Once upon a time, when we still thought we were princesses, our weekends consisted of staying up past midnight, fluffy pyjamas, eating copious amounts of chocolate and waking up parents with our giggling. Good times. Slowly however, these PG-rated nights began to be overshadowed by little things called alcohol and clubbing. Pyjamas gave way to skimpy vests, cocoa turned into Baileys and discussions about Barbie trickled into the inexhaustible topic of boys. Great times.

Having been an adult for years, ( officially anyway) I realise that I haven’t had a sleepover in a really long time. At least, not the kind that I can tell my mother about over brunch the next day. This summer, on my first truly girly holiday ever, I got a taste of it, and quickly decided to plan a good old-fashioned sleepover as soon as it’s not too hot for three girls to share a bed.

First off, I’d like to rectify the myth that at sleepovers girls prance around in their underwear groping each other and having pillow fights. I’d like to rectify it but I can’t. This is exemplified on a particular evening on the aforementioned holiday. Picture this: I am in the shower washing my hair, the bathroom door is open. My friend Alex has just stripped down in order to dry her bikini. My friend Bo, for some inexplicable reason, is also naked and is zinging around the room like cricket on speed. Suddenly, I hear a resounding thwack! It echoes throughout the room. This is how hard Bo spanked Alex as she was bending over. Yes, three girls (I suppose we’re women, really) that were naked and spanking (Bo) or spanked (Alex) or laughing (me). When I could breathe again I said, ‘I feel as if we’re in some guy’s fantasy right now.’ I thought about it a bit more: in our circle of friends we try to out each other as perverts whenever possible and we rub each other’s back as we fall asleep in nothing but underwear. If I add a food fight to that it’s the birth of a porno.

Whether your friends are as perverted as mine or not, here are a few tips to having the ultimate girly sleepover once more.

The Guests

This is the most important thing to arrange on the evening so firstly, don’t forget to actually invite people and secondly, try to pick people that are easy-going, with a good sense of humour and a sordid past for maximum entertainment.

Drink

There is nothing like getting tipsy on wine and giggles but please, don’t feel pressured to drink wine. Although vino has always been faithful to my friends and I, I find that cocktails are a bit more a adult. The marvellous thing about cocktails at sleepovers is that you can experiment. Recently I had white rum, cherry juice and tonic which was pretty damn yummy. I call my cocktails Lexitinis because I have no idea what I’m making so they turn out different every time. Of course, true to the nature of a sleepover, experimentation can take on a different form, so keep an eye on the number of margaritas you imbibe. Or don’t. Whatever floats your olive.

Food

Sleepover food should consist of all the foods one should generally eat in moderation: popcorn, chocolate, ice-cream, nachos, Smarties (why are there always Smarties at sleepovers?), pizza… go crazy. If a food fight erupts, make sure that your friend’s mother hasn’t just redecorated her living room with a lush cream carpet. If you do end up having a food fight, make sure you get rid of all the evidence; don’t forget that chocolate cake handprint on the fridge. This is all hypothetical advice of course. This never happened to me. The only rule to be applied here is to go crazy sans guilt. No fifteen year-old worried about calories back in the day so if you’re going to act like a teenager, go all the way. So to speak.

Entertainment

Often I find that, no matter what entertainment I prepare for the evening- movies, board games, cards, we always end up chatting away like a pack of hyenas. If you’re keen on the whole game thing, I recommend playing all your old favourites- truth or dare, UNO, Screw/ Marry/ Throw off a cliff… plus, you can adult-ise anything else (Trivial Pursuit, Gin Rummy) by making it a drinking game. Adults are easy to entertain; all they need is a bottle of Jose.

Attire

For optimum authenticity, I would insist on wearing proper pajamas, whether they be cotton candy pink with little lambs or something more suave like a lacy vest top. Either way, regular clothes should be totally forbidden.

Pampering

Aforementioned friend Alex is one of those super organic people who makes everything herself: scrubs, her haircut (a bit unfortunate), even her clothes. She introduced me to the simplest concept to take care of your hands and feet. It’s the simplest, but oh so effective. All you need is some warm water, some oil and some salt (rock salt works the best).

Basically, dump the water with a bit of oil in a big bowl and let your feet soak for a while. Make sure you put towels down so that you don’t ruin the floor when the liquid inevitably sploshes out (sorry about your marble, Mother). When your feet feel sufficiently soggy but not quite prune-y, grab some salt and massage your feet gently to exfoliate. They feel super soft immediately but keep going. When you’re done with one foot, put it back in to soak and do the other. I tend to go back and forth a couple of times because each soak softens the skin further. By the time your feet are done, your hands are pretty much done too. A bit more scrubbing later et voila! Your skin will be much smoother than a baby’s bottom.

To complete the procedure, I suggest you paint each other’s nails instead of doing your own. It’s so much more fun!

For your own masks, simply grab some oatmeal and mix it with some honey and run gently onto your face. I’ve tried this myself and it leaves the skin feeling uber-refreshed. Don’t forget the slices of cucumber, if only for comic effect.

When it comes to hair, I’ve tried it all- eggs, vinegar, mayonnaise but, no matter how positive the effect, I can’t get over the fact that I smell like eggs or vinegar or mayonnaise for days afterwards. Experiment at your peril.

The important thing to remember about sleepovers is that it’s all about bonding with your fellow women. As adults we don’t get to see our friends as often as we’d like, let alone have a good old-fashioned heart to heart. Sleepovers are a fantastic way to reconnect with your girls and a great reminder of the amazing, fierce bonds women have with one another.