One Overnight
Girls love the excitement of a sleepover but piles of sleeping bags in close quarters during the COVID-19 pandemic is not a good idea. Instead, plan a memorable virtual overnight experience! The key to success is involving the girls in the planning and providing advance communication to families with guidelines on how to help their girl participate and make sure she can connect to her troop online at the right times.
- Build the sleepover agenda during a regular troop meeting. For younger troops, provide some multiple-choice options for activities that girls can vote on. Older troops can use an open-ended discussion process for determining activities. Include a defined timeframe for the activities. Plan for a mix of online and offline activities.
- Figure out your budget and make any purchases. Give a supply list to family members well in advance so they can prepare. Drop off additional supplies to each girls’ home.
- Set a Zoom meeting for the next morning – part of the fun of an overnight includes seeing each other right away the next morning!
Virtual Slumber Party Activity Ideas
- Tent in the backyard with firepit s’mores
- Travel far away with virtual museum tours
- Spa time with manicures, face masks, and hair treatments
- Movie night with discussion inside blanket forts
- Creative inspiration with painting, crafts, or construction
- Culinary arts practice, watching videos, and then testing techniques
- Star performer event with skits, karaoke, or a glow stick dance party
- Science night with simple and fun experiments
Anything you can dream up!
Earned Awards
It’s ok to let the primary focus of a sleepover be on the fun of hanging out together, not ticking off checkboxes for badges. But if you’re looking for activity inspiration, browsing the badge requirements is a great place to start!
Use the troop camping badges to find age-appropriate planning tasks for the girls. Involve them in adapting their overnight adventure to a virtual sleepover and get ready to enjoy your time together – even when you’re physically apart.
- Daisy: Buddy Camper
- Brownie: Cabin Camper
- Junior: Eco Camper
- Cadette: Primitive Camper
- Senior: Adventure Camper
- Ambassador: Survival Camper
Sample virtual overnight agenda
5 p.m. – Online activity: Zoom meeting to say HELLO and enjoy dinner together. Don’t forget to start with the Girl Scout Promise and Law!
6 p.m. – Offline activity: Create indoor or outdoor gourmet s’mores with your family. Plan to share your innovative recipes at 6:45 p.m.!
6:45 p.m. – Online activity: Zoom meeting to share gourmet s’mores recipes. Cover any troop business that needs to be covered. Give instructions for next offline activity.
7:15 p.m. – Offline activity: Insert a badge activity of your choosing. Make sure to consider the supplies girls might have on hand and choose activities accordingly.
8:15 p.m. – Online activity: Zoom meeting to share outcomes of activity. Do an activity together online – make slime together or do a virtual escape room as a group. Or create a YouTube playlist of karaoke videos and have everyone go off mute to sing along!
9:00 p.m. – Offline activity: Set up your overnight sleeping area. You could make a blanket fort indoors or a backyard campsite with a tent.
9:30 p.m. – Online activity: Zoom meeting to say goodnight! You could make this as long (let the Cadettes talk for as long as they like) or as short (say goodnight and sign off) as you like.
8:00 a.m. – Online activity: Zoom breakfast together! Share what you all plan on doing the rest of the day. Start planning for a future online meeting or overnight activity!
What about Daisies?
Daisy troops can earn the Super Troop award without doing an overnight adventure. But a virtual overnight experience is a great way for them to practice from the security of their own home. When they’re ready for an in-person sleepover, they’ll be more excited because they’ll know what to expect!
