A Simple Guide to Slumber Party Ideas

When organizing weekend activities for children, a slumber party is always a favorite for both girls and boys. In order to avoid too much chaos or conflicting dates, planning ahead of time is a smart idea. Depending on your patience, time and energy, you can choose to host a smaller more intimate gathering for your child, or a full-out sleepover including all of his or her friends.

For the smaller get-together, planning is usually more flexible when brainstorming slumber party ideas. With smaller numbers, there is less mess and noise, so you can choose from more activities that quickly become overwhelming with more than five guests. You may decide to start with an afternoon of games, which can range from more classic party amusement such as musical chairs, hot potato and limbo, to more modern or tech-oriented games.

Deciding on a theme for your slumber party can also direct how you plan the evening.

Timing may also affect which activities you prepare. Depending on the weather, you may organize indoor or outdoor games. Sledding and making snowmen are great entertainment for the winter months, although you would have to remind parents to bring appropriate dress in advance. A great refreshment accompaniment to these activities would be hot chocolate and sugar-on-snow. For summertime sleepovers, outdoor options are less limited. Popular games for children of all ages include flashlight tag, capture the flag and hide and seek.

A camp-out is also a great theme for both boys and girls' slumber party ideas. Even if the tents are set up in the backyard just several feet from the house, kids always find outdoor sleepovers exciting. Campfire snacks like s'mores are a sure hit, and ghost stories will keep the guests entertained all evening long.

For large parties, the children's ages should direct how you choose between indoor and outdoor games. Scary nighttime camp stories should be avoided with younger kids, while musical chairs will most likely bore older guests. Keeping games simple and props minimal will also minimize the preparation time for parents.

If planning time is limited, simple craft activities are an all-around crowd pleaser. As some art projects can get messy and might require a number of different materials, looking for easy crafts is essential, particularly for large groups. The company Colortime Crafts & Markers offers just this solution with their custom tee shirts, pillowcases, tote bags, backpacks and bandanas with different designs for kids to color how they like. All products are inexpensive and the whole activity can be ordered as a simple package through their website.

Activities like those found on Colortime's website have the extra bonus of doubling as party favors for the guests to take home. Personalized gifts are always enjoyed more and for a longer time than traditional favors that have little sentimental value.

Regardless of how extensively you plan a slumber party, the bottom line is that everyone has fun-including the parents. It is easy to go overboard when organizing sleepovers, but with too many events scheduled in one night, both kids and adults get overwhelmed. It is usually appropriate to follow the "less is more" approach, and after all, there is always a next time when it comes to slumber party ideas.