Startup provides slumber party packages
July 20, 2018
A Sioux Falls mom has turned the slumber parties she created for her children into a business.
Erika Boen of Wild Child Slumber Adventures sets up individual-size tents in a customerās house, decorates the area and packs up everything after the party.
āAt a regular slumber party, you never hear that they want to go to bed, but they are excited about sleeping in the tents,ā she said.
The cozy A-frame tents are open on both ends and are strung with lights and bunting. Boen offers more than 20 themes from colors to sports and unicorns. Each tent comes with an air mattress, linens, decorative pillow, lantern and snack tray. Rental add-ons include photo booth accessories and a disco light. Wild Child also sells personalized party favorsĀ and craft boxes for activities such as pillow decorating.
āI love it when they (parents) videotape the childās reactionā to seeing the tents, Boen said. āThe kids are blown away; they just love it.ā
The standard rental package is five tents with accessories for $250. Each additional tent is $40. Thereās a mini package for three kids for $170. The ābestieā option provides two tents for $60 that parents can pick up and return.
Boen and her husband have five children ranging in age from 1 to 9. Her mother taught her to sew when she was growing up, and she likes to use those skills to create Halloween costumes and other play items for her family. She made the tents for her kids when they had sleepovers with their cousins. Ā āMy mom was like, āI think you could do this as a business.ā ā
She started Wild Child Slumber Adventures last fall but has been busy with a full remodeling project on the familyās new home, so she hasnāt done a lot of promotion.
āSo far, itās just been word of mouth and Facebook,ā she said. The business has a website, wildchildslumberadventures.com.
āIām OK with it growing as slowly as it has been. ā¦ I donāt want to be a full-time employed mom.ā
But she does see the potential to grow and is already expanding her offerings to include an outdoor package with a round tent that can sleep six.
As a parent, she loves the idea of providing activities for kids that donāt center around technology.
āSlumber parties allow kids to make memories and build friendships.ā