We had our super fun, totally awesome Judy Moody and the Not  Bummer Summer slumber party (say that ten times fast!) this weekend, and it was definitely a hit. Jake’s friends (a good mix of boys and girls) arrived at the party already in their jammies so they could get started right away. We decided that the kids were too young for actually sleeping over, but the fun of a slumber party is all the stuff that comes before the actual “slumbering.” Note- Jake’s friend’s parents all prefer that their children not appear on the blog, so most of my pictures just show him. I assure you everyone else was having just as much fun.

As soon as the kids arrived, we gave them their cool slumber party draw-string gift bags, complete with an eye mask and, or course, a mood ring. No Judy Moody party would be complete without a mood ring!

I had a few cool activities planned out for the kids, including making Cootie Catchers (I had to get a tutorial online because it has been years since I made these and completely forgot how they went). The kids colored the paper before we folded them. Check out a few of our better ones (and my first attempt, which turned out to be a dud), and Jake playing with his (although he could only make it go in one direction).

I really wanted to do Bandage Art with everyone, but by this point they really just wanted to go watch the movie, so I let them skip it. Apparently, watching a movie during a slumber party requires bringing out every stuffed animal Jacob owns (which is a lot) and scattered them around to make “beds.” This process took significantly longer than my awesome bandage art plan…just saying. Once they were all set up, I popped the movie in and they watched in relative peace and quiet…with lots of laughing of course, and the occasional rearranging of the “beds.”

Judy Moody and the Not  Bummer Summer Movie Review

In the movie, Judy, a third grader, decides that she is going to have the most awesome summer ever. Her parents leave her and her brother Stink with their very cool aunt Opal. Judy’s plans are almost ruined when her friends rack up more thrill points than she does, so she embarks on a quest to help Stink find Bigfoot.  The kids thought it was great and very funny. Jake and the other boys particularly loved Stink, while the girls all related well to Judy. I loved Aunt Opal, Heather Graham does a great job of playing a fun-loving character. Aside from a little “potty humor” (literally, a frog pees on Judy’s friend), the movie is pretty wholesome in my opinion. It definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously and is really just awesome fun for kids. Our group ranged from ages 6-8, with three boys and four girls, and every one of them had a terrific time.

Our dog Cooper particularly enjoyed the stuffed animal mess left on the floor after the party. The moment the kids vacated, he moved in to a prime nap spot. He looked so comfortable there, I felt kind of bad cleaning up the living room!