Sleepover fun is the kind of childhood memory your kids will treasure – but in the moment it can be a bit daunting for parents. How will I entertain them? Will they be bored? What will I do if (when!) they don’t sleep? Why did I think this was a good idea…?!

Take it from me – they probably won’t sleep, there’ll be lots of giggling, they’ll be hunting for snacks and treats all night, and you’ll regret agreeing to host the sleepover at least a dozen times through the night. BUT your kiddo will be thrilled and the kids will go home happy and tired.

The key to a great sleepover is to have a few things planned (movies, party games, activities, etc) as a back up. The kids may be happy to just hang out and entertain themselves, but having some activities up your sleeve just in case is a good idea. These sleepover games are great fun, suitable for a range of ages, and really don’t require any preparation.

Sardines is the reverse of hide and seek. One person hides while the other players count to 100, then everyone searches for the hidden person.

Whenever a person finds the hidden person, they quietly join them in their hiding spot until everyone is squeezed into the hiding place.

Last player to find the hiding place becomes “It” for the next game.

Turn off all the lights. One person is “It” and counts to 100 while the rest of the players hide. The person who is “It” has to find them without turning on any lights, and the last person found becomes “It” for the next game.

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We all remember the classic Twister game, played on a large plastic mat with rows of red, yellow, blue and green circles.

A spinner attached to a square board determines where each player has to put their hand or foot – but due to the scarcity of coloured circles, players will often be required to put themselves in unlikely or precarious (and hilarious!) positions, eventually causing someone to fall. A person is eliminated when they fall or when their elbow or knee touches the mat.

There is no limit to how many can play at once, but more than four is a tight fit.

Prepare Post It notes with names of famous people on them. E.g. pop stars, celebrities, movie stars, famous people from history.

Everyone gets a Post It note on their forehead (without seeing who they are) and each person has to figure out which famous person they are asking only questions that have a Yes or No answer. Continue until everyone has guessed who they are.

MASH stands for “Mansion, Apartment, Shack and House” and is a predict your future game. What house are you going to have, who are you going to marry, what type of car will you drive and so on.

If you’re not sure how to play, here are the rules of MASH and A Girl and a Glue Gun has free downloadable MASH sheets.

Take a beach ball and use a permanent marker to write a list of questions/talking points onto the ball.

For example,

• If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
• Describe yourself in 3 words
• Chocolate or vanilla?
• Spiders or snakes?

The ball is then passed around and when the person catches it they must answer or act out what is written below their right thumb.

Pass out glow sticks, and then each person takes it in turn to go outside and hide 5 glow sticks that the rest of the players have to find.

You can buy packs of Glow Sticks in different colours on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com – NB if you buy through our links we get a small commission.

Go selfie mad with a photo booth and lots of fun accessories.

Make some glow in the dark bubbles and head out door for bubble fun. You’ll need:

• some glow in the dark or fluorescent paint (available from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com)
• dish soap
• water
• bowls for mixing

For a quick and cheap idea to entertain the kids, what about a Mission Impossible-style spy mission?

Create a paper maze along your hallway using a roll of crepe paper and fasten it with tape criss-crossing across the hallway or room.

The aim is for the kids to go through the maze one at a time and get to the other end without breaking the paper.

Don’t forget, you want it to be difficult enough, but still doable so that it is fun.

How about a game of Spoons? This fast-paced, fast-moving card game is good for 4-10 players. You just need a couple of decks of cards and some spoons. Read the Rules for Spoons.

Another great game is 21 (also known as Pontoon or Blackjack) which works well for 5-8 players:

• The aim for each player is to get their hand as close as possible to 21, but not going over 21. The best hand is a Pontoon, which is 21 points in two cards – this can only consist of an ace plus a picture card or ten. Hands with more than 21 points are bust and are worthless.
• The dealer deals two cards to each player. The players examine their cards and decide if they are going to Stick or Twist. ‘Stick’ means no more cards; ‘Twist’ means getting another card. The dealer addresses the players in turn, who either Stick or Twist. If they are bust they declare ‘I’m Bust’ and put their cards down.
• When all players have been accommodated, the dealer’s hand is turned over. The dealer is free to add cards face up to it, stopping when satisfied or is bust. If the dealer and a player have equal valued hands, then the dealer wins.