As children, we can all recall the exhilaration of our first sleepover with our best friends.
Whether it’s the films watched, the great food, or cool party games, there’s always something kids can cherish about these special get-togethers, especially when they have a cool theme!
Here are 20 amazing ideas for a slumber party theme that your child and guests won’t ever forget…
1. Princess for a Night
Color schemes like royal blue, gold, silver, or pink will set the tone perfectly along with some fairy lights, glitter-filled balloons, and perhaps some crown-shaped cushions and treat boxes!
As for refreshments, pink popcorn, glittery cake pops, and pink lemonade will delight your princesses.
Once they’re filled up with treats, they can decorate their own paper tiara or play dress-up with a pop-up wardrobe of Disney princess costumes.
2. Over the Rainbow
Go all-out with the rainbow theme by setting out multicolored placemats, cups, plates, and cutlery.
Cute rainbow foods can be things like fruit skewers, rainbow-sprinkle cupcakes, rainbow donuts, ice cream with rainbow cones, etc.
As for rainbow-themed fun and games, how about face-painting, colorful obstacle courses, pin the tail on the unicorn, or treating each guest to a colorful new manicure or hairstyle using temporary hair chalk (find it here)?
3. Spa Night
Leave every guest feeling pampered with personalized sleep masks and slippers, and, if you have the budget, treat each person to a foot spa while they get a manicure or wait for face masks to set.
Deck out the slumber room with soft throw pillows and blankets in calming pastel shades, and invite each guest to dine on marshmallows and other finger foods while drinking their favorite juice from plastic champagne flutes!
4. Fiesta Night
Go bold with mixed patterns and bright colors – think multicolored bunting, hot-pink artificial flowers, pompom pillows, and colorful llama decorations with rainbow-colored saddles.
For nighttime entertainment, why not have a viewing of Encanto or Coco while serving up tortilla wraps, brightly colored cake and cookies, and possibly a candy-filled piñata with guests taking turns to whack while blindfolded!
5. Glam Party
Make your little ones feel like a VIP with gold and silver streamers hanging from doorways, a red carpet, and maybe a pop-up photo booth with props so they can strike a Hollywood pose!
Finger food and grown-up bites on platters will work great, and as for glam-tivities, why not treat each guest to a sophisticated mani-pedi or makeover with face glitter and temporary glitter tattoos?
6. Retro Movie Night
Turn your den into a cool private screening for your party guests with plush red cushions, blankets, and maybe mini clapper boards with everyone’s name on them (or take a projector and fairy lights outdoors if the weather’s mild!)
For refreshments, retro soda bottles and popcorn tubs (maybe a retro popcorn dispenser?), hot dogs, and pizza will always go down a treat. For pre- or post-film games, how about a Disney film quiz?
7. Campout Party
The birthday boy/girl and guests can pretend they’re slumbering under the stars with some cute teepee tents, fairy lights, and awesome gadgets like this Galaxy projector!
Serve up burgers, hot dogs, and indoor s’mores, or for older kids, take the campout party outdoors, and toast marshmallows for real. You could also create a scavenger/treasure hunt with treats around the house or backyard.
8. Tea Party Theme
Lay an elegant tea party for the kids with pastel-colored bunting, fancy napkins, and a tiered dessert tower to display mini sandwiches, sausage rolls, and of course something sweet like fairy cakes, colorful macaroons, brownie bites, etc.
For games, things like musical tea cups and Pass the Sweet Pot will go down a treat. Another great way to keep with the tea party theme could be a screening of Disney’s Alice in Wonderland!
9. Dress Up Night
Decorate the slumber area with colorful bunting and teepee tents, and ask your guests to come dressed as their favorite superhero or Disney character.
Alternatively, provide them with a fun dress-up box of hair accessories, jewelry, and other props to spark their imagination.
For games, play Truth or Dare or Would You Rather? (answering as the character you dressed up as), and set up a chocolate fountain and snack station with fruit slices, marshmallows, and tray-bakes — something to suit every personality!
10. Chef Party
Encourage budding cooks with a chef slumber party — we’re thinking chalk menu boards, classic chef hats, and maybe personalized aprons (and wooden spoons) for each guest.
You could have them craft their own personal pizzas with their favorite toppings or make cake pops. For evening entertainment, why not schedule a screening of Ratatouille?
11. Arts & Crafts Night
Unleash your guests’ creative side by throwing together a craft-filled night. Host a themed painting competition, give each guest a Play-Doh kit, let them decorate mugs, or have them make their own bath bombs.
Arrange colorful finger food and sweet bites on a plate in the shape of an artist’s paint palette, and deck out the room with oversized paintbrushes, pencil bunting, and cushions!
12. Glow in the Dark Party
Go retro with a glow party. From glow-in-the-dark streamers, bunting, and balloons to backlights, neon lamps, and cakes with neon-colored frosting, you’ll transport guests to another realm!
Cool activities can include coloring white t-shirts with highlighter pens or decorating notebooks and stationery with glow-in-the-dark stickers. Put on some retro tunes and a colorful projector to create a glowing dance floor too!
13. Safari Night
Bring the jungle atmosphere with animal-print balloons and blankets, vine garlands, and fairy lights. You could also rent some teepee tents with cushions and cuddly stuffed tigers and monkeys.
Set up a treasure hunt of goodies around the house/garden, and lay on a spread of sandwiches and cookies cut into animal shapes before settling in for a movie marathon of The Lion King, Madagascar, and The Jungle Book!
14. Race Car Party
After a day of go-karting, welcome your racers back to a race-car party complete with black-and-white checker flags; red, white, and black balloons; matching racer napkins; bunting; and wheel- or trophy-shaped balloons.
For entertainment, set up a toy racing track, and once every guest has raced, serve them up some car-shaped sandwiches, popcorn, and fuel (soda) in front of a Disney Pixar Cars marathon.
15. Frozen Sleepover
Bring Arendelle to life for your little one and guests with blue tents and blankets, sparkly blue/white cushions, and dreamy fairy lights and lanterns for a Frozen ambiance.
If you’re hosting your party over the winter, get the kids to make their own Olaf snowmen outside before coming in for hot cocoa and marshmallows.
Guests could dress up as their favorite characters and maybe indulge in a little karaoke to the soundtrack (sorry, parents!).
16. Ice Cream Party
What ice cream theme would be complete without a fully-fledged ice cream sundae station?
Let guests pick from a variety of flavors, toppings, and cone styles (or colorful bowls), and deck out party HQ with pastel-colored balloons, bunting, and other bright accessories.
Games could include a blind taste test of different scoops or pin the cherry on the sundae!
17. Sweet Dreams Night
Sometimes the simplest themes are the sweetest, so put the slumber back in slumber party with a serene sweet-dreams theme.
Decorations can include lantern and vine garlands for enchanting vibes plus calming lavender-and-cream bedding, soft blankets, and unicorn toys.
Have guests decorate cupcakes in similar pastel colors with white chocolate toppings, and provide coloring books with themes of unicorns, moons, and stars.
18. Minecraft Theme
Bring the Minecraft world to life with green and black balloons, streamers, and tableware, and have your guests design their own Minecraft character masks. You can also have them build their own hands-on Minecraft world with Lego sets.
The shapes in Minecraft are fairly simple and retro, so it’s easy to be creative with the food like this awesome creeper pizza, dirt grass Krispy squares, and more!
19. Fairytale Party
Create a magic kingdom for one night only with white and pink teepee tents, flowers, and fairy lights, and gift each guest their own tiara and magic wand.
Complete the theme with food matching your color scheme. Think funfetti cake, magic wand cake pops, and of course fairy cakes!
In true fairytale tradition, close the evening with some story time before bed or put on the birthday girl’s favorite Disney flick.
20. Dance the Night Away
Dance and party go together like PB & J, and there are so many cool ideas to choose from.
You could set up a dance contest with dance party games, or just let guests bust a move freestyle (with the aid of glow sticks to make things even more fun!).
Depending on age ranges, you could have hula dances or balloon dances, or just put on the birthday boy/girl’s favorite dance mix.
Hire a cool light-up dance floor for the night or use projectors to bring the floor to life, and serve up some fruit punch, pizza squares, and brownie bites for refueling!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are so many different themes to choose from for your kid’s next slumber party and one to suit every personality too.
Whether they’re obsessed with Frozen and Minecraft or fancy an old-fashioned movie night or pampering session, there’s something for everyone here!
Mom of three (including identical twin boys), wife, and owner of Parents Wonder. This is my place to share my journey as a mother and the helpful insights I learn along the way.