes of our house. Once, when our kids were in elementary school, we chose a unique motel with an indoor pool and spent the night in the middle of January. My husband got up and went home to do the morning milking, and then came back to be with us for breakfast!
Dang. I'm all teary. Which I know sounds weird, because what an awesome outing! I'm 32 now and my mom did things like this for me and I still remember how special it was. I tell her now how I remember those things and she still acts like it was no big deal. Moms are living angels for sure. 🙂
It doesn't have to be super expensive to be fun. I remember when my daughter was 3 we were going to the beach for a vacation. We had been telling her about it for awhile. Anyway, she had to go to the restroom about 20 minutes down the road. We stopped at a McDonald's that had a playroom. We had never been to a McDonald's (or fastfood) with her because we don't eat it. With big eyes (all excited), she stated, "Is this vacation?" We joked we could have made her just as happy with a cheeseburger and a trip to the playroom as we did at the beach for a week. Haha. This was a great idea. I'm sure they will remember it.
We're trying to soak up all the cuteness and sweetness of our kids being little bitties. (Our two year old literally ran down the hall to me, grinning, when I got home this evening--be still my heart!) But our oldest is now seven, and I'm starting to get glimpses of how much fun it is going to be to hang out with them as growing people. Bravo for you for this adventure. 🙂
When I was in primary school a really close friend - we were always at each other's houses - moved interstate and I was so sad but then I started to receive the most amazing mail ever from her and we remained pen pals and when they moved to yet another state it was the beginning of some of the best holidays of my life visiting her and her family, we never did live close by again and she now lives overseas but we always catch up when she comes home to visit family. I hope for Sonia and Zoe and Zoe that they will remain lifelong friends and much joy will come out of this parting for you all.
Experiences over things. High five.
We live in the Gulf Coast and have friends with access to a great condo on the beach with an indoor pool. For their son's January birthday, this is what they do. They stay overnoght, order pizza and swim at that gorgeous pool. The boys have a blast. And she doesn't have to clean it up the next day!