Five fun ideas for a family sleepover

Sunday 6th October marks National Grandparents' Day in the UK, so here at Parents' Toolkit, we thought it was high time we devoted a little attention to some of the most important carers in many children's lives!

Be it babysitting or the school run, grandparents often play a vital role in childcare, so we've put together some top tips to help you make the time spent with your grandchildren even more special.

So without further ado, here are BBC Bitesize Parents' Toolkit's five top tips for hosting a fun family sleepover!

Build an indoor den

There’s no better start to a fun family sleepover then creating a cozy indoor den for you and your grandchild. Using regular household items like duvets, blankets and pillows – this can be your very own home base for all the night’s activities, and it’s a good way to help your grandchild to get creative, by designing and putting the den together.

If you want to spruce up your den a little, try adding some battery powered fairy lights or rechargeable camping lights to create an even warmer, cosier atmosphere. And if the weather’s nice, why not move your cuddly abode to the great outdoors!

Building an indoor den is a good way to bond with your grandchild and make your sleepover feel like a special occasion.

Go through old photo albums

As a young child the idea that your parents, or grandparents, were also once children might be hard to grasp. Going through photo albums and telling stories from you or your child’s past can be a really lovely bonding experience with your grandchild – they can learn more about you and their parents, and you can also look back on relatable experiences that span across generations.

It can also be a nice experience for you to take a trip down memory lane, remembering what your life was like at your grandchild’s age. Who knows, you might even stumble on another activity idea while looking through!

Tiny Happy People have a great guide on enjoying photo albums together as a family!

Get crafty

A firm inter-generational family favourite, arts and crafts are a great activity to do at your sleepover. It allows everyone to get their creative juices flowing and can give your grandkids a great souvenir of their sleepover.

If you fancy adding an artistic streak to your sleepover, Parents’ Toolkit has loads of indoor and outdoor craft activities to entertain you and your grandchild.

DIY Pizza

A key part of any successful sleepover is the food, and what better way to combine tasty treats and quality time than making your own pizzas.

All you need is some dough (which can be pre-rolled or made together as part of the fun), some sauce, and a small selection of toppings and you and your grandchild can make your very own perfect pizzas.

Not only is this a fun activity to do as a family but it can also help teach your grandchildren important skills like food preparation and timekeeping.

Check out some more cooking and baking activities on Parents' Toolkit.

Home cinema

With a cozy den built, and a delicious pizza to hand, what better way to end the night than snuggling up and watching a movie. Whether using a small home-projector, a TV or the screen of a laptop or tablet, sitting together and watching a film or their favourite CBeebies or CBBC series can be a great finale to a fabulous family sleepover

It provides time for everyone to be together and share an experience, and talking about the film after it’s over provides a good chance to bond with your grandchild.

And the fun doesn’t end there, you can use the film as an inspirational jumping off point to create your own bedtime story with your grandchild! Just be sure to keep the excitement level low as you share stories – too much and they might not sleep!

For more fun activity ideas, check out the BBC Bitesize Parents’ Toolkit activities hub, full of indoor and outdoor activities for the whole family!

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