While almost all children will at some stage beg you for a slumber party to celebrate their next birthday, slumber parties work best if the guests and birthday child are not too young or old.

What is an appropriate age for hosting a slumber party?

Sleepovers work best for kids aged eight to 14. If your child is younger than eight, she and her friends may not be ready to spend the night away from home, and you may end up having to make phone calls in the middle of the night to parents of weepy homesick guests, so consider hosting a pyjama party instead.

All the guests can come in their PJs at 6pm, play games, have dinner and be picked up by 8 pm. When you do decide that your child is ready for their (and your) first slumber party, keep the guest numbers to two or three so everyone can manage the excitement of the sleepover. As the kids get older you can add extra guests to fit in with the space you have available.

But be warned! The older the guests, the less likely they are to get much sleep and this can affect the whole household. Perhaps consider sending siblings away for the night so that some members of the family get some shut-eye!