Nate's Birthday Sleepover

I've always told my kids that their last "big" birthday party will be when they turn 10. (This was a rule in my house as a kid, so I've just carried it over to my own family).

So this year, as we approached Nate's 11th birthday, he knew there would not be a big party. Instead, he asked if he could have a few friends come over for pizza, video games, and to spend the night. Easy peasy!!

Despite me being the one to lay down the law & downsize his parties, it took *all* of my self-control to not send out cute invitations, buy lots of décor, do goodie bags, make a banner and cupcake toppers, etc. Yes, I am a #partyaholic.

Instead, I just did this on the kitchen table. Took me 10 minutes! :)

The only "favor" I bought was these Fortnite cups for the boys to use while at the party and then take home. For those that don't know......Fortnite is a video game that has taken the world by storm this year! Even Abby is obsessed! It involves lots of funny dances, and those are the silhouettes on the cups I bought.

Nate requested a cookie cake and since that is MY personal favorite too, I was happy to oblige! :)

The most handsome 11-year-old I know!

Abby decided to make all of the boys bracelets :) How cute is her sign!?!?

Nate invited 3 friends from school, as well as our neighbor Evers. They all arrived between 5-6 pm, and then it was time for pizza!!

Once it cooled down a bit, they went outside to play GaGa ball - also a new obsession, thanks to Scouts. It's similar to dodgeball but the ball stays on the ground.

Once they came in, this was the scene for the rest of the night......lots of devices and lots of yelling/cheering. Nate was sweet enough to let Abby be in there most of the night with all of the boy since she loves Fortnite too.

It looks like they are all doing their thing, but they are actually all logged into the same Fortnite game, and just playing on their own devices. So fancy!

I made the boys take a break from video games for 5 minutes to eat some cookie cake and sing to the birthday boy....

Greg finally told the boys to turn off the lights around 11:30 pm. They would have played Fortnite all night if we had let them!!!

Then we had a big breakfast in the morning - chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and fruit - and a few more Fortnite games before they were picked up at 10 am.

Nate said it was his most favorite birthday ever :)