Image: iStock
As your little one has now bloomed into a teenager, they no longer find it cool to hang out with their family.
They’d rather spend more time with their peers and have their own kind of fun like going to the theaters or attending concerts. In this post, we bring to you a fun list of night activities for teens. As a parent, you may be worried about your teens doing an activity that’s inappropriate for them. So how do you ensure that your teenager is involved in having some fun that’s entertaining and appropriate for all? Well, here’s a list of such activities that are fun to do at night. Read on to learn more.
Fun Things To Do At Night With Your Teens
Engaging in fun activities can foster bonding and communication between parents and teens, allowing for shared experiences that strengthen family ties.
1. Movie marathon
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- DVDs of your teen’s latest heartthrobs.
- Milk duds
- Popcorn
How to:
- Play your teen’s favorite actor/actress movie marathon.
- Watching movies is one of the most fun Friday activities for teens. Give them some popcorn and milk duds as accompaniments to the movie marathon.
- You can sit with them and have deep conversations about the movie, too. Mother and film critic Tracy Palmer often watches horror movies with her children. She says, “Movies take a while to watch at our house because they get stopped and started a lot. Discussions on bullying, sex, and misogyny come up all the time. It’s a teaching opportunity that despite current politics, ‘locker room’ talk is never okay, and women are to be respected. My boys are better for it. As a family, we have had in-depth conversations about the casual bigotry using certain words and phrases can promote. We have had philosophical discussions on the evolution of empowered women as witnessed by Ellen Ripley in Alien (i).”
2. Truth or dare
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- A bottle
How to:
- Make the teens sit in a circle comfortably.
- Now make them set the rules and regulations of the game. It would be a good idea to write down the rules on paper.
- Spin the bottle. The player on whom the bottle lands has to make a choice between truth or dare.
- If she chooses truth, then ask him/her a question and if she chooses dare, then give her a daring activity to perform. Do not let the teens do anything life threatening or illegal for a dare.
- Continue the game until the bottle lands on every player. Playing truth or dare would be on top of the list of night games for teens.
Be watchful3. Karaoke night
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- A microphone
- Speakers
How to:
- Hand over the microphone to the teens.
- Now ask them to take turns at singing.
- Your teen and his friends will laugh all night long and will make memories that will last forever. But make sure the sound of the speakers is not too loud. You wouldn’t want the neighbors complaining about you to the cops!
4. Stay still
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- Flashlights
How to:
- Assemble the teens in the living room. Select two players to play the role of ‘tourist’ and the ‘tour guide’. The other players will become the statues.
- Tell the ‘statues’ to stand in one room and the tour guide and tourists will have to stand outside the room and count up to 30.
- Once the 30-second lapses, switch off the light of the room. Now the tour guide and tourist have to enter the room with a flashlight.
- The tourist and tour guides have to move and make the statues laugh without touching them.
- The statue that laughs or makes moves will be eliminated.
Quick tip5. Ghost in the graveyard
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- Nothing
How to:
- Assemble the kids in the graveyard and mark a safe point. Select one player to be the ghost.
- The ghost now has to find a hiding spot while the other team members count up to 100.
- After counting up to 100, the teens have to run to find the ghost.
- When a player finds the ghost, he has to yell ‘ghost in the graveyard’ to warn the other participants. The other players now have to run to the designated safe spot.
- The first player tagged by the ghost will be the next ghost.
6. Scary story
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- Pen
- Slips of paper.
- Bowl
How to:
- Have the teens sit in a room. Give each player a pen, slip of paper, and tell him to write the beginning line to a scary story. Example: “It was a foggy night, and nothing was visible”.
- Place the slips of paper in the bowl, shuffle and pass it around the circle.
- Have the teens pick up one slip of paper from the bowl and take turns at telling a scary story using the beginning line.
- The player who gets the most votes for the best story will be the winner.
Point to consider7. Death wink
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- A deck of cards.
How to:
- Have the teens stand in a circle.
- Pass around the cards to each player.
- The player who receives the Joker card will be the ‘murderer’.
- The murderer now has to wink secretly at the other player to ‘kill’ him.
- Once the player receives the wink, she has to fall to the ground dramatically after five seconds.
- The players now have to figure out the killer.
- The player who guesses incorrectly will be eliminated. This is an interesting indoor game and one of the fun things to do with teens on weekends.
8. Smugglers game
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- Small items like pens, paper, and coins.
How to:
- Select one team to be the scorekeeper. He has to sit in the middle of a large circle and use cones to designate the area.
- Divide the teens into two teams- smugglers and police officers.
- The scorekeeper’s circle will be surrounded by the police territory, and the smuggler’s area will be surrounded by the police land.
- The smugglers will keep items like coins, paper, pen, etc. The smugglers will have to get through the police and into the scorekeeper’s circle to earn their points.
- If the police officer tags them, then the item will be confiscated, and the police’s team will get their points.
- Continue the game until all the items are seized or are successfully given to the scorekeeper.
9. Capture the flag
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- Flags
How to:
- Divide the teens into two teams and designate a territory to each team. One area will be the jail.
- The players can choose any area to place their flag, but it must be visible. The teams can assign players to guard the flags.
- The goal of the teams is to steal the other team’s flag and get it to their territory without being tagged.
- The player tagged would be sent to the jail.
- The other team members can free them by tagging them and return to their territory.
- The team that catches the maximum number of players will be the winner.
10. Make a pizza
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- Pizza ingredients like a pizza crust, cheese, chicken and veggies.
- Oven
How to:
- Provide the pizza ingredients to your teens and let them make the pizza.
- Make sure you are present there for their assistance, especially for using an oven.
- Take it out from the oven and serve it to your teen’s friends.
11. Photo collage
Image: Shutterstock
You will need:
- A camera or smartphones
- A printer (optional)
- Large poster boards or canvas
- Glue sticks or double-sided tape
- Scissors
- Markers, stickers, and other decorative items
How to:
- Throughout the night, take photos of memorable moments and activities.
- If possible, print the photos; if not, use digital tools for a virtual collage.
- Sort the photos and cut out desired parts.
- Each teenager gets a poster board or canvas. They arrange and stick their photos on it.
- Use markers, stickers, and other items to decorate around the photos.
- Once everyone is done, take turns sharing your collages and the stories behind the photos.
- Find a place to display the collages as a reminder of the fun night.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can teens stay safe when going out at night?
Teenagers can be safe while out and about at night by telling their parents where they’re going and who they’ll be hanging out with. Also, they might keep their phones charged and pay attention to their surroundings. For maximum safety, they should avoid drinking and driving.
2. What are some tips for finding late-night entertainment that is appropriate for teenagers?
Teenagers’ late-night entertainment or sleepovers should be enjoyable and safe. Fun activities for teens like watching a movie, playing board games, stargazing, painting, playing video games, dancing, cooking dinner, making bonfires, and doing DIY projects are a few possible choices.
3. Are there any local youth clubs or organizations that offer nighttime events or gatherings?
A few youth clubs and organizations that often host group activities for teenagers are the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association) or the YWCA (Young Women’s Christian Association), Scouting organizations, such as the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts, and finally, community centers and recreation centers which provide opportunities for artistic expression and collaboration.
4. What are some fun outdoor activities for teens at night?
Fun outdoor activities for teens include stargazing, night hikes, and outdoor movie nights under the stars. You can even take them on experiences, such as teen-friendly local concerts, comedy shows, and theater performances, where they can be entertained and socialize with people their age.
Interesting things for teens to do at night can make their camping or sleepover experiences more memorable. You may choose sleepover games and activities for teens based on their interests. Karaoke night, truth or dare, movie marathon, stay still, ghost tours in the graveyard, death wink, scary story, and capture the flag are popular activities for teens. Additionally, going bowling or to the arcades or escape rooms may also help you vibe with your teenage daughter or son. You can also indulge them in making some exciting recipes, such as pizza. Teens may like interactive games more than arts or crafts compared to children.
Infographic: Activities Teenagers Will Love To Do At Night
When children turn adolescents, their definition of having fun transforms. Increasingly, they wish to hang out with their peers and feel adventurous. But that doesn’t mean you cannot make them engaged and excited with you. So explore some exciting activities for your teen to enjoy during the night.
Illustration: Momjunction Design Team
Key Pointers
- Memorable activities with your teens like movie marathons, karaoke nights, making pizzas, and telling scary stories are ideal to do at night.
- Entertain your teens with games like Capture the flag, smugglers game, death wink, and ghost in the graveyard.
- These games can be played either on a sleepover or while on a camping trip.
- When choosing a game for your teens, keep their interests in mind.
Illustration: Fun Things To Do At Night With Your Teens
Image: Stable Diffusion/MomJunction Design Team
Personal Experience: Source
MomJunction articles include first-hand experiences to provide you with better insights through real-life narratives. Here are the sources of personal accounts referenced in this article.
i. Why I watch scary movies with my kids and you should too.https://medium.com/@tracyleepalmer/why-i-watch-scary-movies-with-my-kids-and-you-should-too-10f256b4f93c
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