Last Updated on February 26, 2024
These sleepover activities for teens are sure to make your teen’s slumber party iconic and memorable!
Bonding with friends has never been easier or more fun, thanks to sleepovers. After all, teens get to spend time with their besties without worrying about curfew!
But, if you want their party to be even more entertaining, holding any (or even all!) of these fun games and activities can surely liven it up even further. With some preparation, your teen’s next sleepover will be a surefire hit for them and their friends!
Jump to:
What are the Benefits of Teen Sleepovers?
More than just a night spent talking and laughing, sleepovers offer many positive benefits for your teens. There’s definitely more to it than meets the eye!
Here are some of them:
Experience New Things
Sleepovers are notorious for going past normal bedtimes, but that’s just part of the fun!
By sleeping in a different environment, your teens get to try out new experiences outside of their normal routines. They may be exposed to different types of food, have different people to interact with, and try different ways of doing things.
This exposes them to situations where they need to adapt and be more flexible, which are valuable life skills.
Develop Independence
Joining a sleepover will allow your teens to spend time outside their parents’ supervision.
Doing things on their own is something teens need to experience growing up. After all, it’s an essential stepping stone in your teen’s journey to adulthood.
Form Lasting Bonds and Friendships
There’s nothing quite like having a close circle of friends that gives your teens a feeling of belonging, confidence, and security. Having them around also allows teens to develop their identity outside of the family.
Plus, hanging out with people of similar age allows your teens to feel like they’re being understood. After all, more often than not, they share the same preferences, speak the same language, and value the same things.
That’s why hanging out with friends while doing fun teen activities, like a sleepover, is a great way to bond with them! Spending time with friends is a great way to solidify friendships that may even last a lifetime.
8 Fun Sleepover Games and Activities for Teens
Whether your teens are celebrating a fun birthday or just spending an enjoyable weekend together, these fun sleepover ideas will give them a night to remember!
Create a DIY Photo Booth
Make your teen’s sleepover party extra special by making a DIY photo booth!
All you need is a backdrop, a camera, and a tripod, then you can ask the help of the teens to bring their props and costumes to make it more fun!
Teens can take silly or themed pictures to create lasting memories — the sky’s the limit! But if you want to make it more memorable and fun, create customized photo frames and backdrops that you can edit into the photos and print out!
Host a Karaoke Night
Who doesn’t love a good karaoke party? Having a karaoke machine around can definitely make your teen’s sleepover a fun activity they won’t soon forget!
Let the teens belt out their favorite songs. You can even up the ante by turning it into a bit of a competition, with prizes to be won by those considered the best.
Optional: To make it even more fun, ask them to wear a costume of their favorite singer for the mini-contest. It can also be a group thing, too!
Play Board Games or Card Games
Board games and card games never go out of style – even at sleepovers!
There are several board games out there that I consider my top picks, considering they’re easy to learn, involve a ton of interaction, and are quick to play. They include Say Anything, 5 Second Rule, PicWits! and Selfie.
Games like Scrabble, Monopoly, Pictionary and Clue are also classic sleepover activities. Meanwhile, for card games, Poker, Rummy and Uno are surefire hits that will get your teens hyped up.
Just be sure you have enough sets of cards and board games to go around so that no guests will be left out while they engage in sleepover activities for teens.
Play Would You Rather
Another fun teen sleepover idea is playing a game of Would You Rather!
This game allows your teens to choose between two options. While neither option is considered wrong or right, they can engage in a bit of debate on why their answer is the “better” one.
While the game can be played by coming up with on-the-spot questions, having a premade set can really make the game flow more smoothly.
And, if you’re interested, here are 60 Would You Rather Questions for Teens that you can use. The questions are perfect for teens, ranging from funny to deep – guaranteed to make your sleepover a hit.
Play Truth or Dare
There’s nothing like a game of truth or dare to make the slumber party a bit spicy. This game works best if the teens are very close to one another.
The game involves players sitting in a circle with a bottle lying horizontally in the middle. A person spins the bottle, and whoever the mouth of the bottle points to has to choose between telling the truth in response to a question or doing a dare.
After completing the challenge, they spin the bottle again to continue the game, hoping others get picked.
Here’s a tip: to make the game child-friendly, ask for your teen’s help coming up with premade questions and dares. You can put them in separate jars, and then whoever the bottle points to can pick from one jar and do as it says.
Enjoy a Spa Night
A night of pampering sounds amazing as an adult — and it’s the same for teen girls. You don’t even have to leave the house since a DIY spa night is very doable.
Have your teens create DIY face masks by mixing ingredients like honey, oatmeal, green tea and avocado. You can also set up nail stations so they can do their nails while listening to soothing music.
They can also experiment with doing makeup and giving each other makeovers. The ultimate pampering experience for your teens may be one slumber party away.
Have a Movie Marathon (with Lots of Popcorn)
Movie marathons are a staple activity in successful sleepover parties. While scary movies are a hit with teens, you can also offer some rom-com or sci-fi choices to mix things up.
A good way to enjoy a movie marathon experience is to set up a comfortable viewing area for your teens. This may include setting up blankets and pillows they can lie on and hug during the scariest parts of the movie.
And don’t forget the snacks. Your teens will love a seemingly never-ending supply of popcorn and soda, but you can also offer candy, chocolate, nachos, and pizza.
Host a Talent Show
Give your teens room to shine by hosting a talent show. This will enable them to showcase their talent, whether in singing, dancing, doing magic tricks, or even mimicry.
Hosting a successful show helps ensure that each performer has ample room for their performance, which all the guests should be able to see. You can also ask your teen to help plan the program so that all the props and equipment are already set up by the time the performers come up on stage.
In order to make the night even more exciting, you can designate judges from among the teens who won’t be performing. They will be tasked with choosing the grand champion to help them feel included.
FAQs
Ensuring a safe sleepover for teens involves thoughtful planning and communication with both the teens and their parents. Have open and clear communication with the parents to address any concerns, allergies, or specific needs of the teens.
Set ground rules for the sleepover, establishing expectations for behavior, curfew, and house rules. Make sure the sleepover location is secure, with adequate supervision.
If there are activities planned, ensure they are age-appropriate and safe. Provide emergency contact information for the hosting household and the teens’ parents.
Encourage an environment where the teens feel comfortable expressing concerns or discomfort, fostering a sense of trust and safety.
The number of sleepover guests your teens should have might depend on the space available and the personal preference of your teen. A manageable number is anywhere from 2 to 5 guests.
In any case, it’s also important that, as the host, you are equipped to look after all the guests invited and ensure their safety and comfort.
There is no specific time for an epic sleepover to end. Sometimes they start early in the night and go on until late in the morning or afternoon of the following day.
That’s why it’s important to host a slumber party only on weekends or during holiday/summer breaks. This way, your teens won’t feel like they need to cut short their fun to go to school or do any school-related activities.
Try These Fun and Cool Sleepover Ideas for Teens
Sleepovers are one of the best ways teens can spend time and bond with friends. They’re great for making lasting memories that your teens will cherish forever.
These teen sleepover activities will make the night fun and memorable for everyone involved. So plan your next slumber party with these games in mind, and let the fun times roll for your teens and their friends.
With our daughter,sleepovers are a little different.She is 14 and still bedwetting from her puberty.Ever since her bedwetting started just past age 12,she has been wearing cloth diapers and rubberpants to bed every night. When she has sleepovers,her friends support her by also wearing her diapers and rubberpants and they think nothing of it!She just had a sleep over last weekend with 5 of her close friends and all 5 of them wore her diapers and rubberpants and ate pizza,watched videos,etc.It was cute seeing the 6 of them wearing the diapers and rubberpants!
What an amazing group of friends! That’s such a tough age and it’s wonderful to hear that her peer group was supportive rather than making her feel embarrassed or like an outcast.
To Brenda-Thank you for the kind words! I think it is great that her friends support her this way! Two of her friends that were at the sleepover did their Sacrament of 8th grade Confirmation yesterday,on saturday june 1st.They both had to wear white,poofy,knee length,short sleeve dresses with a headwreath,white tights and the white maryjane shoes.The moms borrowed some of the daughters cloth diapers and rubberpants and had them wear them under the tights for the day.
Omg! Our daughter is 15 and a bedwetter also and she too wears cloth diapers and rubberpants to bed every night.When she has slumber parties her friends also wear her diapers and rubberpants and they get silly and act like babies which i think is cute!The daughter feels much more relaxed and on an even keel when her friends wear her diapers and rubberpants.
Sounds like you and Cheryl are both lucky that your daughters have such great friends.