Spa and sleepover night

What it is

A pamper evening with friends that turns into a sleepover. Guests mix their own face masks, paint each other’s nails and make bath bombs, then settle into a movie and a midnight feast. Low effort for the host and a guaranteed hit with tweens.

Plan ahead

• Two weeks before: check allergies and skin sensitivities; avoid strong fragrances.
• One week before: buy robes or ask guests to bring dressing gowns, plus nail polish, a bath bomb kit, and face mask ingredients.
• The day before: clear the living room for sleeping, put up fairy lights and set up stations.

Set the scene

Make three stations: a face mask bar, a nail bar and a craft table. Use towels rolled like a hotel spa, candles (LED), fairy lights and a playlist of calm pop. Put a “Spa open” sign on the door.

Activities

DIY face masks

Set out bowls of plain yogurt, honey, oats and mashed banana. Recipes: honey and oat (2 tbsp oats, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp yogurt), or banana and honey. Apply for 10 minutes, then rinse with warm water.

Nail bar

Pastel and glitter polishes, nail stickers, dotting tools and a fan to dry them. Do a “nail art challenge” with themes like “beach day” or “galaxy”.

Bath bombs

Mix 2 parts bicarb and 1 part citric acid, add a few drops of colour and a spritz of water until it holds together like damp sand. Press into a mould, leave for 20 minutes, then pop out.

Food and drink

• Build-your-own pizza
• Popcorn bar with toppings (chocolate, sweets, caramel)
• “Mocktails” in fancy glasses: lemonade with fruit and mint
• Breakfast pancake bar with berries, chocolate spread and syrup

Tips

• Put a towel over sofas before nail painting.
• Agree a lights-out time; the later the morning collection, the better.