Sleepover Activities

 

Sleepover activities can be anything from games, to contests, to watching movies, or basically anything a group of preteen girls will enjoy doing together. It won't be difficult to find things that will make everyone laugh, though be a bit careful that the laughter isn't going to be at someone's expense. Have a talent show in which each guest has to do something they're not good at. Then, everyone gets laughed at, and no one feels picked upon. Or, let everyone try their skills at karaoke. Another popular game is Toastmasters, though it goes by many names. Here, each guest is given a topic (written on a piece of paper and drawn from a bag). The topics should be funny or even ridiculous, with each guest required to talk 3 minutes on their topic. You can give prizes for this one, based on originality, or based on sheer courage. Charades is another activity that never seems to become dated.

Makeovers are very popular with this age group. The guests can take turns trying to make someone as beautiful as possible, or look as horrible as possible. Some rules need to be in place here. No hair cutting, and no cosmetic changes that can't be cleaned away without too much of a problem. A guest's parents might be quite unhappy if their long and dark-haired daughter came home the next morning a short-haired bleached blond. So don't include scissors or bleach in your package of sleepover ideas. Painting finger and toe nails can be fun as can be face painting. These are activities where the digital camera is great to have handy. A variation is the blind makeover, where the person doing the makeover is blindfolded, and has to guess at what it is she is doing. No sharp instruments with this one obviously.

Girls love to talk and giggle, and they also enjoy watching movies. You daughter can probably make the decision here. One full-length feature may be enough, although two or even three might work. There are plenty of movies perfectly suited for preteen girls. Light comedies are usually a good choice, as are scary movies, though not too scary. Some of the recent animated features are great, even if most of the guests may have seen them. You can always sneak in a short feature, trying an old Laurel and Hardy feature such as "The Music Box", and introducing the girls to a form of entertainment that is just as funny today as it was when grandma was coming up with her own sleepover ideas. Then of course, you either had to catch Laurel and Hardy on TV, or have a 35 mm projector handy.

What's To Eat? - Pizza is almost always a successful food to serve. Have a couple of different varieties; one of them being vegetarian might not hurt. In keeping with sleepover ideas designed to keep everyone not only happy but feeling well, choose foods that are unlikely to send someone to bed with a stomach ache. You can't monitor how much someone may decide to eat of course, but going easy on the sweets is a good idea. Cake and ice cream are always popular, as are chips and popcorn, and as lots of girls in that age group are becoming a little sophisticated as to what they eat, have some fresh vegetable, dips, and fruit handy. Finally, the next morning you can send everyone home with a good breakfast. Pancakes and waffles will usually do the trick here, along with a glass of juice or a cup of hot chocolate, or a glass of chocolate milk. If you serve pancakes or waffles, have two or three different types of syrup, such as maple and blueberry. Get some huckleberry syrup if you have a few dollars to spare. It's expensive, but everyone will probably remember the breakfast for a long time. Huckleberry jam is also good, and also expensive.

Take a look at the above sleepover ideas, add a few of your own, and the chances are pretty good that everyone will have a good time, and your daughter will be getting invitations to many sleepover parties in the future.