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The Best Slumber Party Ideas: 17 Fun Things to do at a Sleepover Party

If your child has just announced that they want a sleepover party for their birthday this year then thank goodness, you found this article because we’re going to arm you with the very best slumber party ideas ever!!!

Unlike your standard kind of party, where the kids come for a few hours and leave, with a boys or girls sleepover party you have them for the entire night and a few hours into the next day, so you got to come up with plenty of fun things to do at a sleepover to keep the kids entertained. But don’t fret because we’ve got sooooo many great sleepover activities and sleepover ideas that the kids won’t get a chance to be bored!

In this slumber party for kids guide, we’ve got it all! We’ve got some great ideas for games to play at a sleepover, suggestions for slumber party treats, slumber party cake ideas and some slumber party themes you might like.  Whether you’re looking for slumber party tips for a younger kid’s sleepover party or sleepover activities for tweens and teenagers – you’re going to find some sleepover party ideas in this guide.

Let’s get planning that party!     

The best slumber party ideas: 17 fun things to do at a sleepover party

Below are 17 of our very best pajama party ideas. From good sleepover games for kids to just some general fun stuff to do at a sleepover – we’re going to show you how to have the perfect sleepover party. 

1. Get all matchy matchy!

Whether you’re hosting a boys or girls slumber party – all the kids will just love all having matching pyjamas – one of the easiest kids slumber party ideas ever!!! It’s a good way to kick off the slumber party fun too as the birthday child can give them out as the party guests arrive.

Plus matching slumber party pajamas doubles as a party favour – no need to send the kids home with a lolly bag – send them home with a cute pair of pyjamas instead. If your party has a theme, you can even get pyjamas to work with the theme. If you’re super keen, take it a step further and get them some matching toothbrushes and slippers too.

Matching pyjamas are great for any age – whether you’re after slumber party ideas for 7-year old’s or teenagers. Just buy age appropriate ones, of course. If you’re stuck on some ideas, here are some we think are super cute slumber party ideas for matching pjs:

2. Make your own t-shirt

If you’re not really into the matching pjs idea – how about getting the party guests to make their own t-shirt? Make your own t-shirts is great as it can be done instead of slumber party games (particularly great if you’re looking for say sleepover party ideas for 10-year old’s and over). All you need for this activity is some plain t-shirts and fabric paints.

Again you can tie the activity into the theme of the sleepover birthday party and even have a prize for the best-designed t-shirt.

 This is one of our favourite kid’s slumber party ideas for all ages and also doubles as a gift for the guests to take home with them.

3. A night at the movies

For super cool sleepover ideas, how about a night at the movies? You can theme the party to whatever interests your child – a Star Wars party, a Disney party or even a Marvel party. The options are endless.

When it comes to how to have the best sleepover movie night – you can keep it simple or really go all out. Some slumber party movie ideas include getting the kids to dress us as a character from the movie night theme, hire or purchase some DVDs, set up chairs or bean bags around the TV and you could even get a popcorn machine to really make it feel like a night at the movies.

This is another one of the good sleepover ideas for kids of all ages as you can modify the movies shown to suit the age. However keep in mind that younger children probably won’t be keen on sitting through more than one movie – some little ones won’t even be able to do that – but definitely perfect for a tween or teen sleepover party.

4. Set up a photo booth

When it comes to fun stuff to do at a sleepover, taking silly photos is definitely on the list. So why not make it a real feature and set up a photo booth for the kids to take photos of each other?

This is a really simple thing to do for a girls or boys slumber party and another activity that you can tie into a theme if you have one for the birthday slumber party. Either purchase a big poster of your choice or print one out (like your child’s favourite pop star or movie character) and purchase a bunch of random dress up items. Then let the kids dress up and take pics of each other – or allocate an adult to be the official photographer of the evening.

When the kids start to quiet down, download all the photos from the night on to multiple USB sticks and hand them out to the guests as gifts when they leave.

If you’re stuck on what things you need for a slumber party photo booth, you can buy whole prop sets online or buy a few random things such as:

5. Disco and karaoke nights

childrens party games singing

Most kids love to dance and sing – heck I’m pretty sure Mum and Dad will be joining in on this one! With a disco and karaoke night, no need to be worried about structured slumber games.  Set up a karaoke machine, some disco lights and have the best slumber party dance night ever!

Whether you’re looking for the best slumber party games for 9-year olds or teenagers – a disco/karaoke night is perfect for all ages – just choose age-appropriate music.

6. Host a water or Nerf gun battle

When it comes to fun sleepover ideas, I just love the idea of hosting a water or nerf gun battle. There are so many different cool sleepover games you could play when it comes to water fights and Nerf gun battles. You can make it as simple or over the top as you like. Let the kids play freely or set up structured battles for them to compete against each other. You can even have a prize for the last child standing.

If you’re providing the nerf guns, these are also great alternatives to a lolly bag too.

7. Have a pillow fight

The best sleepover ideas are usually simple ones – like having a pillow fight! But before the pillow battle begins, why not get the kids to design their own personalised pillowcases. All you need is some plain pillowcase covers, some fabric paints and let the kid’s imagination take over from there.

Sleepover craft ideas like this are great too because they make a great keepsake for the party guests and can be used instead of a party bag.

8. Have a pamper night

A pamper night is perfect whether you’re looking for tween sleepover party ideas or even 6-year-old slumber party ideas. A pamper/spa night presents so many good slumber party ideas. You can change it up depending upon the age and interests of the kids. Add multiple treatments for older children or just do one or two for younger kids.

As the party guests arrive, they can pop on matching robes, grab a cordial in fancy champagne flutes and sit back and relax with their feet in shallow buckets (like these), complete with a bubble bath.  If you’re stuck on slumber party spa ideas, here are a few ideas and things you’ll need:

Gather some friends to help you with the beauty treatments or ask some of the parents to stick around too.

9. Camp in the backyard

If your birthday child is keen on a camping party, but you’re not so keen on taking a bunch of kids to the wilderness – just camp in the backyard. So the kids feel like you are really camping in the wilderness, set up a fire pit and roast marshmallows, sing songs and maybe even tell a few ghost stories.

Again this is great for kids of all ages – just switch it up depending upon the ages of the kids. If you’re having a teen slumber party, they can pair up to sleep in smaller tents, but for 7 year old slumber party ideas, it’s probably best they sleep in one big tent with an adult to supervise.

Here are some things you might want to consider getting for your camping slumber party:

10. Host a board game tournament

Family friendly Brisbane Monopoly game

The beauty of sleepover game ideas is that they can be rather simple and given you have the kids for a longer time you can plan birthday slumber party games that last for hours. So with that being said, why not host a board game tournament. Either get the party guests to bring one of their favourite games along or get some new ones – (perfect as gifts for the birthday child) and host a game night.

If you’re after sleepover games ideas for tweens – you could make it structured, with heats, semi-finals and then announcing a board game champion. However, for the little ones, keep the games short and unstructured.

Here are some classic game ideas to consider:

11. Have a water balloon fight

Like we’ve said over and over again, little boy and little girl sleepover ideas don’t need to be complicated. Some of the most memorable slumber party activity ideas are the simple ones – like having the kids have a water balloon fight.

If you’re going to have a water balloon fight – I do recommend you get the balloons specifically designed for this. This Bunch O Balloons set is cool because you can fill 100 water balloons in like 60 seconds!

Also before the game commences, be sure to sit down with the kids and set some ground rules. After that, whether you have a structured water balloon fight or a free for all is completely up to you.

A water balloon fight is great if you’re after summer slumber party ideas – just make sure the kids bring a towel to dry off afterwards!

12. Make a birthday cake

Karen-Come_and_Cook 28-06-2016-2228

Given you have the kids for a lot longer at a slumber party, you could incorporate the making of the birthday cake as one of the fun slumber party activities you do. Like how cool would that be for you? You don’t even need to stress over the making of the cake beforehand! Just get the kids to do it.

Kids of all ages love to bake. If you’re hosting younger children, of course, you will need to help them quite a bit, but for a tween slumber party, you could probably get them to do it on their own with minimum supervision.

For themed slumber birthday party ideas, there is a huge range of different cake toppers you can buy too.

13. Host a LEGO Master’s tournament

class=” data-wpil-keyword-link=”linked”>LEGO® activities in Brisbane” width=”1024″ height=”768″>All kids love LEGO, and after the recent hit TV show, LEGO Masters hosting your very own LEGO Masters tournament would have to be one of the coolest sleepover party activities ever!

If you’re looking for party games for teenage sleepovers – make the tournament fairly structured, with more challenging games and announce a LEGO Master at the end of the evening. For younger children, keep the games for play based and unstructured.

If you have a LEGO crazed child, you probably have plenty of LEGO lying around already – but you could always buy a few more sets as birthday gifts or just a big crate of LEGO Blocks. You could also buy a small LEGO set or a LEGO Minifigure to give to each guest instead of a party bag.

14. Decorate your own pinata

Little kids just love a good pinata, don’t they? Heck, even the older kids love them if it means they get lollies. So if you need activities to do at a sleepover party, given you must entertain these little guys for a few hours anyway, why not get them to decorate their own pinata.

This does require some preparation from you beforehand though as you will need to make the pinata casing in advance given it takes 24 hours to set. This is what you need to do:

  • Mix one part water with one-part flour to create a paste.
  • Then blow up a balloon and cut newspaper into strips.
  • Dip the newspaper strips into the paste one at a time, squeezing off excess paste. Then apply the strips to the balloon.
  • Repeat the previous step over and over until the balloon is covered with three to four layers.
  • Be sure to leave an opening at the top for the lollies to be added later.
  • Let the balloon dry for at least 24 hours.

Once you are ready for the kids to decorate the pinata, pop the balloon and their good to go. It might be a good idea to make a pinata for each child or at least one between two to three children – so they don’t have to be too big.

Provide the kids with a range of craft items such as paints, glue, glitter, crepe paper – whatever you’ve got lying around. Then let the kids fill it with lollies of their choice and set it up so they can smash it open.

Slumber party crafts like this make for awesome slumber party ideas for entertaining younger kids.

15. In the dark treasure hunt

For older children, cool slumber party ideas involve making use of the dark.  While a treasure hunt may seem a little uncool for tweens, a treasure hunt in the dark of night can be pretty awesome.

Before all the kids get there, hide a range of glow stick accessories around the house – either inside or outside or even both.; Hide a range of different types of glow stick accessories, take note of how many of each type you hide and keep one of each type. Now each type of item can be traded in for something – what that is is up to you – maybe a chocolate bar, lollies or even a small prize. Make sure you have enough loot for the items that will be traded in.

Before the treasure hunt let the kids know what each item is worth, so they know what they are playing for – this will create some excitement. Depending on the age of the child, kids may need to go in pairs – also arm the kids with a torch too.

I’m sure you can come up with some other in dark slumber party game ideas, but this is a good one to get you started.

16. Host a jewellery-making party

Whether you are hosting a party for young kids or teenagers a jewellery making party is one of the good ideas for a slumber party because you can make different types of jewellery depending upon the age of the child.

For young children, just some simple beads with different length jewellery thread is all you need for them to make bracelets and necklaces. For older children, you can get some lovely pendants or nicer quality beads and have them make really lovely earrings, necklaces and bracelets.  Whatever the children make, they can take it home as a lovely keepsake.

17. Make pancakes for breakfast

Best Slumber Party Ideas

When it comes to slumber party breakfast ideas – get the kids involved with making pancakes. Depending on how you feel you can make them from scratch or just purchase a few pancake shaker mixes. Put out a bunch of toppings such as Nutella, maple syrup, sprinkles, berries, or whatever else takes your fancy and let the kids enjoy a breakfast they made themselves.

We love a themed party! Here are more themed party ideas:

Photo of author

Janine Mergler

Janine Mergler is a veteran Queensland teacher, graduating from QUT with a BEd majoring in Social Sciences. After many years in the classroom, Janine moved on to academia. She has proudly trained new generations of teachers in her role as a lecturer at Queensland University of Technology Faculty of Education. She has also worked in the Queensland Government as an education specialist, developing education resources and delivering community awareness programs to help families conserve water. Currently she is the owner and editor of Families Magazine, a publication specifically targeted at parents who value a quality education for children.  Janine leads a team of professionals who write about family lifestyle, early childhood, schools and education information and family-friendly events.

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