It's almost New Year's Eve--time for noisemakers and sleeping bags. Yes, sleeping bags! If your son or daughter is old enough for a sleep-over party, December 31 is the ideal time to host one, especially because our version requires minimal parental supervision. Imagine this: While your child and a few of his or her friends ring in the new year (or zonk out and sleep through it) in your playroom, you can be in the living room with your friends toasting the fact that you didn't have to miss out on a grown-up party or empty out the college fund to pay for a sitter. Plus, since staying up late (or at least trying to) is de rigueur at sleep-overs anyway, why not coordinate it with the one night when everyone else on the planet is up too? Peruse our party plan on the following pages, and you'll see that most of the food and activities are meant to be prepared in advance so that older kids (say, ages ten and up, depending on maturity) can run the show themselves with little more than an occasional peek into the room from you. Add some simple decorations--balloons, streamers, and sparkle-ribbon paper chains--and enjoy a New Year's Eve made for parents and kids.

Sleeping Bag Invitation
Zip up a few of these cards, and your RSVPs will be in the bag.

Directions:
1. Use rubber cement or tacky glue to attach a 7- by 8-inch piece of fabric to a 7 1/2- by 8 1/2-inch piece of construction paper.

2. Add a pillow cut from another color of fabric to the top right-hand corner.

3. Fold the invitation in half and bend down the top corner (see photos) so that the pillow shows. Write your party information on squares and rectangles of paper and glue them to the outside and inside of the invitation. Add stickers, if you like.