Photo by: Entered/n2Photography
Eventful, a new Lawrence business, hosts themed slumber parties for kids, like the Minecraft theme pictured above.
If Instagram inspired people in my family to start a business, I was shocked to think what would happen. (The family’s Boston Terrier bow tie is in all the photos, so he might be the CEO.)
But a pair of Lawrence moms think they’ve found an Instagram idea that’s a big hit in the area. It includes tents in your living room.
More specifically, it includes a slumber party in your living room, or the basement, or any other place you think your insurance agent won’t object to.
Event, co-owned by Lawrence moms Heather Hull and Nancy McCready, will come to your home and arrange all the sleepovers for kids’ slumber parties. This includes air mattresses, inflatable tents, and accessories like night stands, night lights, banners, balloons, and party favor bags.
All items come in a variety of styles – about 20 in total – for the customer to choose from. If you have a lot of kids who want a video game party, you can choose a Minecraft, Super Mario or Fortnite theme, for example. Or there is a group that likes flowers and fruits. There is a theme for that. There are several sports themes from KU to K-State, as well as basketball, football or soccer options. There are also princesses, unicorns, Legos, outer space and TikTok themes. (I’ve found that someone’s tent – tightly closed – is the best place to do the tik tok dance.)
Hall and McCready are friends through their young children. Both companies that create slumber parties have seen a lot of exposure on social media. There are two companies in Kansas City, but the couple has yet to see one in Lawrence.
“We thought, why not?” McCready said.
Photo by: Entered/n2Photography
Eventful, a new Lawrence business, offers tents, nightlights, bedding and other accessories for kids to create slumber parties.
The business, which is not part of a chain or franchise, opened earlier this month. The company has started taking reservations, but has yet to host its first event, as events are usually booked on a first-come, first-served basis. But they are optimistic about how the idea will be received.
“I think families are looking for fun things to do that come out of the pandemic,” Hall said. “The ability to create magical memories over the past three years has been very important to the families we’ve talked to.”
The women talked to a lot of people, especially mothers, because they were often organizing slumber parties. Hall and McCready said they got ideas for their themes from other moms, who shared what their kids are most interested in right now.
It was during those conversations that they learned about another selling point they thought their business would offer: slumber party setup and teardown. The event staff spends time blowing mattresses, setting up tents, hanging banners and other final details on the theme.
Prices start at $175 for a two-tent party and $300 for a four-tent party. Additional tents are about $75 each. Since you are renting tents and decorations, have crew come back at the end of the party and pack everything up. Camps that offer certain items as party favors, such as a themed sleep mask or flashlight, will keep some items.
Neither mother had ever run a business like this before. Hall is an attorney, and McCready spent years in the marketing world, where she also worked as an event planner. A slumber party is definitely an event, so that was helpful.
But the two found it more beneficial just to be around children. Macready says the key to coming up with successful themes is to embrace your inner, childish mind.
“When you’re surrounded by children’s things, your mind is in that mode anyway,” she said. But one of the best things about it is that it’s so fun to think about what kids enjoy.
The business does not have a storefront location, but operates online under the name Eventful Lawrence.
