18 Things Everyone Ate And Drank At Sleepovers In The '90s

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If you're a child of the '90s, then you likely have fond memories of sleepovers with friends. These were simpler times without selfies and dances to post on social media. At the time, watching "Daria" on MTV or playing light as a feather, stiff as a board with your friends was as cutting-edge as it could get. You were worried about pop quizzes and crushes, not affording rent and long commutes to work.

So, please, take a load off and let's travel back in time to discover some of the most iconic drinks and snacks that we devoured in the 1990s at sleepovers. There are plenty more, of course, but these are among the most popular. Some still exist, while others are long discontinued — they're part of history books now. Come join us on this stroll down memory lane. You might just unearth a fun memory or two of sleepovers with your homies.

Getting your pizza delivered was the hot thing in the '90s and an epic way to eat during a sleepover. We didn't have all the delivery apps and everything that exists now, so pizza delivery was truly fun, innovative, and a great way to spend your evening with friends. Usually, the parents would decide what kind of pizza to get, then call in an order. Pepperoni or cheese were among the most popular, but some adventurous kids liked a supreme. 

The parents would pay when the delivery person knocked at the door, and then all the kids would come running from wherever they were playing to dig in. Wow, what a time. Bonus points if you got a stuffed crust pizza or the Little Caesars Bigfoot pizza; these were the epitome of cool. While pizza companies still offer stuffed crust, the novelty has long worn off. Relive your youth with a pizza and "Home Alone" food and '90s movie pairing.

As a child or preteen, Bagel Bites seemed like a super cool dish. They were convenient and an easy way to get some food out for the kids. The adult just popped them in the oven, and they were ready to go — no assembly required. You didn't want to wait for the adult to make food from scratch, and the gaggle of children certainly didn't want to sit around the dinner table to eat. You desired popular products that were so synonymous with the 1990s.

You likely popped them on a plate and then ran back into your room to watch a movie or giggle with your friends, devouring them along with other snacks like chips and soda. While Bagel Bites still exist today, you might not be as pleased by the rubbery and chewy bagel base, the extraordinarily hot cheese, and the strange pepperoni cubes as an adult.

Kid Cuisine always seemed like such a fun concept. We recall always wanting them as kids and thought they were "dope," but our parents never got them for us. They were, however, prime options for a sleepover because the whole idea was to save time when making food for a bunch of children. These seemed luxurious and perfectly childlike with whimsical colors, characters, and treats. You might have had a breakfast version or something for lunch or dinner — any of which made for a stellar pick at a sleepover. 

Now, as an adult, you can look back and think of them as glorified frozen meals; the cuisine looks visibly mushy, bland, and mysterious. Is it supposed to be mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, or some other goop? It's hard to tell. But that was not how they appeared when we were children. They were gourmet and, best of all, delicious.

Dunking your teensy Dunkaroo cookies in cake frosting while laughing with friends was such a fun memory. It came in a pack with six dipping kits, so the parents could buy a couple of packages and have a portion of their sleepover snacks covered. We don't think we were aware that it was frosting; we just thought it was a tasty dip — technically, "dip" is what the brand wrote on the box, so it's no wonder. 

The dippable Dunkaroos were way more exciting than other cookies like Oreos or Girl Scout cookies, purely because they were more interactive. They eventually fell off the face of the Earth for quite a long time but then made a comeback in 2020. If you try them and feel like they don't live up to your childhood nostalgia, then you might want to make homemade Dunkaroos instead for something slightly more elevated.

Capri-Sun has long stood the test of time since its inception in 1969. It has remained a relevant, mainstay beverage for children for decades. Back in the 1990s, Capri-Sun was the "It" drink, particularly if your parents didn't want you to have carbonated or caffeinated soda. It was marketed as an all-natural juice drink, which made parents more confident in their choice to purchase it. 

The juice pouches were convenient enough to travel with or take to school and easy enough for kids to open themselves. In this case, they were a top pick for a sleepover because you could get a box or two of them to quench the thirst of all the kids, preteens, or teens at the gathering. Pacific Cooler was the ultimate choice for the young ones because of the chill beachy, skateboarding vibe — totally on par with all things '90s.

Although the parents might have tried to whip up a tasty breakfast, it's hard to get all of the kids or preteens to agree on what they want to eat. It would be impossible to create a separate breakfast for each kid. Pop-Tarts, however, were an agreeable option that most kids at sleepovers liked. It didn't hurt that there were so many flavors to choose from. If you were ahead of the curve, your parents probably bought you Pop-Tarts Snak Stix or Wild Magic Burst, which had sprinkles that changed color when the toaster heated them.

But most of us had Wild Berry or Frosted Strawberry. Although it was supposed to be a toaster pastry for breakfast, the great thing about Pop-Tarts was that there was no rule that you couldn't have them for lunch, in the afternoon, or as any kind of snack, making it the perfect item to hoard in your room for a sleepover. We deemed Pop-Tarts the No. 1 most popular food trend from the '90s because of their flavor, colors, convenience, and commercials.

We'll never understand why Choco Tacos were discontinued. They were a simply delightful treat with vanilla ice cream, a chocolate swirl, and milk chocolate coating, all wrapped in a "sugar taco" cone with crunchy peanut pieces to top it off. As an adult, it's hard to fathom why it was in the shape of a taco, but it was, and it's just a part of the lore now. Even though we haven't had them in a couple of decades ourselves, they were surprisingly only discontinued by Klondike in 2022. But we still think they're a nostalgic frozen food that deserves a comeback, along with Jell-O Pudding Pops.

As a kid, though, they were "da bomb." You probably wanted to head over to the living room or your room to eat it, but parents probably said to eat it at the table because of the meltiness and the sticky, chocolatey fingers. It was worth it, though. If you have a hankering for one or you want to reproduce the concept for your own child's sleepover, you might want to make a Choco Taco-inspired ice cream sandwich with a pizzelle base.

Would it even be a kids' sleepover without candy? You were likely staying up late with your "homeskillets" watching a VHS movie marathon or binge-watching shows on Nick at Nite, trying to keep quiet so that the parents wouldn't come in to reprimand you and tell you to go to sleep. We were so energized from the gossip among our friends, but it's not like the sugariness of the candy helped either.

There were plenty of popular sweets, including Butterfinger BBs, Ring Pops, and Push Pops. We distinctly remember the Bart Simpson commercials with the Butterfinger BBs and thinking it was all that and a bag of chips. We never forgot the "crispety, crunchety" tagline either. And only Push Pop could make a lollipop seem non-baby-like enough for kids to want them at a sleepover. Of course, there were of course other classics, such as M&M's, Jolly Ranchers, and Snickers too.

Although Scooby Doo fruit snacks still exist today, they are not the same as the ones we grew up with. Nothing can replicate that blue fruit snack. It was rich, creamy, fruity, and delicious. Our mouths are watering just thinking about it. The blue fruit snacks were so coveted that you would jump for joy if you had more than one in your pack. The mysterious snacks made for a spooktacular sleepover treat because they were easy to eat and relatively mess-free for all ages. You could even barter among your friends to swap certain flavors, although we never knew anyone who would want to switch out their blue Scooby snack. Bonus points if you ate them while watching "Scooby Doo" on Cartoon Network.

If you were allowed to have soda as a kid, then there were plenty of options for you to sip on. And at the time, it wasn't super common for parents to speak to each other about what they do and don't eat in the household. So even if you didn't necessarily have soda at home, you might have had it at your friend's house at a sleepover. We distinctly remember having four cans of Coca-Cola during a one-night sleepover at our friend's house, so you might have a similar memory.

But there were also plenty of other soda options at the time, such as Mountain Dew, Shasta, Clearly Canadian, and Jolt Cola, to name a few. You might have seen the Surge citrus soda commercial at the Super Bowl XXXI and begged your mom and dad to buy it for your sleepover to impress your buddies. Being relevant was highly important, especially as a child, because radio and TV commercials were all we had to keep us in the loop.

Pizza rolls are an iconic sleepover snack for all ages, from children to teenagers. It satisfied that salty craving, but it was hot, so it seemed partially more elevated than having, say, a cold cut sandwich or chips. You probably got the three cheese or pepperoni for your sleepover and made your parent pop them in the oven or microwave while you and the crew finished up dancing to music videos on MTV, back when that was a thing. 

Did you burn our tongue and the roof of your mouth upon that first bite? Absolutely, but it was worth it. They were gooey and melty on the inside and then slightly crisp on the outside. You probably had to buy a couple of bags because these would go fast, especially among several kids. If you want to relive a piece of your youth, you can still find pizza rolls at most supermarkets. There are even more brands than there used to be, and there are vegan options as well.

Trix are for kids, we know that much. But Trix yogurt could be appreciated at any age for a sleepover. The vibrant colors drew us in, but the fruity flavor kept us close. They were marvelous, magical, and memorable with their two-tone colors. They were extra convenient for parents to pop in the fridge so us kids could just grab something when we were hungry; this tactic was particularly useful if you wanted your parents nowhere in the vicinity of your friends. The words "talk to the hand" or "as if!" might have come out of your mouth at some point. 

And to be fair, sleepovers certainly required a lot of effort on the part of the hosting adults, though they were also a way for parents to just kick back and watch their show or read their book. You could holler at them if you needed them, but why would you when there was an easy-to-open snack like Trix yogurt? Not only that, but it served as a breakfast food, saving time in the morning, too.

Popcorn has been a mainstay for sleepovers and late nights for decades. It was popular in the '90s and remains a tasty treat thanks to its affordability, quantity, and adaptability; you simply can't miss with the kernels. You might have had a basic off-brand kind or something fancy like Pop Secret's Pop Qwiz colored microwave popcorn. Because nothing screams 1990s more than an acid green piece of popped corn. Artificial dyes just were not something that we cared about, particularly as young folk who weren't well versed in nutrition at that age. 

Sometimes, you kept the popcorn just the way it came (nice and buttery), or you might have added extra butter spray or tossed in your favorite candy like M&M's, for a candy crunch. If the kids devoured a bag, you simply had to microwave another, and it was ready in a jiffy. An adult might have been involved if you only had the stove top version. It didn't really matter how it was made, just as long as it was full of butter flavor.

Sunny D was the ideal beverage to hydrate yourself after a long afternoon of playing "Mortal Kombat" or "Sonic the Hedgehog" with your best buds. You didn't want to get up off the chair, couch, floor, or blow-up furniture that was popular at the time. You absolutely couldn't look away or take a break from the game. So, you could simply squeeze the drink directly into your mouth (thanks to the sports bottle cap) without ever taking your eyes off the game. What a time to be alive!

Parents were happy to get these bottles in a big pack because the brand advertised them as 100% vitamin C and having less sugar than other soda brands. We're pretty sure everyone thought it was citrusy juice and not soda because these were often served at breakfast time — right along with Pop-Tarts or toast and jam.  A large pack would ensure all kids were set on beverages for the evening.

Chips are a traditional snack, whether you noshed on them during recess or after a long, hot soccer practice. They're a terrific option for sleepovers because most kids like them. You could pick one or two bags of chips that everyone would eat. And it didn't hurt that there were so many choices to choose from. There were potato chips, tortilla chips, and everything in between. 

The parents would pour them into a large bowl, and then we'd work on it throughout the afternoon and evening. We remember putting Bugles on our fingers like we were little witches, then eating them one by one. Those corn snacks used to come in flavors like ranch or nacho cheese for added dimension.

It's hard to know whether Kudos were genuinely mouthwatering or if they were just a part of the overwhelming nostalgia of our childhood. No matter what the case may be, these were total sleepover snack staples. They were supposed to be a granola bar, so parents often served these as a "healthy" snack option right alongside carrot sticks and ranch and washed them down with Sunny D — even though they were deliciously enveloped in chocolate and sometimes even had candy bits in them. 

Everyone would eat one and then go back to playing Mad Libs or MASH (aka Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House) to find out who you would marry, how many kids you'd have, and what kind of house you'd get. You couldn't go wrong with any of the flavors because they were all sweet and scrumptious. We loved the mini M&M's ones because the snap of the chocolate candy coating added a textural component to the otherwise chewy bar.

As full-grown adults, we can look back at Gushers and realize they're nothing but sugary candy. But when we were children, they were labeled a fruit snack, and that's what we thought they were. And delicious "fruits" at that. How could we resist that gummy exterior with the gooey, sludgy interior? It wasn't quite as liquid as juice but more like an oozing goo. One problem you might recall with these is opening the baggie to find smashed, popped Gushers that we're already stuck together, but that didn't stop us from enjoying them.

These were a staple to bring as part of school lunches, so your parent probably packed a few bags for you to take to a sleepover, ensuring that you were the popular kid. They were colorful, tasty, and interactive, which isn't something you see as much these days. They're still available if you want to buy them at your grocery store to see if they live up to the hype.

Another juice option we had at the time was Little Hug fruit barrels. As children, they were so fascinating because of their unique shape. Why is it a barrel? It's hard to know, but you could see the boldly colored juice directly through the packaging — and few things are more appealing to a child than a neon-colored juice. These were the perfect drink for quenching your thirst after riding bikes around the neighborhood; they were sweet, and yet they had a somewhat odd, bitter aftertaste. Now, the question is: How did you open it? Did you stick your finger in it, stab it with a straw, puncture it with your teeth, or remove the foil entirely?