Whether you have a son or a daughter, a ninth birthday is a big deal. They’re slowly turning into a pre-teen, and their birthday party needs to reflect this important stage of their life. A sleepover party is the perfect way to mark their transition from a child to a pre-teen, enabling them to feel grown up whilst still enjoying their childhood.
In this article, we’ll give you some of the best sleepover ideas for 9 year olds, helping to make your child’s birthday party just as special as they are. Not only will they love their birthday sleepover, but their friends will be talking about it at school for years to come!
The Best 9 Year Old Sleepovers
There’s nothing that 9 year olds enjoy more than a sleepover with their friends. It allows them to feel that bit more grown up, with their friends sleeping over, whilst still being able to enjoy the best bits of their childhood.
They will love playing games with their friends, watching movies, chatting until they drop and even having a sneaky midnight feast – especially if they think the adults are unaware! Here are some of our favourite ideas for hosting a memorable sleepover for your 9 year old and their friends.
Discover our full range of kids pyjamas here, perfect for sleepovers
Provide Matching Pyjamas
There’s nothing that 9 year olds enjoy more than matching with their friends.
Providing matching pyjamas for the children to change into when they arrive at the sleepover party is a great way to achieve this and to provide them with lasting memories for years to come.
Here are some of our favourite matching pyjamas for 9 year olds.
For Harry Potter Fans
Many 9 year olds are just starting to discover the magic of Harry Potter, with many eagerly waiting to find out whether they get a letter from Hogwarts!
At Pyjamas.com, we have a wide range of Harry Potter pyjamas that your 9 year old is sure to love, from long sleeve Hogwarts pyjamas to short Hedwig pyjamas and even a Harry Potter dressing gown.
Your 9 year old will love dressing up in Harry Potter pyjamas with their friends and then settling down for a movie marathon for the evening.
For A Touch Of Disney Magic
It’s easy to assume that Disney is only for younger children, but everyone can get caught up in the magic of Disney, whatever their age. If your child is a Disney fan, they’re bound to love our range of Disney pyjamas.
Why not have a Disney themed sleepover party, with tipi sleepover tents and a selection of Disney films to choose from. Your child will have fun discussing with their friends which Disney character they are most like. They can also take a walk down memory lane with some Disney themed bedtime stories, such as Beauty and the Beast or The Lion King.
Our range of Disney pyjamas includes all their favourite characters from Frozen to the Little Mermaid, along with other Disney favourites such as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.
For Animal Lovers
If your 9 year old and their friends love animals, they’re bound to adore our range of animal themed pyjamas.
Whether they want something cute and cuddly such as the Teddy Bear print pyjamas or a more jungle-themed set like the Tiger Print Pyjama Set, we have lots of different designs for you to choose from.
Every child loves dressing up as their favourite animal for a sleepover party! They can will have fun snuggling up in their matching pyjamas, making for a night full of cuddles. If they want to get creative, they can also have fun creating animal masks out of paper plates for their sleepover party, to match their animal themed pyjamas.
Host A Cinema Night
For a sleepover party that can be enjoyed in any season, why not host a cinema party? Whether you rent the latest box office hit from Amazon or dig out a classic favourite Disney DVD, a cinema sleepover party is the perfect treat for your child and their best friends.
Pair the film with cinema themed snacks such as popcorn, cupcakes, hotdogs, nachos and ice cream, to really give them the feeling of being at the cinema.
For invitations, you could even create your own cinema tickets for your child to hand out to their best friends to really get everyone in the mood for a night at the cinema.
If you want to go above and beyond for your 9 year old’s cinema sleepover night, you could even set up a projector and screen outdoors in the back garden. Decorate with fairy lights to provide just the right amount of lighting and set up garden chains with cushions and blankets for your child and their friends to make themselves comfortable.
Burn Off Some Energy
It’s a well known fact that 9 year old children don’t like to go to sleep, especially if they’ve got their friends to keep them company. If you want a quiet night, be sure to plan some energetic activities in the afternoon to wear off some energy and increase your chances of the children going to sleep early.
A firm favourite is a sports day themed afternoon. Set up an obstacle course in your back garden using markers such as ropes to direct the children around the course. You can even add props such as space hoppers and pogo sticks to add to the excitement.
For an added challenge, get hold of some beanbags or eggs and spoons and challenge the children to complete the course with a beanbag balancing on their head! You can even divide the children into teams and offer a prize for the winning team.
A Creative Sleepover
For a creative party, host an art and craft session with markers and paper, so your guests can create their own masterpiece.
You could set up a station where they can paint one large piece to hang up in your child’s bedroom. Or, you could offer the children a selection of pictures and drawings for them to choose from and give them household items such as straws and tissue paper for them to make their own 3D artwork.
If you want to go a step further, ask every child to bring along a white t-shirt to decorate, and purchase a pack of fabric pens. The children can have fun designing their own t-shirts and then take them home as a souvenir of their sleepover party.
You could even host a fashion show at the end of the night to enable the children to show off their designs to their friends!
Hire Tipi Sleepover Tents
To make your child’s night something to remember, why not hire tipi sleepover tents for your child and their friends to camp underneath in your living room.
There are many online companies that hire out tipi tents for children’s parties, transforming your usual living area into the perfect sleepover space.
Whether you’re planning a movie night or a craft sleepover, hiring tipi sleepover tents is a perfect addition to make your child’s sleepover party that bit more magical, whilst making sure that they know just how special they are to you.
Teach A New Skill
If you want your child to learn something new from their sleepover party, host an evening of cooking. Let them prepare dinner for everyone with help from you and supply them with some simple recipes that they can master on their own. The children will love this fun activity and appreciate the effort you’ve gone to as their parent.
Alongside cooking, you can set up a science experiment by providing some ingredients for making baking powder and vinegar volcanoes. This is a great activity as the children will love to see the chemical reaction and it’s super easy to put together!
You could also provide some red cabbage juice and ask them to use food colouring to create blue and purple concoctions that can be used for colour mixing.
If you want your child to learn more about what they’re eating, set up a taste test station where the children put samples of certain foods on their tongues and guess what it is. This will teach them how to identify new tastes and flavours!
If cooking isn’t for your child, they can still learn something new by learning how to draw. All you need is paper and pencils to let them create their own sketches of the people at the sleepover party. It could even be fun for all of the children to do this! You could also provide dress up clothes for them to try out new looks.
Host A Games Night
Every child loves playing games, and 9 year olds are no different. It could be a special event where everyone brings their favourite games or you can choose some games to play. There are lots of board game suppliers online who will send the games to your front door for free (or for a small fee).
Alternatively, you could play some fun party games like pass the parcel and musical statues. Games like 'Would You Rather' are also a big hit with 9 year olds, who will enjoy thinking up crazy scenarios for their friends to choose between.
If you want some simple ideas, check on Pinterest or YouTube for lots of easy games like 'Pass The Parcel' and 'Musical Chairs'. You could also try some drawing games like Pictionary, where you can provide a list of words and the children have to draw a picture for each one.
Make Memories
Before your child and their friends go to sleep, give them each a disposable camera. Let them record everything they did that night, taking it in turns to pose for photos.
You can also get hold of some face paint and glitter for them to add a touch of sparkle before they take their photos.
If you want to go the extra mile, set up a DIY photo booth for them to create their own pictures. Add it props such as sunglasses, hats, feather boas and musical instruments and create some signs by attaching a straw or stick to some cardboard. The children will have hours of enjoyment taking fun photos to remember their evening!
You can then have the photos developed professionally, giving the children copies of the photographs as lasting memories of their sleepover party.
Party Favours
To make your 9 year old’s sleepover party unforgettable, give them each a parting gift to take home with them, such as a goody bag or teddy bear.
Alternatively, you could create a pick and mix station for the children to create their own party bag.
Simply fill old jars with your child’s favourite sweets and purchase a few scoops for serving. Then, grab some paper bags in your child’s favourite colours and allow their friends to dig in, creating their own unique party favours to take home with them!
In Summary
It isn’t easy planning the perfect sleepover party for your 9 year old. They’re at that awkward age where they don’t want their party to be too childish, but they aren’t quite a teenager yet. Finding the perfect balance can be tricky, but when you find it, you’ll know about it!
In this article, we’ve given you our top sleepover ideals for 9 year olds, helping you to plan a party that your child and their friends will remember for years to come. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that your child has the perfect set of sleepover pyjamas to allow them to shine all night long with our wide range of kids’ pyjamas.
