By Ellie Badanes, The Pajama Company Blog Team

With short days and long nights, January is the perfect month to host a sleepover. With the winter chill outside, snuggling up in pj’s and sleeping bags is the best way to celebrate winter with friends. Pajamas and sleepovers just go together, especially in January. At The Pajama Company, we have long loved sleepovers and celebrate friends new and old  having fun together all night long in pj’s eating popcorn, watching movies, playing games and maybe just maybe catching a few zzzz’s. Here are a few of our favorite sleepover games for your winter party.

• Nail Polish Birthday Spin Game-Place several colors of nail polish in the middle of a circle of girls.  Have the first girl at the sleepover spin a bottle of nail polish.  Whoever the cap is pointing to when it stops must paint one of her fingernails that color.  Then that person spins the next color of nail polish…and so on.  Pretty soon everyone has really crazy hands and toes!
• Don’t Say It – This is a game that is actually pretty popular at adult parties too! Give out one beaded necklace to everyone that comes to the party.
  Choose a word that relates to the party i.e. “night” and tell everyone they CAN’T say that word the whole party. If they say that word, whoever they say it to, gets their beads. The person with the most beads at the end of the party wins!
• Foil Make Over Game-The object is to create the best outfit out of aluminum foil.  This can be played individually or if you have lots of girls separate them into teams.  Give each person or team 1 or 2 rolls of aluminum foil.  You can add accessories like belts, sunglasses, jewelry, hats and more.  Have the girls create tops, pants, dresses, skirts, bikinis or shorts.
• Blind Make Over Game-The first person puts on a blindfold and does the makeup of the second person.  Then when they are done the second person puts on the blindfold and does the makeup of the third person.  Draw numbers to determine the order.  Be sure to take pictures when you are done!
• Sleepover Ball Game-Buy a large inflatable beach ball and in permanent marker write questions all over it.  Place everyone in a circle and throw the ball to someone.  The person who catches the ball must answer the question that their right thumb is touching.  After answering the question they then throw the ball to another person.  Here are some suggestions for questions:  What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?  What is your favorite color?  What are three words that describe you? Who is your favorite band/singer? What is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to you? What do you say when you talk in your sleep?  What is your biggest phobia?  If you were invisible what would you do?  If you were an animal what would you be?  Who is your secret crush? What was your last dream about?
• Haunting Tales – Have everyone sit in a circle, with just a few candles lit around the room. The person hosting the party should start a scary story with one sentence. Each person must add another sentence until an entire tale has been created. Include guests in the story to make the scare factor even higher.
• Candy Hunt– Ask everyone to bring a flashlight to the party.  Before everyone arrives at the party ask a parent or sibling to hide candy all over the house.  When it gets dark, turn off the lights and have everyone take their flashlights and hunt for the candy.
• Snuggle Bug-Designate one person at the party the “Snuggle Bug” by putting slips of paper into a bowl (all blank except for the one that has the SB on it).  Whoever picks the “SB” is the “Snuggle Bug”.  All the guests are in the same room (with the lights off throughout the house) at the beginning of the game.  Then the “Snuggle Bug” gets to go and find a hiding place.  People roam throughout the house and ask other players, “Are you the Snuggle Bug?”  If the answer is no, then they keep searching.  If the answer is yes, then the person has to join them in the hiding spot and snuggle up to the SB.  As more guests find the SB and snuggle up, the hiding space becomes overcrowded and the game ends when the last person finds the SB.  Maybe have a “booby” prize ready for the last person!
• Kiss The Poster-get a nice poster of your favorite pop star, rock star or celebrity.  Have each girl put on lipstick and take turns putting on the blindfold and kissing the poster.  The person who kisses closest to the celebrity’s lips gets to take the poster home!
• Tapper-With everyone in the room, one person is chosen to be the Tapper.  The Tapper goes into another room where he/she can’t hear the other players.  Meanwhile everyone hides in their sleeping bags or under pillows and blankets.  You can also make decoys by putting pillows/stuffed animals under a blanket to make it look like a person.  Then someone gets up, turns off the lights and goes back to their hiding spot.  After everyone is settled, you yell to the Tapper to come in.  The Tapper comes into the room, with the lights off, and taps on someone.  If you get tapped you have to say “Yes?” in a weird voice (or say something else, it’s up to you).  The Tapper has to figure out who was speaking.  If the Tapper is right, the person tapped has to be the Tapper next and everyone gets a new hiding spot.  If the Tapper is wrong, he/she has to tap another person.   Or one by one the Tapper can guess each person until only one is left.
• Blair Witch Hide and Seek-A new type of hide and seek to play using a cell phone and a house phone.  Wait until it’s dark and turn out the lights.  One person hides with a cell phone.  In the pitch black, everyone goes looking for this one person.  Every so often he must call the house phone and give clues to where he is hiding.
• Two Truths and A Lie-Sit in a circle.  Each person one by one must tell everyone two things that are true about himself/herself and one thing that isn’t.  Mix up the two truths and a lie however you please.  Everyone has to guess which is the lie.

Sleepover!