Fun games for boys can make a sleepover into an event to remember. Without games to keep these energy-filled boys entertained, you could end up with a bored group… and a group of bored boys can be a nightmare.
We at Starlux Games are not going to let that happen. Fun and physical games that get kids to play and get exercise are what make us tick as a company and as a family. So we have compiled a list of five awesome games that will keep boys engaged, entertained, and active at their next sleepover.
Rest assured these games won’t be of the insane variety of our youth and maybe yours. The adults who raised us and coached us in sports thought games like “Kill the Man with the Ball” were good ideas. Or how about “Meanest Son of a Gun” on the football practice field, where there were no rules. Just throw everyone to the ground and the last man standing is the winner!
Clearly our parents didn’t have enough cable channels back in the day. So putting us through the ringer with brutal games was their entertainment.
Well, we’re gonna do better. Here are our picks for the top five fun games for boys that entertain but don’t resemble cage fights.
American Ninja type games are much safer than “Bull in the Ring.” This was another “fun” pastime of our youth football coaches. One player is set in the middle of a circle and is charged by another player of the coach’s choice. This was repeated until the coach tired of seeing the player in the middle of the ring whacked by half the team.
*You might want to set some basic rules. Some boys will figure out they can climb high into a tree and never get tagged. Funny at first, until the fire department has to be called to get “catboy” out of a giant oak tree.
Sleepovers can be some of the most memorable events of a boy’s childhood. They won’t remember boring ones though. So moms and dads, be creative with your game planning. Maybe even ask the boys what they want to play before the weekend of the sleepover.
That way you can have the items on hand best suited for fun games for boys.
And, if you need more ideas for fun games for boys (and girls), check out our fun glow in the dark games that light up the night and keep kids off the couch.
Need some fun games for girls to keep your giggling gals occupied and happy until the sun comes up? Whoever coined the term “sleepover” has never been to a sleepover with a pack of girls ten and under. There’s no sleeping going on. And, if you’re the parent in charge, you’d better be armed with a heavy artillery of fun games and activities. It’s also imperative to have a stash of snacks and a good sense of humor. Check out these top five fun games for girls.
This game combines two of girls’ favorite things: music and fingernail polish. Before you start the game, cover your table with plastic and use finger nail polish remover to make sure everyone’s nails are clean and free of polish. You can choose to do toenails, fingernails – or both. Then, choose some bright and funky nail polish colors and assign one color to each girl. The girls sit in a circle at the table. Start playing some music and the girls start passing their bottle to the right. When the music stops, each girl paints one of her nails with the nail polish color that she is holding. Keep playing until all of the nails are painted.
While you have the table covered in plastic, you might as well move on to another messy game. This one involves kids, blindfolds and bowls full of ice cream. What could possibly go wrong? Simply place two girls opposite each other at the table and place blindfolds over both of their eyes. Give one of them a bowl of ice cream and a spoon. The girl opposite of her must keep her hands behind her back as the girl with the ice cream tries to feed her. You can also play a version where you have a variety of different kinds of ice cream and the eater has to guess what flavor it is. The duo gets a point for every flavor that she guesses correctly. It’s a sweet mess, but its fun and your girls will love it. Plus, the extra sugar will keep them going all night long.
This game is the classic sleepover game. No lie, this game has possibly been around longer than footed pajamas. Get your group of girls to sit in a circle. The first girl asks “truth or dare?” to any other girl. If that girl says “truth” then she must honestly answer whatever question that is asked of her. If she says “dare” then she must complete whatever dare is given to her. When she is done, then she gets a turn to question another girl in the group. To avoid harmful dares or hurtful and embarrassing questions, it’s a good idea for the girls to write down the questions and dares and then let a parent glance over them before the game. Then, put them in two festive bowls or jars, one labeled “Truth” and one labeled “Dare.” You can print out a fun list of silly and G-rated Truth or Dare questions from:
https://www.momof6.com/at-home-birthday-parties/100-truth-or-dare-questions-for-tweens/
The best part about scavenger hunts is how much time they take up. If you are trying to fill a long, sleepless night, you can entertain girls for hours by creating a lengthy list of hard-to-find items. You can also customize a scavenger hunt to fit any age, any location and any theme. Before the party, come up with a list of items and create even teams. If you have either older kids or a few chaperones, you can have your teams go house to house in your neighborhood. You may want to give your neighbors some advance notice of the hunt without telling them what things are on the list. You can also do scavenger hunts for younger kids in your house or your backyard.
When all else fails, pull out the glow sticks for more fun games for girls. Everything is more exciting when it glows. Put on some music, adorn the girls with glowing bracelets, necklaces, ankle bracelets and crowns and turn down the lights for a glow-in-the-dark dance-off. And, no girl can resist a game of neon hopscotch or glow balloons. You can use neon duct tape to make a hopscotch design inside your house or outside, and glow balloons are simple when you insert glow sticks into regular or water balloons. For endless hours of glowing sleepover fun visit: https://happilyevermom.com/glow-in-the-dark-games/.
* The featured image for this post is by Courtney Carmody and can be found at Flickr here https://www.flickr.com/photos/calamity_photography/4656461166