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There is something exciting about an all-night gab- and veg-fest with a few of your closest friends, but, for some reason, slumber parties are usually put to a stop soon after college. Revive yourself this weekend by bringing this youthful ritual back into your life.

Once you’ve sent the children off to stay at their friends’ houses and sent your husband on a fishing trip, call up a few lively friends of your own and tell them to pack their sleeping bags pronto. If it’s been a while, you may have forgotten all the possibilities for an all-nighter, so here’s a list of some ideas to get you started:

• Have each friend bring all the nail polish they can find in their abode and pair up to give each other manicures. Chances are, you’ll end up with every color under the rainbow to choose from.
• Invite an Avon or Clinique representative over to give makeovers. Often they’ll do this for free, as long as a minimum amount of purchases is made.
• Before the slumber party, have each woman go through her closet to see if there is any clothing that is still in good shape but which she no longer wears. Then have everyone display their gently used clothes, and let the women go through and try on whatever they think they might like. Not only will you find some new-to-you fashions, but trying on the clothes and having a fashion show of your new finds will be great fun.
• Order in. Just for tonight, forget about the calorie watching and go all out with pizza, cokes and breadsticks. Or, if you’d rather, go to the health store and try all the health food items your husband and children refuse to try.
• Burn some calories! Remember the days of blaring your favorite tape? CDs may have taken the stage, but that doesn’t mean your dancing days are over. Pair off and see who can come up with the best moves.
• Games can be a good way to get to know each other better. It’s hard to be strangers when you’re tied up in a game of Twister. Other games to try, include truth or dare, Pcitionary and Outburst.
• Another way to get friends to know one another is to buy a book from the If...Questions from the Game of Life series. These books ask questions that you can each answer. For example, a question might be, "If you were on an island alone, what would you like to do?" It may make things go more smoothly if you go through the book and pick out some questions that are appropriate for the group. For instance, if the group is close, then personal questions may be a good idea, but if some of the women are meeting for the first time, they may not want to disclose too much about themselves to strangers.