If you’re hosting a kids sleepover you’ll probably notice there’s a point when the excitement starts to wear off. The kids need something to keep them entertained and it’s your job to get it right.
The games are what will make or break the sleepover. Get them right and you barely have to do anything else – the night runs itself. Get them wrong, or worse, have nothing planned at all, and you’ll spend the whole evening struggling to keep control.
I’ve hosted more sleepovers than I can count between my own kids and being the sort of house in our street where other kids would wander in and not leave!
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So I’ve got together the games that I know work sorted roughly by the time of night you’ll want to use them. Because a game that’s perfect at 7pm is the last thing you want to start at 11pm when you’re trying to get everyone to settle.
Getting the Timing Right
Before we get into the actual games, it’s useful to quickly touch on the pacing because this is the thing most people mess up.
A sleepover isn’t one long block of fun. The kids will arrive buzzing with energy and that energy needs somewhere to go early in the night.
It’s later on that you want to slowly bring things down. And by that time you’re hoping they’ll sleep and you’re not fighting against a spike from all the sugar they’ve consumed.
So I always plan in three phases. Loud active games first to burn off that initial energy. Then a middle stretch of creative and sitting down games once they’ve tired themselves out a bit. And last is the calm, quiet games.
The mistake I made at one of the first sleepovers I hosted was saving the exciting”m stuff for late. That just doesn’t work.
By about 10:30 I had six over tired kids playing flashlight tag and screaming away. They thought it was great, my next door neighbor was less impressed.
So make sure all the excitement happens early. You’ll be thanking yourself later on.
One last tip – have more games ready than you think you’ll need. Kids go through them faster than you expect and they get bored super easily. Its better to have a list you don’t fully use than run out an hour before bedtime.
Active Games to Burn Off Energy
This is the best place to start. These games are loud and get the kids running around which means they’ll get a lot of energy out of their system.
Sardines
This is hide and seek flipped on its head and it’s brilliant for sleepovers. One person hides while everyone else counts. Then the seekers split up to look – but with a twist – when you find the hider, you don’t shout it out. You squeeze into the hiding spot with them.
Over time more and more kids cram into the same hiding place (hence “sardines”) until there’s just one person left wandering round the house wondering where everyone went. The last person to find the group is the next to hide.
Why it works is that it flips the usual dynamic. Instead of everyone scattering they end up giggling and sushing each other all crammed into a closet or behind a sofa.
Best for: Ages 6 and up, works in any house with a few good hiding spots
Flashlight Tag
Turn off the lights, give everyone a flashlight and play tag in the dark. The person who’s “it” tags people by shining their beam on them and calling their name. Once you’re tagged you’re out (or you become “it” depending how you want to work it).
You can play this inside with the lights off or outside in a yard if you’ve got one and the weather’s on your side. The darkness makes it extra exciting in a way that normal tag won’t.
A bag of cheap glow sticks makes this even better and helps you keep track of where everyone is. You can get a big pack of glow sticks for a few dollars and they double up as decorations and party favors too.
Best for: Ages 7 and up, needs a space you can properly darken
Balloon Keep Up
This is the easiest game on this list and one of the most fun. Blow up a balloon and the only rule is it can’t touch the floor. Everyone works together to keep batting it up in the air.
If that too basic then you can make it harder as you go – no hands, only heads, everyone has to touch it before it can land twice, that sort of thing. Add a second balloon as well, then a third.
It costs almost nothing, is great for any age and any number of kids, and it’s a useful for use when you feel the energy ia dropping and need to quickly make things fun.
Be sure you check for any balloon allergies first though and keep an eye on younger ones with the popped bits.
Best for: All ages, any group size
Freeze Dance
Put on some music, everyone dances and when you pause the track they have to freeze instantly. Anyone caught moving is out. Last one standing wins.
Younger kids especially love this and it’s a great way to tire them out. Let the kids take turns being in charge of the music – they really get in to catching people moving, which is half the fun. For older kids you can up the stakes by making the freeze poses sillier and harder to hold.
Best for: Ages 5 to 10, though older kids will join in if there’s enough silliness
Classic Sitting Down Games
Once everyone’s run off that first burst of energy it’s time to bring things down with games you can play sat in a circle.
Would You Rather
Would You Rather? Family Card Game: Fun Questions, Hilarious Answers, Lively Conversations!
The forever game. Pose a “would you rather” question and everyone has to pick and explain why. “Would you rather be able to fly or be invisible?” “Would you rather eat only pizza forever or never eat pizza again?”
The good ones get some fun debates going. Kids will argue about completely ridiculous scenarios and it tells you a lot about how their little minds work.
You can make up your own or get a kids would you rather card deck so you’re not trying to come up with questions at 9pm.
Keep a few really gross ones in your back pocket too. “Would you rather have spaghetti for hair or sausages for fingers”.
Best for: Ages 6 and up
Two Truths and a Lie
Each kid says three things about themselves – two true, one made up – and everyone else has to guess which is the lie.
It’s a great icebreaker if the kids don’t all know each other very well and even friends who’ve known each other for years will be surprised by what they learn.
Best for: Ages 8 and up
The Telephone Game
Everyone sits in a line or circle. The first person whispers a sentence to the next, who whispers what they heard to the next and it goes all the way down. The last person says it out loud and you compare it to the original.
It always ends up with something completely different and random or weird, which is the whole point. Start with something a bit complicated to get a really funny result.
It’s free and simple and pretty much guaranteed to get laughs.
Best for: Ages 6 and up
20 Questions
One person thinks of an object, person or animal. Everyone else gets up to twenty yes or no questions to figure out what it is. Whoever guesses right thinks of the next one.
It’s calm and clever and it gets the kids thinking strategically about which questions narrow things down fastest. Good for around the mid evening when you want them engaged but not going crazy.
Best for: Ages 7 and up
Creative and Performance Games
These are the games that let the kids show off and will make for some brilliant photos and videos they’ll love to look back at.
Charades
The classic. Act out a movie, book, animal or action without speaking while everyone tries to guess. Split into teams to make it competitive or just play it free for all.
For younger kids make the categories simple like animals and actions. Older ones can handle movies and TV shows.
Write a load of prompts on slips of paper beforehand and stick them in a bowl so nobody’s stuck trying to think of something on the spot.
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Best for: Ages 6 and up
Lip Sync Battle
Pick songs, give the kids hairbrush microphones and let them perform. You can split them into pairs or groups and have the others vote on a winner.
This one’s a bit of a confidence test – some kids get in to it straight away and others need a bit of coaxing. Never force a shy kid to perform solo if they don’t want to.
Let them go in pairs or groups if they’d rather. The kids who do throw themselves into it love it though.
Best for: Ages 8 and up, especially groups that are comfortable with each other
Pictionary
Draw a word or phrase while your team tries to guess it before the timer runs out. You can use a proper kids Pictionary set or just make your own prompts and use any paper and pens you have lying around.
It rewards quick thinking over drawing skill which makes for a level playing field. Some of the worst artists end up being the best at this because they go for the obvious rather than the artistic.
A whiteboard works even better than paper if you happen to have one as it’s easier to wipe and start fresh.
Best for: Ages 7 and up
Spooky Games for After Dark
No kids sleepover is complete without at least a little bit of scary stuff once it’s properly dark. Don’t go overboard though – some kids love it but others will be up at 2am needing a parent.
Murder in the Dark
Tear up slips of paper, one marked with an X (the murderer) and one marked with a D (the detective), and leave the rest blank. Everyone draws a slip in secret. Turn off the lights.
The murderer “kills” people by tapping them on the shoulder and when you’re tapped you fall and count to ten before lying still. The detective’s job is to figure out who the murderer is.
It sounds darker than it plays – kids treat it like the silliest game ever and the over the top deaths are the best bit. It’s a sleepover staple for a reason.
Best for: Ages 9 and up
Ghost Stories by Flashlight
Not a game exactly but still a sleepover classic. Get everyone in a circle with the lights off and a flashlight held under a chin for maximum spooky effect. Take turns telling scary stories.
The best version is the build a story format where each person adds a sentence and you go round and round, with everyone trying to make it scarier or sillier than the last.
Keep it age appropriate – so for younger kids “funny spooky” is better than frightening every time.
Best for: Ages 8 and up, with the scare level dialed to suit
Wink Murder
A quieter cousin of Murder in the Dark and good if you want the spooky theme without the running about. Everyone sits in a circle. One person is secretly chosen as the murderer (point at someone with eyes closed or draw slips).
The murderer “kills” others by winking at them, and once winked at, you wait a few seconds then slump. Everyone else tries to spot the winker before they get the whole room.
It’s sneaky and the slow deaths around the circle are great.
Best for: Ages 8 and up
Minute to Win It Challenges
If you want a bit of structure and some friendly competition set up a few quick challenges where kids have sixty seconds to complete a silly task. These are easy to throw together from stuff you already have at home.
A few that always work well:
- Cookie face – place a cookie on your forehead and move it down to your mouth using only your face, no hands
- Cup stack – build a pyramid of plastic cups then take it back down into a single stack before time runs out
- Cotton ball scoop – blindfolded, use a spoon to move cotton balls from one bowl to another balanced on your head (sounds easy, isn’t)
- Junk in the trunk – strap an empty tissue box to your back filled with ping pong balls and shake them all out by wiggling, no hands
- Stack attack – keep a stack of small candies balanced on a popsicle stick held in your mouth
Run them as a mini tournament with points and a small prize for the overall winner and you’ve got a good half hour of fun.
Scavenger Hunt
A scavenger hunt is a brilliant way to use up a big chunk of the evening and it works indoors, outdoors or both.
Write up a list of things for the kids to find or do – it could be physical objects (something blue, a feather, a coin older than they are) or photo challenges (take a selfie with the family pet, a photo of everyone making the same silly face). Split them into teams, set a time limit and send them off.
You can theme it however you like. A “house mystery” version where each clue leads to the next spot works really well and feels like a proper adventure. For a darker twist that suits the sleepover vibe, do a glow in the dark hunt where they need flashlights to find items you’ve hidden around the yard.
The planning takes a little effort up front but it is worth it. A good scavenger hunt can keep the kids fully absorbed and use up a lot of time.
Calming Games to Wind Things Down
Every parent hosting a sleepover get to the point where they need the energy to come down and the right quiet game does that far better than just telling everyone to go to sleep (which never works).
The Quiet Game
Whoever can stay silent the longest wins. Yes it’s a bit of a trick to get some peace, and yes, the kids know it’s a trick, but it works anyway because they get competitive about it.
Have a small prize for the winner and watch a noisy room go silent in seconds. It rarely lasts more than a few minutes but those few minutes of calm can be the reset you need.
Best for: All ages
Sleeping Lions
Everyone lies down completely still and quiet pretending to be sleeping lions. One or two kids stay up as the “hunters” who walk around trying to make the lions move or laugh but without touching them. Any lion who moves or giggles is out and joins the hunters.
It’s a lovely way to bring the energy right down at the end of the night. By the time you’ve played a couple of rounds you’ll often find a few of them have drifted off.
Best for: Ages 5 to 10
Story Chain
Lying down in their sleeping bags the kids build a story together one sentence at a time going round the room. Start it off yourself with something gentle and let it go wherever they take it.
As they get sleepier the story gets more rambling and nonsensical, It’s a low key way to settle everyone and often the gaps between contributions get longer and longer until you realize half of them have nodded off.
Best for: Ages 6 and up
A Few Tips for Keeping the Peace
The games are important but a smooth sleepover comes down to a bit of management too. So some tips:
Have a backup for the kid who’s not enjoying themselves. There’s often one child who doesn’t want to play whatever everyone else is doing. Don’t force them. Have a quiet corner with some books, drawing stuff or a simple puzzle so they’ve got an out that doesn’t upset the group.
Watch for the overtired tipping point. There’s a moment, usually late, where the excitement tips into meltdown. The kids get giddy, then they’ll turn a bit snappy and then one of them is crying. Learn to spot it coming and switch to a calm game before it happens rather than after.
Keep snacks going but watch the sugar timing. Hungry kids get cranky but a sugar rush right before you want them to sleep is asking for trouble. Give them the sweet stuff earlier in the evening and move to other snacks as the night goes on.
Set expectations early. A quick “here’s roughly how the night’s going to go” at the start helps. Kids will settle better when they know there’s a plan, even a loose one.
Be ready for the homesick one. Sometimes a kid who was fine all evening hits a wall at bedtime and wants to go home. Have a parent’s number handy, stay calm and don’t make a big thing of it.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to fill every single minute or run a super tight schedule. Kids are good at entertaining themselves once they’ve warmed up, your job is mostly to give the night some shape and have a few games ready for when things start slowing down or stalling.
Keep a couple of calm games in reserve for when you need them and don’t stress about it being perfect.
Pick a handful of these and have them ready to go. That will be enough and you’ll be the house everyone wants to sleep over at.
For more help see our sleepover party ideas.
Sally Gibson is the founder of Someone Sent you a Greeting, a holiday/celebration website. Sally’s writing work has been mentioned in Woman’s World, Yahoo, Women’s Health, MSN and more. If you have any questions get in contact with one of the team via the about page.