Host a Preteen Sleepover

Are you a tween girl that feels that you and your friends need to hang out more? Well, a sleepover is an excellent idea! If you have no idea how to host your sleepover, but want it to be a blast, check out this article. It will cover games, snacks, movies, and more tips that will make you bound to have a blast. (Just make sure you have a parent's permission first!)

Steps

Preparation

  1. Invite your friends. Remember, this isn't a birthday party, so don't invite more than ten people. Too many people will be hard to keep happy, Have Fun As a Tween, and you'll need more room to sleep and more food. Just invite some of your closest friends and try not to exclude anyone. You'll have more fun with people you really know, and you'll feel more comfortable, as well as them. You could invite just one friend, but usually, a small group is loads more fun. Anywhere from three to six friends is a good amount. Keep these things in mind before deciding who and who not to invite:
    • Try inviting a girl you want to know better, making sure to be friendly towards her to make her feel welcome. This doesn't mean a total stranger, but maybe you came across a girl at school who loves, for example, Harry Potter. If you have a similar hobby or interest, you can do that at the sleepover while making a new friend. But, don't invite more than two people you don't know well. There could often be awkward silences, and you may make your closer friends left out.
    • Don't invite the "popular" girl(s). Unless you are actually friends with them, inviting these girls is generally not a great idea. Just because she is popular doesn't mean you'll be all "cool". What will you even do? And anyway, what about your actual friends?
  2. Get some food. You'll need dinner, dessert, breakfast, snacks, and drinks. Try buying the food only a couple days before, so you won't eat it all! You can also go out to eat ice cream, dinner, or breakfast (but not all three!). Try picking food that isn't very different, something that everyone will probably like. Don't get, for example, fish or veggie burgers. You can, however, have a choice of regular or veggie burgers. So, always have something that everyone will want to eat. Below are some simple suggestions for all the food and drinks you'll need. But, you can also think of your own!
    • Dinner-The most common dinner at a sleepover is pizza, which pretty much everyone likes. If you're getting pizza, always have at least one plain and one with a topping. (pepperoni always works). Other dinner choices are chicken, pasta, hot dogs and hamburgers. Know what your friends like, but if you don't know, just get pizza.
    • Dessert-For dessert, be creative! A great idea is to make dessert at the party, like ice cream sundaes, cupcakes, or a cake. You can just decorate them, or make them from scratch. Or, you can have a premade cake or brownies. It will save time if you want to do more activities.
    • Drinks-Always have water and soda. Sprite is always good to get, but if your friends like Coke, 7 Up, Root Beer, etc., get those as well. Fruit juice is good, too.
    • Breakfast-For breakfast, make your own waffles or pancakes, or have a parent make them. You can also have french toast sticks. Always have some delicious fruit, and orange juice and milk to drink.
    • Snacks-Of course you'll need snacks. Stock up on chips, pretzels, veggies with ranch or yogurt dip, popcorn, candy, fruit, etc. Always have something healthy!
  3. Decide where you will be sleeping. If your bedroom is big enough for the amount of people coming over, that's a great choice. Make sure that, if you are sleeping in your bedroom, that there is enough floor space. It would be unfair for the guests to sleep on the floor and for you to sleep on your bed. Unless your room has a lot of floor space, sleep somewhere else. If a large area in your basement is finished, sleep there. An alternative is the family/mud/living room. Anywhere that has a TV, floor space, and a table for snacks should be a good place to sleep and hang out.
    • Try to pick a hangout spot where siblings and parents generally won't be. You wouldn't want to be bothered, unless you want your brother or sister joining in on the fun. Try to find out where in the house they'll be (most likely their room), or if they won't be in the house at all!
  4. Clean. Get a trash bag and throw away any junk. Put dirty clothes in the washer or hamper, and put clean ones away. Dust off the TV, and bring any pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags to where you are sleeping. If necessary, vacuum the floor. Put all snacks in bowls and set them on a table. Charge your iPod (if you have one) so it will be ready to play. Make sure you have lots of games and movies, too. You don't have to do any major cleaning, just make sure the floor is clean, and your house looks presentable.
    • Another good idea is to clean the bathrooms. Your guests will be going there, so it better be fresh and clean for them! Plus, your parents will be proud. Take out the bathroom trash, fix any rugs, change the toilet paper, soap, and towel, and clean the sink. If you don't know how to clean the toilet, leave that to your parents.

When the Guests Arrive

  1. Paint nails. Get some different colors of nail polish and give each other manicures and pedicures. If you want, do some nail art for extra pizazz. You could also get some gem stickers to stick on your nails. Have fun, and be creative with colors and designs. Check out these articles for cool ideas:
  2. Play Truth or Dare. Sit in a circle and have music playing if you want. Have somebody to go first, and ask "Truth or Dare?" For truth, ask an embarrassing question. For dare, make the player do something scary, slightly painful, or just plain weird. Remember, though, don't make truths too personal, and you don't have to answer! Same with dares. Never do anything dangerous. Your friends will understand, and if they don't, they aren't good friends.
    • Good Dares:Make out with a pillow/stuffed animal, make an impression of somebody in or out of the group, describe someone in the group in 5 words and have everyone guess who it is, have a conversation with the wall.
    • Good Truths:What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done, Who is your crush, What's the baddest thing you've ever done, If you could change three things about yourself what would they be?
  3. Play games. Whatever you can find works great, but some ideas are UNO, Scene it (with your favorite movie), Play Twister, and Play Cluedo/Clue. Play one of these if guests seem to get bored, or just for fun! Make sure that all guests are familiar with the rules. If not, quickly explain them to them or just play the game and have them learn as you play. However, games like Twister and Uno are easy and pretty much everyone knows how to play those games.
  4. Movies. What sleepover doesn't have movies? You should probably watch movies at nighttime, but not when guests are about to fall asleep. Bring out the popcorn, turn off the lights, and get a bunch of movies for guests to pick from. You can always watch the other ones later, but take this vote for movies to watch first. Make sure that everyone is okay with whatever movie you are watching, and don't watch PG 13 and/or R rated movies unless you have permission by your parents and all the guests' parents. Here is a list of some movies you can watch if you happen to like them:
    • Harry Potter
    • Pirates of the Caribbean
    • The Clique
    • Ella Enchanted
    • Up
    • Despicable Me
    • Another Cinderella Story
    • Elf
    • Mean Girls
  5. Make a craft. Crafts are a great idea if you don't want to be bored, and it's a memory for you and the guests to take home. This is an inexpensive and fun thing to do at a sleepover. Here are three simple ideas for crafts and how to make them:
    • Picture Frames. Take a group shot of you and your friends, and get some wooden frames, paint, foam stickers, and glitter paint. Decorate and be creative.
    • Make a Multicolored Bead Necklace. Get string, beads, and scissors to string on cool patterns. There are some kits for necklace making, so you can get one of these for extra beads and string.
    • Decorate a Pillowcase. Get some colorful fabric markers, glue, gems, and jewels, and get decorating, writing, and drawing! You can have everyone sign their name on the case.
  6. Rock out! Blast the tunes and sing to the top of your lungs (unless others are sleeping, then tone it down a bit). You can do karaoke or just sing to your iPod. Dance, too. You can have a dancing or singing competition if you want, but don't leave your friends out. Let everyone win at some point. Or, you can make up your own dance to a song as a group and record it to watch later. If you have a disco ball or flashing lights, don't forget them!
  7. Play dress up. Although you may think that you're a little old for dress-up, you're not! Instead of just dressing up, have a fashion show. Find some old hats, beads, Halloween costumes, wigs, anything that you and your guests can wear. Take turns being the judge, and judge the girls (be nice) on style, creativity, anything you want from 1 to 10, 10 being the best. Have each girl pick their song and strut your stuff!
  8. Sit in your sleeping bags and chat. Do this when you are getting tired, but still don't want to go to sleep. Catch up with each other, and talk to your heart's desire! Don't hurt feelings, of course. Everybody loves some juicy gossip at a sleepover. Talk about crushes. What girls don't? Who is cute/funny/totally a jerk? If you want to, look through an old school yearbook to see the boys. You could also talk about sports (which do you like/dislike) or school (teachers/tests/homework).
    • If you find that everyone is totally silent, crack a few jokes, tell scary stories, or play "Would you rather?". For would you rather, take turns asking each other what they would rather do. For example, would you rather lose an arm or a leg, kiss _________ or __________, walk into a glass wall in front of ____________ or step in a giant hole in front of ________?
  9. Stock up on snacks. Popcorn, chips, ice cream, soda, and maybe even pizza rolls work good. If anyone has any allergies, try not to include those foods.
  10. If you have a computer and an iPod or iPhone, download some songs you can dance to. Get out the nail polish, and if you have a make-up kit, get that out, too.
  11. Rent a couple movies, and try to mix it up. Get a couple comedies, some scary movies, and dramas. That way, everyone's happy.
  12. On the day of the sleepover, find a large place with a Television, like your living room.
  13. When your guests get there, if it's still light out, go play outside. Some fun games are:
    • Blob tag. It starts out with one person as the blob, and they tag people. The people they tag connect arms with them and go to tag other players. When the blob has six people, they can split into two groups of three.
    • Hide-And-Seek tag. The person who's It counts to thirty with eyes closed and the others go and hide. The It person has to find them and tag them. The first one to be tagged is the new It. Or the last person can be It.
    • Volleyball, kick ball, baseball, etc. You get it.
  14. Have your parents start a fire, and you can tell spooky stories, roast s'mores, and sing songs together.
  15. When it gets dark, play games in the dark or go inside and watch a movie. If you have a trampoline, you can sneak out at like, 3 am and jump on it. If it's cold out, stay inside and..
    • Play truth or dare.
    • Tell scary stories.
    • If it's not too late, prank call boys/pizza places.
    • Do make-overs.
    • Practice gymnastics.
  16. The next day, make a nice breakfast with your friends. Mess around for a few more hours, or until they get picked up. After everyone leaves or there's only your really close friend left, clean up.

Quick Ideas

  1. Here are a few simple and fast activities to add to your party. Do just one or a few of these. You don't need much, and you can still have fun inside or outside.
  2. Make some snacks. You can decorate cookies with frosting, sprinkles, and m&ms. Or, make chex mix to have for movies. Put in pretzels, m&ms, popcorn, raisins, and marshmallows. You can also roast marshmallows when it's starting to get dark out.
  3. Get outside! Play flashlight tag! It's the same as tag, but with flashlights in the dark. In the summer, run through a sprinkler if a nearby pool is not available. Go for a walk if it's still light out. You could also work on your gymnastics (make sure everyone knows how to at least a cartwheel first, and if not, teach them how.)
  4. Have fun indoors. Don't worry if it's raining, just go to the movies. You can put on makeup with your eyes closed (make sure you clean up, though). Play hair salon. Braid the hair, or give each other ponytails or buns with cool hair clips, barrettes, and scrunchies. If you are bored, play Charades. Make your own videos or take a lot of pictures of each other. Or, play Wii. Some good games are Mario Kart, Wii Sports, and Just Dance 2, but anything works. Hide and seek is also a great game, and you don't need anything.



Tips

  • Have the sleeping arrangements planned ahead of time. Know where to place all the sleeping bags. That way, you'll save time and not suddenly realize that someone's bag doesn't fit.

Get some glow sticks and blackout the room. Make a tent out of blankets, chairs, sheets etc. and put some weird, funny music on. Then give each person a glow stick while the light is on. Turn the light off then try to guess who is holding what glowstick. You'll end up laughing your head off, if you add your own twist to it.

  • Make a station to put snacks.
  • Before the sleepover ask your friends what movies they like.
  • Make lots of videos and pictures to see later. They make great memories. You could even make a movie!
  • Before the sleepover, ask everyone what songs they want to listen to, and then put them all on a playlist.
  • Another fun thing to do is set up a fun background, than do a little photo booth! Have fun! Anyone can pose or be the photographer!
  • A great idea is to have a good old-fashioned pillow fight.
  • Don't be bossy. Say "I have an idea. Maybe we could _____" instead of "Let's do _______, come on!"
  • If someone doesn't want to do something,ask them what they would like to do. If they want to call their parents you should really let them.
  • Make sure none of your friends are allergic to your pets or any of the foods you are serving. They may not be able to come!
  • Don't be rude to your guests.
  • Don't wake your parents up.
  • Do charades of people you all know.
  • If people are getting tired, play music and dance. If people are already asleep, do it in another room!
  • You can ask friends to bring a movie if you have no good ones. Or, you can rent them.
  • Go outside and play. Play volleyball, tag, or just kick a ball around. You could also go for a walk and chat.
  • If you have no good movies, just watch TV. Make sure that everyone likes the show. You may like to watch iCarly, Shake It Up, SpongeBob, or Victorious.
  • If it's a nice day you could go to the pool. Just make sure to tell your friends to bring the right things, then. Get noodles, rings, and water balls to play with in the pool.
  • Try not to play on the computer too much. Watching a YouTube video or two is fine, but staying on for at least an hour is excessive. Anyway, it won't be very fun and not everyone can be on the computer at the same time!
  • For invitations, type them on the computer, make them by hand, or just buy some at a store and fill in the details.
  • You can always have a spa party! Get face masks and makeup, and send home gift bags with beauty supplies.
  • Have some balloons? Fill them up with water and have a fight! Or, with regular balloons, play volleyball!
  • Prank calls are fun. Call a boy, an annoying girl, and if your friends want to call the pizza guy, don't do it. They work very hard and spend money on gas. You don't want to ruin their night!
  • You can make picture frames to hold a photo you took during the sleepover.
  • Make up some Mad-Libs and give them to each other. You could either use the premade mad-libs packets or make your own.
  • Some people like to watch Barbie movies to make fun of them (they also make a great laugh). If you have no good movies, but have spare Barbie ones, watch those.
  • Make sure if you are sleeping on the floor, to clean and tidy. Anyway, who wants to sleep on a bumped floor that smells!

Warnings

  • Don't be bossy. You may have everything planned out, but your guests are allowed to suggest some activities. Let them pick something to do.
  • Don't leave your friends out of activities, conversations, etc.
  • For truth or dare, don't make somebody do something very inappropriate, nasty, or personal, and don't do those kind of dares when dared.
  • Make sure that a parent will be home and they are OK with you having a sleepover. Have them approve of everyone being invited.
  • Be careful when making dessert/breakfast. Ask for a parent's help when needed.
  • It's POSSIBLE you can get caught doing prank calls or going outside. If your parents are strict, avoid that stuff. If they won't care, go ahead. You don't want to get grounded, though.
  • Don't think that the sleepover has to be too over-the-top. It's just a sleepover, so too many games will make everyone tired. Just hanging out is fine.
  • Don't wake up someone who is already sleeping. If they are tired, that's fine with them. And never pull a prank on them, especially if they are sensitive.
  • Make sure that all of your friends can watch certain movies before watching them, you wouldn't want to get in trouble!
  • Some of your friends may be vegetarian so have some vegetarian options.
  • Don't stay awake all night. You'll just be tired in the day. Get at least some sleep.

Things You'll Need

  • Twister
  • Life
  • Clue
  • Scene it?
  • Uno
  • Loops
  • Popcorn
  • Pretzels
  • Veggie Tray (Carrots, Broccoli, Etc.) with Ranch Dressing
  • Cheese Puffs
  • Chips
  • Soda
  • Water bottles
  • Pizza
  • Cupcakes
  • Ice Cream

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Sources and Citations

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