Gift Guide 
Ready to host an epic sleepover? Just gather your kid’s best buds, serve pizza or breakfast at midnight, and let them have a ball testing their creativity and skills before they go to bed.
Event 1: Shopping-Center Scavenger Hunt
Location: Your kid’s favorite mall
Best for: Older children (and younger kids, with help)
Number of players: 4 or more
What it’s about: The challenge
Why it’s fun: Kids love a fact-finding mission.
You need: Adult chaperones (one per team); team captains (to heighten competition); paper and pens or pencils for each player; rules governing the search and search decorum (uber important).
Kids need: Speed, accuracy, basic addition
How it works: Armed with a list, players count the number of, well, whatever you want them to find: possibilities include number of eateries in the food court, restaurants that serve cold drinks and pizza, steps in the central staircase, men’s shoe stores, revolving or automatic doors, indoor fountains, fake trees, store names containing seven or more letters, the mall directory’s location, and so on, depending on the time you set aside.
Duration: 30 to 45 minutes to find all items
Cost to you: $0
Event ends: At a set time at an agreed-upon location. Points for correct answers and on-time arrival; penalty points for the tardy. Highest-scoring individual or team is the winner, with bragging rights and the final say in the selection of the snack for the drive home.
Fun factor: 4 ½ out of 5 stars
Event 2: Taste It, Don’t Waste It
Location: Backyard picnic table, kitchen table or island
Best for: All ages
Number of players: The more the merrier
What’s the point: Refine the palate, sort of
Why it’s fun: You never know what you’re going to get stuck eating.
You need: Disposable spoons, napkins, 12 bowls of anything you have a lot of, dice, labels, yummy and meh choices
Kids need: A strong stomach, courage
How it works: Players roll dice to determine which two everyday items they will taste mushed together. So, if a guest rolls, say, a 2 and a 6, he digs into bowls labeled 2 and 6 respectively; each bowl contains something tempting…or less appealing. (You get to decide whether to label the bowls’ contents, which could range from cottage cheese and ice cream to olives and mustard.) Resisters risk getting teased by buddies, and skip a turn; two missed turns and they’re out. Kid or kids who last the longest are declared the winners—and they select the movie that night.
Duration: 30 to 40 minutes
Cost to you: $0, if you have the ingredients
Event ends: When everyone, except the quitters, have had three tries
Fun factor: 5 stars
Event 3: Rattlesnake Tag
Location: Your backyard, front lawn, a park, or playground
Best for: Younger children
Number of players: 4 or more
What’s the point: Teamwork, physical coordination
Why it’s fun: Who doesn’t like a chase?
Kids need: Speed, stamina, agility
How it works: Kids hold hands and form a line, or players line up single file, with each player placing his hands on the waist of the child in front of him. The first player is the rattlesnake’s head. His assignment: tag the rattle—the last kid in line. If the rattle is tagged, that player moves to the front of the line and becomes the rattlesnake’s head, and the game continues. Anyone who breaks the line sits out one round.
Duration: 20 to 30 minutes, or when fatigue sets in
Cost to you: $0
Event ends: When each guest has had a chance to catch the rattle
Fun factor: 5 stars
Event 4: The M&M Game (also played with Skittles)
Location: Kitchen table or island
Best for: Older kids
Number of players: 3 or more
What’s the point: Patience, skill
Why it’s fun: Who doesn’t like candy?
You need: A giant bag of M&Ms, a large bowl, paper plates, and a pair of chopsticks for each player.
Kids need: Luck, mostly
How it works: Version 1: Kids transfer 25 M&Ms from their individual plates to the communal bowl, using only chopsticks. First to finish wins. Version 2: Place at least 100 M&Ms in the communal bowl. Assign each child a specific color M&M that he has to transfer from the bowl to his plate. Everyone plays at once! The first to remove all his M&Ms from the bowl wins.
Duration: 30 minutes
Cost to you: $10-$15 for paper plates and candy
Event ends: Let the kids decide how many times they want to play.
Fun factor: 5 stars
Event 5: Make-Your-Own Camo T-Shirts
Location: Outdoors, on a clothesline, over a grassy surface
Best for: Any age
Number of players: 4
What’s the point: Camo is awesome.
Why it’s fun: Kids make their own party favors
You need: Clean white tees; black, olive drab, and tan dye; plastic spray bottles.
Kids need: Creativity, inspiration
How it works: Wash and dry tees beforehand. Kids choose their own designs and color combos, and spritz away until tees are transformed forever. Hang dry or follow the package instructions.
Duration: 30 minutes
Cost to you: About $50
Event ends: When kids leave wearing their T-shirts the following morning
Fun factor: 5 stars
