Long Island companies help plan children's birthday party sleepovers
Two new Long Island companies want to bring some pizzazz to kids’ sleepovers.
Cindy Ocampo, 42, a library teacher from Holtsville, launched CC Slumber Party in March with her sister, Chrissy Tetrault, 46, a florist from Kings Park. The duo sets up individual teepee-style tents in the home — one for each guest. They pitch them indoors before the party, complete with an air mattress and fitted sheet in each, and they come back to pick them up the following day. The setup also includes individual tray tables, lanterns and sleep masks. Guests bring their own pillows and blankets.
“We work with customers to come up with a theme,” Ocampo says. “What’s hot right now are unicorns and mermaids.” The company also offers the themes pink frenzy, camping and sports, and is working on adding a glow-in-the-dark theme. “This is an idea that’s huge on the West Coast,” Ocampo says.
Ocampo isn’t the only Long Islander who is getting into the sleepover business — Allison Lynch, a seventh-grade teacher from Islip, debuted her outdoor sleepover business, The Sleepover Fairy, in July, bringing a tent that sleeps between six and 10 kids to clients’ backyards, depending on whether they choose an air mattress option. The tent, she says, looks like it belongs at the circus and will cost $400 for setup, air mattresses, bedding, themed décor, lighting and next-day pickup.
The bedding has themes, including camouflage, Minecraft, floral and black-and-white pineapple. The Sleepover Fairy is already booked for July and August but has openings for September and October, Lynch says.
Ocampo says she thought that the partygoers would just enter their indoor tents when it was bedtime, but she found that isn’t the case. She says they usually want to put their pajamas on as soon as they get to the party. “It’s hard to get them out of the tents,” Ocampo says.
Ocampo’s Bestie Package for two tents is $100. A party package with five tents starts at $300, with each additional tent costing $50, Ocampo says. The company can accommodate up to 15 tents, she says. C Slumber serves Suffolk County, and services Nassau for an additional fee depending on the distance, she says.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
