Ella's Night Owl Pajama Party

I have been dreaming about Ella's party for over a year.  Crazy, I know.  But since we are now doing "friend" parties only every other year, I've had a lot of time to plan!  This party idea all began when a friend sent me a link to a blog with a Night Owl Pajama Party (www.snowybliss.blogspot.com).  It was the cutest party I'd ever seen, and she must have known I'd be crazy enough to try and copy it!  She was right.   Ella's birthday just happens to fall into that period of time, right after the holidays, that there is a lull.  So I was itching for a project!  The two of us had a great time choosing paper for the invitations, choosing material for making owls, and planning all the little details of the party.  It was all we thought about for weeks!  The one downside of this party was that it had to be a small little group of friends, so we were only able to invite a handful of her church and school friends.  This size of party really suits Ella's personality better anyway, but we still felt bad about not being able to include all of her many friends.  So anyway, on to the party!  Invitations were out, I was sewing owls like a mad woman, and we were ready for the big day.  As the girls arrived, they all received glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets.  We turned out all the lights and played a quick game of hot potato with a glow stick.  As the girls got out, they kept the glow stick and were given a star to put on top, making it a glow-wand.  After the game ended, we played some glow-freeze dance.  Those girls were dancing fools!  Next up came the make-your-own mini pizza activity and dinner.  Actually, they made their pizzas before the game and dance, and they ate them afterward.  After dinner came the treasure hunt.  There were 8 numbered glow sticks hidden upstairs, and they each had to find one in the dark.  Once they were all found, the girls came downstairs to see what the numbers meant.  They were told that each number corresponded with a present that they each got to open, one at a time.  One by one they came up to find their present and open it.  Inside they found an adorable, unique, homemade owl for them to adopt.  We read the little poem that corresponded with the specific owl that they received, and they chose a name to go on the adoption card.  Boy were the girls happy and excited to get to open a present!  And they just loved those owls.  It made all the hours of sewing worth it!  They were all convinced that they got the owl that was made just for them, and they loved those things for the rest of the party.  After the big owl-opening, they all went upstairs to watch a couple of cute little movie shorts in their pajamies with their owls.  They could have cuddled upstairs for hours, I'm sure, but time was running out!  So we came down to sing to Ella, have some cute red velvet owl cake, and to open presents.  Boy was this a fun party!  Ella had the time of her life, and she loved spending the evening with her friends and family.  And her little owl has been slept with every night since!!  :)