I am planning a birthday party for my daughter who was born at the end of January is always a challenge and of course each year has to top the previous year. This year we decided on an indoor camping sleepover party. We have a huge 6 man tent so I knew we could comfortably fit up to seven girls. I made the invitations in PowerPoint using clip art. I designed a big tent and then added all the details. Underneath I made a checklist using marshmallow sticks as the bullets". I made sure to remind the girls to bring their sleeping bags pillows and to dress warmly four the outdoor campfire. We set up our playroom in the basement with the huge tent and a stereo system for the girls to dance. The room was completly cleared out so it was nice and clean and tons of room for them to put their sleepover bags and lots of room to dance. The girls arrived on Saturday night at 7:30. We had a big outdoor firepit with lots of seating for the girls. I bought enough campfire forks for roasting marshmellows and hotdogs. The girls just LOVED the campfire and of course a campfire just wouldn't be a campfire without SMORES. These are so easy to make and everyone loved them. We were outside for about 45 minutes and it was just a beautiful night with all the snow around us and we lucked out with the weather as the night was a bit more mild (just about -5C). After the campfire the girls changed into their P.J's and then they sat down around the dining room table which was already pre-set with plates and cups and decorated nicely. I must admit I normally buy my daughter's cake from the local bakery as I'm no Martha Stewart or Betty Crocker but I just couldn't find the right cake for her "camping" party. Thanks to the internet I simply did a search for Campfire Cakes and found a really simple and amazing recipe. It turned out better than I could have hoped for and she just loved it. I kept it a surprise for her so she had no idea what it would look like. It's a basic chocolate cake with chocolate icing. The sides were covered orange jimmy's and for the "campfire" I used cookies that look like logs of wood. You can buy them in a tin at the local grocery store (I found mine in the cookie section where they have specialty cookies.)I cut the cookies in 1/2 and arranged them in a circle on top of the cake. For the fire I melted butterscotch and raspberry hard candies (crushed first in a plastic baggie) in the oven (place on tin foil sprayed with non-stick cooking spray). Let it cool it firdige for a few hours then break it into pieces (it looks like pieces of glass). Arrange the various pieces on top of the cake and it looks like flames. It really was an amazing cake and so easy to make. After the cake we opened the gifts. I made loot bags for the girls which included really nice quality LED mini flashlights that my husband found at the local hardware store for $6. I also bought the glowstick necklaces and bangle bracelets (plus tons of candies and other little items). The glowsticks and flashlights were great. The girls put on their bracelets and necklaces (they come 5 in a pack) so they had lots of stuff to wear which looked amazing when they went downstairs to dance. They turned the lights off and were dancing in the dark with their glowstick jewelry lighting up the dance floor. They were a big hit. The flashlights were also great and inexpensive. I did make sure to put their names on each one using my label maker so they didn't get mixed up. I also do this for water bottles and juice boxes. They danced until 11:00 then it was time for bed. I gave them one hour for ghoststory telling and "girl talk". I wish I could say that they all went straight to be after that but 9 & 10 year old girls have way more energy than I would have thought (might have been the cake and smores too). Anyways they did eventually fall alseep. We had a big pancake and bacon breakfast the next morning and the parents came to pick them up at 10:00 a.m. I had also rented a movie (The Great Outdoors - an oldie but goodie and keeping with the camping theme) but we just ran out of time. All the girls including my daugther said it was the best party they had ever been to. If you don't have the room for the indoor tent and your child's birthday is in the summer (or you're lucky enough to live in an area with nice warm weather in the winter) you can easily set up the tent in the back yard.I think me and my husband had just as much fun as the girls did. It was very easy to plan and pretty inexpensive too (under $100). "