The Ultimate Guide to Fun Slumber Party Activities!

Looking for a fun evening with your kids, filled with engaging activities that support their development? We've put together a small guide to help you plan the best activities for them to have an absolute blast.

Make sure all the little ones are wearing their kids' pajamas and let the party begin!

Activities We Don't Recommend

First, let's talk about the activities we don't recommend for a slumber party. If you want to organize an unforgettable and smooth event, you should choose calm activities that allow children to play peacefully so it doesn't prevent them from sleeping later.

Regarding board games, avoid Monopoly. Whether among friends or family, it's a conflict generator and children often struggle to manage strong emotions, so it's not a good idea to have them participate in this game before bedtime.

Next, avoid noisy games where children run around like hide-and-seek or tag. Again, we might be stating the obvious for some, but these kinds of games get kids excited and should be avoided for the evening.

Gather Around a Board Game

Clue or card games are perfect choices for a children's slumber party. They can have fun while working on their teamwork—these are games where everyone participates.

Here is a list of games you should like:

• Clue: This is a detective board game where players try to discover who committed a murder, where, and with which weapon. Players move around the board by asking questions to gather clues and eliminate suspects, locations, and weapons. The player who discovers the culprit, location, and weapon wins the game.
• Trivial Pursuit: This is a general knowledge board game where players answer questions to advance on a game board. Questions are divided into different categories such as history, geography, science, arts, sports, and leisure. The player who correctly answers one question from each category and reaches the final space on the board wins.
• Werewolf: This is a social role-playing game where players are divided into two groups, villagers and werewolves. The goal of the werewolves is to kill all the villagers while the villagers try to figure out who the werewolves are and eliminate them before everyone is killed.
• Pictionary: This is a board game where players draw words or phrases so their teammates can guess what they represent. Players advance on the board by correctly guessing the words drawn by their team.
• Scrabble: This is a crossword board game where players place letter tiles on a board to create words. Each letter has a point value, and the player who scores the most points by creating words wins.
• Dobble: This is a visual speed game where players must find the common symbol between two cards. Each card has a unique symbol, and players must be the first to identify the common symbol to score points.
• Dixit: This is an imagination and storytelling board game where players must guess which card was chosen by a player to illustrate a story. The player who successfully guesses the chosen card scores points, but the player who chose the card must be subtle enough so that not all other players easily guess it.

Board games have been a staple for centuries now; you can find them everywhere in supermarkets or in specialized toy stores.

There are hundreds, even thousands, and there's something for every taste and age—it's up to you to choose.

Join a Reading Session

After your evening activity, you can organize a calm-down session with some reading before bed. Choose a children's book, use a soothing voice, and tell them a story to help them fall asleep. It's proven that reading a story to children is a good way to calm their heart rate and help them fall asleep. In fact, many adults replicate this pattern by listening to audio podcasts before bed.

You can read a short story of 5 to 6 pages—that should be enough as you'll read slowly. There are stories for all ages, but here is a non-exhaustive list according to the children's age:

• From 3 to 6 years old, you'll find classics like Little Red Riding Hood or The Three Little Pigs easily in bookstores, but we also recommend The Little Red Hen, a fun story about a hen who wanted to make bread.
• From 6 to 9 years old, at this age, children love adventure stories like The Little Prince or Puss in Boots. If they aren't afraid of scary stories, you can also tell them Hansel and Gretel.
• From 9 to 11 years old, you can start telling them more complex tales, or even adult stories like Les Misérables, otherwise Le Petit Nicolas works perfectly.

With this list, you have a complete stock of many stories to tell them to help them fall asleep. Take advantage by visiting a bookstore—these books should be easy to find.

Organize a Superb Movie Marathon

A movie marathon is an experience to have at least once in your life, and a slumber party is the perfect occasion to live it.

Whether among friends or family, it's simple to organize. You just need to create a cinema atmosphere with dimmed lighting and a comfortable spot to sit, and you're all set: you can turn on the projector.

You surely have some essential sagas in mind, so here is a list that might give you ideas:

• Harry Potter - This saga follows the adventures of the young wizard Harry Potter and his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as they study at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and face their sworn enemy, Voldemort. It's the flagship saga of the 2000s, the first that comes to mind.
• Star Wars - This iconic science fiction franchise follows the adventures of Jedi and the Resistance in a galaxy far, far away. Even though the theme is more suited for boys, it can also work for girls.
• The Chronicles of Narnia - This series of films is based on the books by C.S. Lewis and follows the adventures of four children who discover a fantastic world called Narnia. The stunning landscapes and medieval universe appeal to both girls and boys!
• Toy Story - This animated film saga follows the adventures of toys that come to life when no one is looking. Beyond the plot, Toy Story teaches courage, loyalty, and friendship.
• Back to the Future - This trilogy follows the adventures of Marty McFly and his scientist friend, Dr. Emmett Brown, who build a time machine from a DeLorean car.
• Pirates of the Caribbean - This series of films follows the adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, an eccentric pirate, and his friends as they sail the Caribbean Sea in search of treasure and face their enemies.

With this list, you have over 15 movies to watch with the family!

Laugh Together with Karaoke!

Karaoke is excellent for having fun with friends. It's a great way to learn to free yourself from the judgment of others and might reveal hidden singing talents in your children!

To do it well, you need to create a playlist of songs that are easy to sing (preferably in English) and, if you wish, just the instrumental version without lyrics.

Here is a list of 10 songs that might help you choose the perfect tunes for your karaoke:

1. "Dance on the Moon" by Kids United
2. "Papaoutai" by Stromae
3. "I'm Leaving" by Vianney
4. "La Vie en rose" by Edith Piaf (covered by many artists)
5. "Tous les mêmes" by Stromae
6. "Chandelier" by Sia (French version by Naya)
7. "Tout oublier" by Angèle ft. Roméo Elvis
8. "Believer" by Kids United New Generation
9. "On écrit sur les murs" by Kids United
10. "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" from Disney

These songs are easy to sing and can certainly be performed by children. This list will be a good foundation for the rest of your playlist.

Now that you're familiar with the different activities to do during your slumber party, you can organize the party properly and welcome your guests in the best way possible.