First things first: gratitude to the youth librarians on the statewide listserv, massyac, for their generosity in sharing tips and tricks for a stuffed animal sleepover program! Their collective advice was quick, clever, and invaluable, as usual. Being part of a profession whose core values include sharing really has its benefits!

 

Above: Group shot! All the stuffed animals on the library boat (or in the ocean)

So, what’s a stuffed animal sleepover? Kids bring their stuffed animals to the library, leave them overnight, and pick them up the next day. While the cats (people) are away, the mice (stuffed animals) do play! They make friends with each other, take rides on the book cart, play with library toys, and snuggle up to listen to a story. At pickup time, each stuffed animal gets a little packet to take home with photos and a note about their overnight activities, and a library book recommendation, which they can choose to check out.

Above: Three stuffed animals in rocking chairs read a picture book together

Here are the most important (and repeated) pieces of advice I received and used from massyac responses:

• Allow more time than you think you need for setting up and taking photos; use an assistant if you can!
• Collect information (kid’s name, stuffed animal’s name, adult’s contact info) at drop-off time, and attach a tag to each stuffed animal.
• Make a take-home booklet, post to social media, or create a slideshow of photos

Thank you, massyac! I employed my nine-year-old as assistant, and she was an excellent helper. Staging and taking the photos didn’t actually take that much time – an hour or less. Creating the personalized book recommendations and packets, creating the photo album, and posting to social media took about two hours. If you wanted to save some time, you could do less personalization and give everyone the same booklet – it’s still fun!

Above: All the stuffed animals snuggling on bean bags, reading a story together

At drop-off time, kids filled out a “sleepover permission slip” with information about their stuffed animals (name, personality, favorite book, a portrait), and a tag we tied on with ribbon. The favorite book question helped us decide which book(s) to recommend.

Above: Pigeon and Piggie play in the Lego bin

Miraculously, everyone who registered for the program showed up during the drop-off window, and everyone came to pick up their stuffed animals the next day! There was a waitlist for the program – again, on the advice of other librarians, I capped registration at 10 (and still ended up with 12) – so we’ll be doing it again in the spring, and those on the waitlist will get priority.

Above: Grapes, Munchkin, and Peanut Butter hang out in a cool MagnaTile house

Overall, our first stuffed animal sleepover was a success! Have you hosted one at your library? What are your favorite tips and tricks? Is this the most adorable program, or what?