Soon they will arrive. When they do, take their things and put them in your room (or wherever you will sleep). Put their presents on a table or the floor. It doesn't have to be a huge game, you can just have fun tossing the balloons around at the beginning of the party. You can watch TV while waiting for your guests, or just have snacks and talk. You could go with karaoke, a fashion show, or a dance party. Stick with activities everyone likes and can get excited about! Some more party games are limbo and freeze dance. For limbo, any long pole or stick will do. Usually it will be pizza, but it can be something else. If you are ordering pizza, get some plain, some pepperoni, and whatever your friends like. Have drinks ready, like water, juice and soda. (Don't get too full for dessert!). Remember to add candles to the cake and sing "Happy Birthday." It's good to have someone write down what you get, so you can write thank-you cards later. Say thanks anyway to who got you the gift, even if you don't love it, it's still nice. Read cards, if any. Sometimes, people write personal cards, so ask before you read it out loud. This is a classic sleepover game that almost everybody loves. Just make sure the dares aren't too crazy, and the truths nothing too personal (but asking about secrets is the fun of the game). You can also paint each other's nails. Get a lot of colors, and take turns doing your friend's nails. You can also do this with other makeup if you want. To make sure that all guests are okay with the movie you watch, have three or four ready and take a vote on what they want to watch (you vote too.) If it's a tie, just pick one. And besides, who said you can only watch one movie?

Summary: Greet your guests. When all of the guests come, start the activities (if any). Eat dinner when it's ready. Eat cake (or whatever is for dessert). Open presents. Play "Truth or Dare" if you want. Consider doing makeovers or other classic sleepover activities. Watch movies.

Try not to eat in your car, as the food can attract ants. Tell passengers not to eat in the car so they do not leave crumbs or bits of food that the ants will be drawn to. If you do eat in your car, keep food in a wrapper and try not to spread crumbs or bits of food around. Place wrappers, paper, and fliers in a designated garbage in the car. Then, empty the garbage at the end of the day so it does not sit in your car overnight and attract ants. Get in the habit of taking garbage out of your car at the end of the day so ants are not drawn to it. Inspect parking lots and garages for ant colonies or hills. Avoid parking in areas with ant hills, as this will increase the likelihood the ants will get into your car. Keeping your garage clean and protected with ant traps will ensure it is a safe place to park your car. Vacuuming and wiping down the interior of your car can help to remove food and debris that tends to attract ants. Get in the habit of cleaning your car every few weeks so ants are less likely to take up residency. You may pay for a car detailing at a car wash every few months so your car can get a good clean done by professionals to keep it free of ants.

Summary: Keep food out of your car. Remove trash from the car regularly. Check the area for ant hills before you park. Do a good clean of the interior of your car every few weeks.

Sometimes particularly impactful experiences can leave noticeable physical traces indicative of emotional trauma. If you have certain symptoms, it could be the case that the painful memories you have are associated with some emotional trauma that is affecting your physical health. No two people will ever express their reaction to trauma in the same way, so it's important to consider your own situation individually, perhaps in dialogue with a mental health professional. Common physical symptoms of emotional trauma are trouble sleeping due to insomnia or nightmares, a racing or unsteady heartbeat, physical aches and pains all over your body, being easily startled, tiredness, trouble concentrating, agitation, being on edge, and tense muscles. These symptoms can be signs of anxiety related to painful memories in the past. Engaging with and learning how to manage any anxiety that arises for you can help in easing the effects of painful memories in your everyday life. The first thing you have to figure out is precisely how painful memories might be impacting your current life. Because particularly impactful experiences in the past can affect you in the most subtle of neurological and psychological levels, you are not always aware of how they might be influencing your behavior in the present. While all of your current behaviors and ideas are influenced to some extent by past behaviors, those that have left painful memories often affect you more than others. For example, you could experience a large degree of anxiety around lakes because of a near death experience in water, or you could perhaps unconsciously avoid certain activities or locations that remind you of a deceased loved one. Whatever the case, learning exactly how such painful memories might be affecting your life in the present in order to come to terms with them and incorporating their effects into your everyday life. To figure out how they are impacting you, take an inventory of how you react to certain things. Think back to any noticeable changes you think you may noticed in yourself between the traumatic event and how you act now. If you aren't sure you can see any changes yourself, ask those around you have different you act or if they have seen any changes in your behavior that may point to the areas of your life the memories have impacted. Whenever you start to feel anxiety in situations that remind of painful memories, engage with the anxiety. Identify the memories as such and experiment with what's happening as opposed to simply removing yourself from the situation entirely. Psychologists have several different techniques for working through issues like this, but two similar and effective methods are mindsight and mindfulness. In either case, the goal here is to learn to pay attention to when anxiety arises. When it does, focus on aspects of the situation you can control, such as your breath, in order to slow the situation down enough to where you now longer feel overwhelmed. Since breathing is one of the things you will typically always have some degree of control over, and it is connected to so many different physiological processes in your body, learning to regulate it can be a great tool for reducing anxiety when it arises. It can also be helpful to become more aware of your surroundings in general. Do this first by yourself at home. Start by breathing in slowly, holding it in, and then releasing just as slow. Try to notice any sensations that arise when this occurs so you will be able to make such connections between your anxiety and your breath during other situations outside of your home. Living in the past and in your painful memories is not healthy. You will never go forward or enjoy new things if your mind is always stuck in the past. This kind of rumination has been linked with depression, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and many other issues. In order to stop ruminating, take part in activities that help your focus on the present or future. Make plans for the weekend with friends, think about a vacation you want to save up for, or think about career or life goals that you have yet to achieve. Anything positive will help you keep your focus from spiraling down into your painful memories. If you are still worried about changes you could have made in the past associated with the memory, think about the ways you can avoid such events in the future. If it was not under your control, think about how far you've come since the event and focus on the positive aspects of your current or future endeavors.
Summary: Recognize the physical signs of emotional trauma. Figure out the impact. Engage with anxiety. Focus on the future.