9 Fun Sleepover Party Food Ideas

Sleepovers are often very popular among the tween crowd. Some tweens throw or go to sleepover parties just about every weekend. But throwing a great sleepover party doesn't just happen. You have to make sure that there are plenty of fun activities and lots of yummy food for the growing tweens. Sleepover food should be fun, portable and tasty. Below are a few ideas to get you started on throwing a fun and tasty sleepover.

Party Food and Snack Ideas

You'll want to cater your food choices to your tween's preferences as well as any special dietary needs of their guests. So, find out ahead of time if any guests have any restrictions that will impact your menu.

Breakfast for Dinner

If you want to make dinner for your sleepover guests, consider serving breakfast for dinner. Serve pancakes or waffles, bacon, ham, or sausage, orange juice, fresh fruit and plenty of toppings for the pancakes or waffles, such as syrup, whipped topping, and sliced peaches, blueberries, or strawberries. Then, in the morning, you can serve pizza for breakfast.

Decorate Your Own Cupcake

This is a messy option, but nothing says fun like a decorated cupcake. Bake the cupcakes ahead of time, and when the children arrive for the sleepover party, have them decorate their cupcake to eat later that night. Provide a few different icing options, sprinkles, sliced strawberries, marshmallows, red hots, and other candies.

Make Your Own Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

If you don't want the mess of a sundae bar, provide chocolate or vanilla ice cream and large oatmeal or chocolate chip cookies. Give your guests two cookies and have them sandwich their ice cream choice in between the two cookies. It's a yummy dessert that's also portable.

Make Your Own Pizzas

Kids love pizza and there's no reason everyone has to have the same thing. Buy prepared pizza dough and sauce, and let the children choose their own toppings. Provide cheese, pepperoni, bacon bits, onions, black olives, sliced mushrooms and spices such as basil and oregano.

Make Your Own Snack Mix

Homemade snack mix is a fun treat to make before a movie marathon. Set out bowls of mini pretzels, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanuts, raisins or craisins, and Goldfish crackers, then give every child their own bowl to fill with the ingredients she wants in her own personalized snack mix. You can even have them make a batch in a Zip-loc baggie to take home with them the next day.

Make Your Own Tacos

Same idea as the Make Your Own Pizza suggestion, just with taco ingredients. Provide cooked taco meat, soft and hard taco shells, mild and spicy salsas, and all the other ingredients that make tacos so yummy: shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, diced fresh tomatoes, and diced onions.

Popcorn Bar

If you're hosting a sleepover party, you have to provide a yummy snack or two. Popcorn is a sleepover necessity, but you can put a twist on the traditional buttered popcorn option. Provide the children with a large bowl of air-popped popcorn and have them pick their own toppings. Possible toppings include cinnamon sugar, sea salt, chili pepper, parmesan cheese and of course, melted butter.

Spaghetti Bar

You don't have to use spaghetti noodles, in fact, you can cook up a batch of spaghetti noodles and a batch of another kind of noodle, say penne or macaroni. Provide marinara sauce, alfredo sauce, and melted butter. A side of cooked meatballs, garlic bread, and a healthy salad round out the meal for your sleepover guests.

Sundae Bar

Don't forget about dessert. Banana splits or sundaes appeal to any tween. Provide a half gallon of vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream and have the children make their own concoctions. Provide sliced bananas, chocolate sauce, mini marshmallows, whipped cream, sliced peaches, sprinkles and of course, cherries to top it all off.