Get Festive with a Christmas Sleepover, A Must-Try Tradition

If you are a sucker for Christmas traditions and going (slightly) overboard during the festive season, then you’re going to LOVE this idea. The festive Christmas sleepover has arrived! And they are as cool as they sound!

I’m a big fan of all things Christmas and have to admit that our list of Christmas traditions is quite long. It starts with a December 1st Box before we bring out the Elf (begrudgingly). There are Christmas lights to look at and Christmas cookies to bake, plus the house to decorate and Christmas crafts to try and replicate from Pinterest (but that turn out just terrible).

Get Sleepy in a Christmas Teepee!

But this latest Christmas tradition might go down in history as my kids’ very favourite. It combines their love of forts with Christmas. Festive forts, ladies and gents.

Yes, they are a thing, and we are HERE for it!

Christmas sleepover ideas - Naughty or Nice from Catch My Party — Source: Catch My Party

You may have heard of a Teepee Sleepover. There are plenty of companies that specialise in setting up and supplying everything you need to host one but many clever parents are also putting these slumber parties together on their own.

Essentially a Teepee Sleepover is a themed slumber party where each guest gets a little bed, a teepee, a pillow and then a collection of cool items (a sleeping mask, a cup, a lantern or torch, for example). Teepee Slumber Parties are usually themed (puppies, camping, army, boho, spa, etc).

But this year, we’ve got a new contender. The Christmas Sleepover: A festive slumber party, hosted by you, in your living room, for your children to enjoy.

Christmas sleepover ideas — Source: Coffee and Confetti Mom

Thanks to some truly talented companies and parents including Coffee and Confetti Mom, Teepee Vibe Tribe, CatchMyParty, WigWam Wonderland and more, we’ve shared a few examples of Christmas Sleepovers and Santa Slumber Parties that you may be able to recreate at home.

Christmas Sleepover Ideas for kids — Source: Teepee Vibe Tribe

What you need for a Christmas Sleepover

For each child attending the Festive Fort Party, you’ll need:

Mattresses (camping air mattresses are the go for these)
Teepee tents (have a look at Coffee and Confetti Mom’s DIY)
Christmas-themed bedding and Christmas pillows for each child
A small Christmas plush or Christmas Squishmallow
A small table to hold their Christmas goodies
Bunting and fairy lights to decorate the teepees

Santa Sleepover - Slumber Parties for Christmas Eve — Fairy lights are a must! Source: Teepee Vibe Tribe

What accessories to include:

This will depend entirely on what’s on the agenda during the Santa Sleepover.

You may look at doing a spa theme with face masks, nail polish (Christmas colours of course) and a Christmas-themed candle.

A Movie Marathon is a really easy and popular option where you can fill their tray with snacks (popcorn, lollies, hot cocoa, Christmas cookies).

Elf on the Shelf or Merry Grinchmas are two other cute ideas.

Etsy - Christmas teepee tents — You’re a fun one, Mr Grinch. Source: Etsy

Other items to include:

A Christmas craft for each child to do
A lantern, torch or Christmas snow globe that lights up
A mug or plate for snacks
A light-up or letter sign

Christmas teepees, Santa sleepover ideas — Source: Catch My Party and Coffee and Confetti Mom

Where to buy the supplies

Bunnings is a good place to start if you’re making the teepee yourself.

As for the air mattresses, you can get affordable ones at Kmart. They aren’t the comfiest though so you may want to try a camping store (BCF or Anaconda for example) if you’re looking for something a bit more lush.

Christmas teepees — Source: **House Beautiful**

Kmart, Spotlight, Adairs, Big W and Target all have heaps of Christmas bedding, pillows and fabrics. Spotlight is especially ideal for Christmas fabric when making the teepees. Any craft shop will also have the supplies needed to make your own Christmas themed bunting.

We would also suggest wandering the aisles of Kmart, IKEA, Target, Spotlight and Big W for Christmas knick-knacks including lights, snowglobes, Christmas plushies, Christmas mugs and plates and pretty much anything else you want to add to your Christmas sleepover. And, of course, Etsy!

NOTE: You may be surprised at how many companies offer this service so if the DIY approach seems too hard, have a quick Google search in your area to see if there is anyone nearby who can take care of the set-up (and clean up) for you.

When to Do It?

Many parents put their Festive Forts together on Christmas Eve to add even more magic to the whole experience but this might not work if your kids are light sleepovers and you’ve got a busy evening of playing Santa.

Any free night in December will work, especially after school is finished.

So, ladies and Christmas lovers, what do you think? Will you be organising a Christmas sleepover for your kids this year?