8 sleepover ideas to keep your kids entertained

Every child gets to a certain age where they’d rather be spending time with their friends. It is just a part of growing up. Sadly, your kid will reach this stage long before they are old enough to go out without supervision. That is why a sleepover is a perfect compromise. They still get to hang out with their friends in private, but you are always nearby to supervise if things get awry.

An organised sleepover can become awkward if you do not plan it correctly, especially if there are a lot of kids under one roof. Therefore, you will need to plan ahead to make sure it all goes off without a hitch. With that said, let’s look at a few sleepover ideas to keep your kid’s friends entertained.

Make The Most Of Your Garden

The main aim of a sleepover is to get together indoors at night. However, having a bunch of young children under one roof can get loud. Before anything happens, throw open your back doors and let your kids entertain themselves in the garden before it gets dark. This will give them something to do the second they arrive, and it allows them all to burn off any excess energy they have before the night begins.

Buffet

One of the hardest aspects of hosting a sleepover is that you have several kids under one roof, all with different dietary requirements. Let’s also not forget how fussy kids can be. Catering for such a large crowd can prove difficult, and takeaways are expensive. Therefore, your best bet is to bring out a buffet-style dinner.

This buffet lets the kids graze at their leisure while you don’t have to worry too much about cooking lots of individual meals. What’s more, you can use this meal to try and sneak in some healthier options without the kids noticing. It also leaves you with fewer dirty dishes at the end.

Put Out Some Games

Kids are only ever entertained by what is right in front of them. It may take everyone a while to agree on an activity, which is why it is a good idea to put everything out at once. Stick the T.V on and connect it to the games console and then put out some other activities. The kids will slowly gravitate toward one thing at a time, ensuring that everyone is kept entertained at once. When everyone has finally settled into one activity, you can clear away the rest of the stuff, so you aren’t up all night clearing the room.

Get Creative

Sometimes, the best part of a sleepover is just being in the same room as your friends. This means that your kids won’t care what they end up doing during the evening. Once everyone has gotten comfortable, see if you can encourage them to do something creative. You can make cupcakes, paint, or even leave out some blank pieces of paper to see what happens. Kids are at their most comfortable when they are using their imagination, so let them run riot for a bit before it is time to settle down.

Movie Night

As the evening draws closer to bedtime, you will need to wind things down. You don’t want a house full of riled-up kids running around, so make sure you pick out a relaxing activity for them to do just before bedtime.

A movie night can provide you with everything you need to get everyone to calm down before bed. Most kids refuse to talk during a movie, which gives them the chance to slowly wind down.

Camp Indoors

If you only have one child, then chances are that you only have one kid’s bed. You may have an extra bed for when they have guests around, but that won’t accommodate everyone at a large sleepover. Therefore, you are going to have to get creative.

The British weather is never ideal, which often takes camping outdoors off the list of solutions. However, you do not have to rule out camping completely. A few strategically placed bed sheets and blankets can turn your kid’s bedroom into a makeshift tent for everyone to camp inside. This process is even easier if you have a kid’s mid sleeper, like the ones from Children’s Bed Shop, to hang sheets from. These beds work out as both practical and comfy. A sleepover is special, so transform your kid’s room into a magical place and it will become a sleepover your kids won’t forget.

Know When To Turn The Lights Out

Sleepovers are exciting by design; this means that your child is likely to stay up late talking with their friends long into the night. This is a perfectly natural part of the event; however, you all need to get some sleep at some point.

While there may be no concrete way of settling everyone down for the night, you can use the light switches to your advantage. Leave the lights on until a certain time but re-enforce a rule that everyone has to be quiet once the lights go out. Darkness won’t stop your kids and their friends from talking, but they should respect the rules enough to keep the noise down until they drift off.

Prepare For A Quiet Morning

The energy in your home is going to be very different in the morning compared to the previous evening. Depending on what time everyone finally went to sleep, you are going to have a few groggy children on your hands. While this is certainly a good thing, you can’t rush into things the day after a sleepover.

Try and let everyone wake up on their own time, and only commit to going out and doing something once everyone has woken up fully.

Conclusion

Hosting a sleepover can be quite stressful for a parent; however, a careful structure can make things run smoothly. Take our advice and your next sleepover should go off without a hitch. Just remember how important these times are for your kid and you will get through the chaos.

Thanks for reading xxx