Merry Christmas! How was your Thanksgiving?
Our Thanksgiving was great, the days just passed way too quickly. Having this house filled with family and two boisterous little boys was a joy! I was so sad when it was time for them to go home, I was almost in tears as they drove away. The only thing that made me feel a bit better was knowing I’d be seeing them again in just a couple of weeks.
Do you have little ones coming to visit this holiday season? A few weeks ago I ordered these pillows beds for my two grandchildren. (They are available here: Pillow Beds.) I ended up not using them because I ordered the King size version and could never find 10 King size pillows for what I considered a reasonable price.
If I had ordered the “Regular” size Pillow Beds that took Regular or Queen size pillows, I probably would have used these for the boys since I found those size pillows for a great price in Wally World. As it was, when I did the math, I decided I didn’t want to spend a large sum on King size pillows that I would probably never use again and would end up donating.
So I ended up going with air mattresses and these cute racing car tents instead. This worked out to be close to the same cost as the Pillow Beds (with King size pillows) would have been, but I knew storage would be easier since I could let the air out when they were no longer needed.
Aside: Wanted to add, the boys could have slept together in the bed in the guest bedroom but when they saw the tent beds, they were super excited and wanted to sleep in their own little tents. I think that was for the best because they don’t sleep together in the same bed at home and I was worried they would never get to sleep in the same bed. lol
Each air mattress came with a reusable pump so blowing them up was a breeze. Each air mattress went from flat to fully inflated in about 1 minute or less.
My sweet friend, Susan, sent fun Christmas bulb necklaces that light up for the boys and their parents. (Thank you, Susan!)
I decorated the tops of the boy’s tents with them before they arrived and they loved them! My daughter-n-law had been looking for necklaces like this, so she was thrilled to see these! You can find them in all styles here: Lightbulb Necklaces. They are a riot to give out to guests at a Christmas party!
The day before family arrived, I drove over to my nearby HomeGoods to purchase twin sheets. I couldn’t find any out on the floor so I asked a sales associate to look in back in case they just weren’t out. He couldn’t find any, either. I couldn’t believe they didn’t have one set of twin sheets in the entire store!
While I was walking around trying to decide if I should brave the holiday traffic and drive to another store to look for sheets, I came across these adorable dinosaur sleeping bags for $19.95 each. I knew the boys would love them and they would work temporarily until I could purchase some actual sheets. They did love them and took them home to use while watching TV or a movie. I forgot to take a photo but when you lifted up the mouth of the dinosaur, it had Rawwwwrrr scrawled across inside. lol
I ordered sheets on Amazon that had great reviews and were said to be super soft. Here’s how the beds looked with the sheets. They came in 20 different colors and I went with gray. My daughter-in-law later commented on how soft they were.
I set the boy’s beds up in my “formal” living room area since that was the only room with enough space to have both of them in the same room.
The boys loved their tent beds and were fast asleep every night within minutes of crawling inside.
If you have little ones coming for Christmas and need some additional sleeping options, you’ll find the tents beds, air mattresses and sheets linked below. The tents come in several styles, so I’ve linked to them all below. Happy Holidays to you!
Soft Sheets in all sizes and 20 Different Colors
Cottage House Tent Bed/Playhouse
Secret Castle Tent Bed/Playhouse
Sadly no little ones yet but this is such a cute idea! I remember making forts as a child in our bunk beds, under tables and stretched across couches and chairs in the living room – I can only imagine how their return countdown goes on each day!!! Fun Susan!
What fun those two boys had sleeping in tents at grandma’s. Know the feeling of watching family drive away at the airport after visiting. I have to wait a whole year! So glad you are close enough to drive and hope the weather cooperates when the time comes.
Hi, Susan.
Great article! It takes me back to when my 3 boys were little! FYI, just a quick note to let you know that I saw the Christmas bulb necklaces by the checkout in Walgreen’s tonight in case any of your readers are looking for them.
The race car tents and sleeping bags were adorable. No little ones spending the night but sure would be fun. Judy
Oh, Susan you are the best grandmother to set up these adorable tent beds. I loved how you even had those special drinks in the fridge for them. What wonderful memories for your grandsons.
Wow, you had a lot of surprises and special things for the boys. I bet that they are still talking about it too. Those race car tents, well they will just have to return to Atlanta again and again to enjoy them before they get to big. Right?
Super cute, Susan. Wish I had a grandson or two.
Awww, too sweet! How fun to sleep in a tent at Grams and those dinosaur sleeping bags were perfect! They hit the jackpot in being able to take them home, you are an awesome Gram!
What a sweet, kind, fun-loving Grandma you are! Your grandsons are lucky to have you!
Oh those are so adorable! I wish I had grandchildren just so I could use these! Or any children come to that! Our youngest family member is now21! So glad you had such a wonderful visit!
Aw, the love of grandmother! You are just the best Susan
My kids who are now 32 and 40 loved bed tents when they were little. Now my grandson who is 7 loves his. One of the best things I have bought.
I love seeing your inner Grandma come out in styling for the boys, Susan! I found a cute dinosaur bedding on the Uncommon Goods website and immediately thought of you!
The tent beds are adorable and I also love the dinosaur sleeping bags. You have two well loved and cared for little guys right there. 😀
I was wondering where they would sleep, I thought maybe the FROG, but setting them up in your “someday library” worked great. So glad you got to have them for Thanksgiving.
Their parents like sleeping in the FROG. They like it because the sofa makes into such a large bed. I thought it made into a Queen size but my dil was saying that it’s def bigger than their queen bed, so maybe it makes into a King. Anyway, they prefer it. Thanks, Pam! It was so much fun having them here! It was hard to not constantly spoil them with treats! 🙂
I know, I’m sure that is hard. But soon you’ll be seeing them again, for Christmas. Oh my, I can just imagine your car packed full of presents like last year. 😀
Remembered seeing this post way back when and had to go looking for it. How have these tents held up? Do the boys still enjoy them? Looking for ideas for my little grands!
They’ve held up great. The boys slept in them again this past Thanksgiving. I left them up in the living room since I never use that room and I didn’t even have to add air to them. I thought they would have lost a bit of air, but they didn’t. The tent part has held up great also. The boys were super excited to sleep in them again, they love them.