Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be invited to a taping of The Martha Stewart Show! This episode’s theme was a slumber party and everyone had to be dressed for the occasion in pajamas and night time gear! You could not be admitted to the show without being in pjs!
I picked out my most fun pair of flannel pjs, bright purple ones with different color polka dots all over them. Since I actually wear them, they were a bit wrinkled, as flannel often gets, so I had to make sure they were all pressed and neat. After all, I may be seen on TV.
The debate was how to get into the city while wearing them since you had to arrive in them. I really did not want to take the train in my pjs, so I opted for just wearing the top over a tee shirt and wearing jeans with the bottom’s folded nicely in a bag that I carried. My dh made the comment that I wouldn’t be the first person in NYC to be wearing my pjs on the street, to which I replied, “True, but I am still sane”.
So I took the train in my pj top and got quite a few looks. Finally one lady said that my top was cute. I think she was being cautious or coy, not sure which. I laughed and told her where I was going and an instant look of relief came over her face. I wasn’t just a crazy lady who apparently forgot to get all the way dressed!
I arrived at Penn Station but still had to head downtown. Should I change now, and walk out on the streets in my entire pj ensemble? No, let’s get a bit closer to our destination and pray there is a Starbucks nearby with a clean bathroom. Lo, and behold, just a block before the studio was a Starbucks. Thank you, overpriced coffeehouse! I quickly disrobed and slipped on my pj bottoms, and continued to the show’s studio. (No, I did not buy coffee!)
We had to arrive at 8:30am sharp for the live show at 10am. There were releases to be signed and all the “pumping up” of the audience that needed to occur. I was happy to see that they had a coat check so I checked my bag (holding my real clothes) and my coat.
Joey, the man in charge of giving us the directions on how and when to clap, also gave us the scoop on how much swag we were going home with. It seemed like quite a bit! Yipee! Good stuff!
Soon it was time to head up to the studio itself. It was so Martha! Beautiful and huge! There was a stunning kitchen (wish I had that in my house), a crafting area, a living room and other small areas that could be used on the set.
The first guest was Darcy Miller, the editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings. The idea for the episode came from her own slumber party experience with her daughter Emma just a few months ago. She began by showing the audience the cute invitations she made which contained little illustrated pictures of Emma that she tucked into “sleeping bag” style envelopes. Apparently there was also moon, stars, sheep and teddy bears confetti inside the envelopes that Martha has still been finding all over her desk and rug. She went on to show the personalized pillowcases and flashlights they made at the party. In addition they created goodnight journals and bookmarks. There were giant versions of all the classic bedtime books, including “Goodnight Moon”, scattered around so the children could read. The best activity was a “Pin the Bear on the Ella” game, where the girls were blindfolded with sleep masks, and had to tape a cut out bear onto a blown up illustration of Ella. Here’s what the poster looked like:
You can actually download this image to use at your own slumber party and get all of the details for the crafts and activities at MarthaStewart.com.
Darcy then showcased the party food, brownies, cupcakes and a cake die cut moons, stars and teddy bears on them. Martha seemed quite excited by a bowl of Teddy Grahams. I think she really had never seen them before. Darcy assured her that anyone can get them and they weren’t custom made!
The next segment featured Bobbi Brown who came out to talk about beauty tips for teenagers and who showed us her new book (which we all got to take home). She made over a few teens from the audience and the transformation was really amazing and quite appropriate for the young ladies. I really enjoyed this segment since my girls love to experiment with makeup and what they can get away with wearing outside of the house. Lip gloss yes, eye shadow no. Maybe in a few years.
The last guest was Dylan Lauren from Dylan’s Candy Bar, a place of true decadence in NYC. She and two little girls from the audience created Candy Wrapper & Bubblegum Houses with Martha. She also showed us her new book (which we also took home) and there was a bubble gum blowing contest amongst the audience members that Joey was running around with ruler measuring for the biggest bubble. That was really funny.
Martha ended the show by creating some cute Halloween crafts with a young lady from the audience and shared some slumber party photo props ideas.
It was such a fun morning and I am glad I braved the streets of NYC in my pajamas.
If you missed The Martha Stewart Show yesterday, the slumber party episode re-airs on the Hallmark Channel today at 1pm and can be found online at MarthaStewart.com.
