Slumber Party

You could make Party Pillows-- they go over very well with girls at slumber parties.

Here is a link for one on Family Fun:

http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDis...

Hands and feet, pamper and polish. Pizza, popcorn and a movie. Chocolate fondue. Bracelet making. T-shirt tye dye.(both in craft dept.) Anything girly should be a hit. Good luck!

They will entertain themselves. Teenagers do not want organized activities nor do they want parents involved. Just have plenty of snack foods and drinks - the rest will take care of itself.

Definately make-overs :)
Also, since she likes to dance maybe they could ha a little dance contest.
I don't know if she is too old for this but there is a great American Girl board game with lots of fun activitites that keeps our slumber parties busy for hours. Oh and you might want to rent a teen movie for later in the evening so they can wind down.

Mine played so much they didn't have time to do the activities I planned. I did get a cotten candy machine and they loved that. They also used her karaokee machine and did competitions.

When we did a sleep over birthday for my then 13 year old we found some great game ideas thru google. I can't remember the site but here are some games we played.
1)Find the gum race:Put big bubble gum piece on a plate for each girl. Cover the gum with a lot of whip cream. Girls keep hands behind back and eat whipcream until they find the gum. The first girl to find the gum and blow a buble wins. They were so funny to watch! The winner got a cheesy party favor.
2)Another great one is the blind makeover. Girls are grouped in pairs. One is blindfolded and given makeup. She must "do a makeover" on the other girl. Use trashbags with holes cut out for the head and arm to contain mess. Also get lots of spunges so they aren't spreading germs to each other. Take lots of pictures!!
This was kind of spur of the moment but when we ordered pizza they treated the delivery boy like a movie star. I video taped while they asked for his autograph and jumped up and down. It was really funny and the guy was a great sport about it. We made flip flops or shoes depending on the time of year. I got the cheap canvas shoes from walmart they painted them with fabric paint markers. If you do flipflops it's even better. you can find them at craft stores. You cut strips of fabric and tie them in knots on the top rubber part of the shoe. (e-mail me if you want more details) You can get the 5 dollar T-shirts from Hobby Lobby and paint those or pillow cases can be painted. These ideas were cheap and they had tons of fun. Donuts are great for breakfast. At this age some of them don't wakeup until their parents get there. So I'd do most of the activities at night. Have fun!

Have a fear factor party. We did this for our kids and friend's kids on Halloween. Everyone is still talking about that party. You can google "fear factor birthday parties" and tons of ideas will come up, or you can rent a hotel room that has an indoor pool, order pizza, and camp out! Another idea would be to take them to the mall! Pre-teen girls always love the mall. You could also take them to get their nails/toes/pedicure done? Hope these help! H.

I have a 10 year old daughter. We have had three slumber parties, one at age 6, 8 and 10. I planned activities for the parties and was suprised each time that the girls would pratcipate in the activities for a short time but they really entertain themselves. They would turn on the music and sing and dance. They liked to gossip etc.. At the last party we went and had make overs done. You can do them at home and then take pictures and have them model or dance. We have also had a pinata, made ice cream sundaes, had a choclate fountain, asked each girl to bring her favorite game to share.
As a child me and my sister had many slumber parties and our Mom never had to entertain us. Also have a couple of movies for them to watch for when and if they decide to lay down and go to sleep. I hope you have a wonderful party.

I helped my best friend throw a slumber party for her 11-year-old daughter that was a "Spa Day" theme. We turned the breakfast room into a pedicure room and the dining room of their house into a manicure room with a make-up station. We got tons of stuff at Sally, Claire's and the Dollar store for super cheap supplies and goodie bags for the girls - nail polish, makeup, brushes, etc. We draped the walls with sheets and wrapped the chairs at each "station" in sheets, and also draped sheets over the entrances, so the girls couldn't see what was waiting for them. We just used 4 tubs of hot water with good smelling bubble bath in them for the pedis, used tv trays for the manicure stations and then setup a great big mirror at the girls' eye level, and set out a whole bunch of makeup for the girls to play with when they weren't getting nails done. My friend recruited me and 2 older teenagers from their church (you could use babysitters, friends' older teenage girls, etc.) to be the "beauticians." Two of us did toes, two of us did fingers, and the little girls rotated so that each of them got a mani, pedi, and makeup time. We did also have a gaming system going (I think with "Dance Dance Revolution" which was big at the time) and music going to keep everyone entertained. Between all of us, we had more than enough nail and makeup "stuff" in our bathroom cabinets to probably keep these girls entertained for a week. And they all had so much fun! We acted very serious with the manis/pedis, did all the scrubbing, filing, lotioning, painting, etc., so they would feel quite grown up.

The party was a huge hit. Good luck with whatever you do, and have fun!

Scavenger hunt!
Set a 30 minute time limit (Or longer...just make sure one is set)
Ideas:
Colored paper clip
Solid white paper towel (hard to find because they are all printed)
q-tip
Sequin
Bandana
Green pen
a tape casette

Perhaps, a build your own pizza and some movies, buy some crazy nail polish and let them do each other's nails. Girls will think of something to do- which will include talking about boys, and lots of giggling. It would probably be better to plan simple things but not to over plan. Just let them hang out and enjoy each other's company

Here is a suggestion... take them to the mall.. do the nails thing... then to the food court. Once we got home they watched movies and did each others hair and make-up.
The next morning they made their own pancakes in funny shapes and ate and ate and ate...

T.,
While I don't have children your daughters age, my sister is close to that age and really loves to go to the mall with her friends! My mom will go with about four or five of them and supervise, and they will all bring money for food and shopping. Then they all go to the movies and back to my parents house for whatever they decide to do! Maybe your daughter just doesn't know yet what to do! I hope that helps!!
Have fun!

Set up a "salon" for them to do their finger and toenails. Have a couple of candles burning (in a safe place!), put on music that they like, and serve finger foods, and sparkling juice out of those cheap plastic champaign glasses. Girls this age just LOVE to do grown up stuff!

After their nails (or probably better to do it before) how about facials?

You can get one of those teen heart throb magazines, take out the center poster of one of the guys, and play "pin the lips on the hottie". Just make a big pair of lips out of construction paper and use that.

DDR. Kids LOVE DDR. Have popcorn, soda, pizza, finger foods, yadda yadda yadda.

Karaoke!

And, of course, a scary movie! One like when we were kids - a scary one that is not really all that scary like "Friday the 13th", or "Nightmare on Elm St.".

If you are going to do party favors, go to Wal-Mart and get some goodies in the .97cent bins in the make up area. Then, get some cheap cosmetic bags (maybe from the dollar store?) and put their goodies in there. In fact - that is what they could use for their facials and nails!

Have some cards ready for "truth or dare". That way, if the game has some trouble getting off the ground, they have some cues already on hand.

Good luck!

I don't know what kind of activities that age is into today, but, having survived more slumber parties than I can to remember, I will tell you this. Try as hard as you can to end up with an even number of girls. They tend to pair off and if you have an odd number, it usually spells for a very long night.

My girls are now 16 & 15. At 12, they used to love to have birthday cake snacks, movies, and do each others hair and makeup. Just basically hang out. It seemed to me that at 12 the slumber was less stress then when they were younger. They had a great time.

My girls were in dance for all their lives until this year. My Mom has been critically ill for the last four months and it has stopped all our activities.

L. B.

I have a daughter who just turned 13 last year. We had her party at Justice, girls clothing store. However, very often she has her friends over and we make a trip to their favorite clothing stores and they get to "play". They try on complete outfits, with hats, shoes and jewerly. The employees usually love it when we come in and join in on the fun. They laugh and giggle and squeal! It is so much fun to watch them, I go through the store snapping shots. Afterwards, we go print the pictures, each girl gets two copies of there choice of pictures. We end the evening by going for dessert somewhere or going home to make icecream sundies. We have also had fancy dinners that my husband and I serve, they love that. Or we have had tea parties. We have also had stations set up; recruit some help from your friends. We do hair, nails, toes......they get pampered. Sometimes they like just a simple movie night with a girlie movie and yummy snacks. Nancy Drew movie is great!

I know this sounds like a lot but I have 3 boys, then finally a girl! I spend a lot of time planning and doing inexpensive activities with her and her friends just so they have this time to be giggly, fun, and silly little girls. I don't think kids get enough of that these days. The more inexpensive you make the activities, the more often you can do them! :) Hope this helps. Have fun and Good Luck!

Good morning:

I have a very social daughter that turned 12 in March of this year. Most girls this age entertain themselves. I would rent several popular movies, make her favorite snacks, popcorn, pizza, etc. and make sure they have alot of good music to listen to music by Miley Cyrus, Chris Brown etc. Another great perk is a swimming pool, pool table and the latest game they crave is the Ninetendo Wii.

Another suggestion since your group is so small is the Grapevine Wolf Resort rooms are about $179 a night and they have a great indoor waterpark.

you could have a movie and popcorn bar...they can "decorate" their popcorn. candies, nuts, sprinkles, ect.

My dgtrs are 13 and 9 and we are veterans to slumber partys. One fun idea is to have a movie theme, ask each girl to come dressed as a movie character and decorate like an award show. Parents can play paparzzi and snap photos of the girls as they arrive, then you give awards to each girl (most creative, most glamorous, best comedien..you can make up anything you like). Activities could include "movie star makeovers" or movie themed games like charades or password. Movie themed food would be cute (nachos, hot dogs and popcorn) and the obvious closer for settling down...a movie!
Hope that helps!

My granddaughter just had a party with about 10 girls sleep over. I fixed a lot of veggie trays and fruit trays veggie pizza and it did not go over well. They did however love that I made punch. I put a fruit ring in it and you would have thought it was spiked.The healthy food did not go over well. I suggest the favorite pizza. Noisy kids and especially girls. All they wanted to do was jump on our trampoline or dance to Hanna Montana music. Talk girl talk.Truth or dare.
They pretty much intertained themselfs. One other suggestion. I had a build a bear last Friday with 11 kids and this gal also does Bella Bee parties and my granddaughter flipped when she hear that. ( she is 10) Her name is Misty Dick and her phone number is ###-###-#### very professional and on time and done in an hour. She also works full time and just started doing this party will travel. I guess they get make up done and little lessons on being well from the inside. Her e-mail is ____@____.com and she is also a Mamasource member. Lets help this gal be successful as she really deserves it. G. W

Let them pick out a couple movies to watch, get a bunch of nail polish and ask her what food they want. They don't really need actvities. You could get stuff to make cookies, if they like baking. We always mixed up our own cookies or brownies, even chex mix when I was that age. Just keep them way from phones, I assume calling boys is still fun even with all the caller id.

Paint eachothers nails, fix eachothers hair, paint some t-shirts or pillow cases with fabric paint, play marco polo in the dark, cook something, watch movies, etc.

A favorite recipe my kids like to cook when having sleepovers is buscuit pizza. You need canned buscuits, pizza sauce, cooked meat such as lunch meat or hamburger, and cheese. Let each girl flatten out 1-2 buscuits then spread them with sauce and toppings. Cook on a baking pan according to buscuit directions. Enjoy!

Spa-type activities are usually a hit with girls that age---manicures, pedicures, cucumbler slices on the eyes, facials, different scents of lotions, etc. It might even be fun to have a makeup specialist (like Mary Kay or others) to come and teach some basic skincare.

Hope you have lots of fun and happy birth to your daughter.

T., One thing I did for my daughter a few years ago. she is now 12 1/2... but this can be made "older" is to have a couple of your friends help out with "stations" We had one of my friends doing hair do's, one of my friends did nails for the girls, and I happen to have had a friend that was a great photographer. In lieu of goodie bags, I sent each girl home with a 5x7 pic after they were (done up) (this came about a week after the party) They loved it. (of course they played dress up...this was a couple years ago) today it would be jeans and a cool shirt, but I am pretty sure she would still like it. (the photographer took many pics and this enabled the family to purchase more from him if they wanted any. My daughter also loved doing a scavanger hunt to see who could collect the most items from the neighborhood..(if you think a few of your neighbors would go for this) Items included...cat food, toilet paper, paperclip.. strange things you think a neighbor have. (good idea to clue in a few of the most likely neighbor helpers)... This does require an adult or two to travel around with two teams. She loved this one. Hope you find an idea that works... I am sure she can give you some options. -D.

In Jan we celebrated our daughters 13th party. We did a home spa party everything went very well and everyone ages 12 - 15 had fun! We had a station for facials, hair, nails, & toe nails. I had to gather some of my lady friends to help we had 1-2 adults per-station. It ended up being pretty inexpensive we got a party kit from American Girl @ 50% off and facial masks on clearence from CVS. It was also a sleep over and dinner was tostinos pizza for 88 cents from walmart. Have fun =)

Try a glamour girls activity from Noah's Ark. Visit www.noahsarkworkshop.com/constancecotton_s9956

My daughter has always had slumber birthday parties since she was 6 years old.

When the teen years came, she really didnt want any planned activities. What she did want was food (pizza, plenty of different chips, soda), movies to possibly watch, her music and PRIVACY (within reason).

By this age, these parties take on a life of their own with much emphasis on eating, talking, music and TV. If your daughter doesnt have any intentions, it will probably be even better to let the party take its path naturally at this age. Just keep food and drinks available.

Google for this! There are so many pages with party ideas, alot of them are things that don't cost anything extra, like having a 'backwards' party, when guests are say goodbye, leave say hi, alot of ideas for in between are listed too i just can't think of them now. There are hundreds of themes on a page, click on one link and you get a bunch of ideas for that theme, etc. Alot of those sites are a really good resource for any kind of shindig you want to throw.
I hope you can find a bunch of ideas, and that y'all have a big time.
W.

I also have a 12 yr old. We have always had theme parties such as "Spa night at Jen's". It included, hair, make up, nails, toes, dress up and fashion show with video (on a tripod) and pictures to take home or included in the thank you notes.
Another theme party we have had was a Chef party. Either cupcakes or large sugar cookies. First, each guest must decorate their own (or each other's) apron (from craft store or WalMart) and chef hat -optional (from cooking store) with permanent markers. Put newspaper down to protect the table in case of bleed through and give the kids the multi-color sharpies. The aprons will be dry right away. Now time to prepare the batter (for cupcakes) or the dough (for cookies) slice and bake works fine - just use extra slices side-by-side to make large cookies for decorating. Set out icing (with plastic knives, m&m's, sprinkles, nuts, etc... Take lots of pictures! Make sure to send in thank you cards.

*another version of this theme is Ice Cream Party

Hi T.,

You didn't say what your daughter's interests were so it's kinda hard to suggest much of anything. Here's some thoughts that came through my brain:

*a roller skating party and then come back home and make ice cream sundaes?
*Dress up in fancy clothes and have an English Tea party
*videos and popcorn
*play twister with prizes and then make pizza with each guest bringing a favorite topping.
*paint ball party and then serve sloppy joes, chips and sodas

I hope that helps. I don't have a 12 year old grandchild to ask. My nine old granddaughter would probably enjoy the above activities.

Good luck!
T.

I have 4 girls; my oldest is 13. What is ALWAYS a big hit for parties at our house is karaoke. We have a karaoke machine, but even if you don't have one, you can borrow or rent one or even just buy a couple karaoke discs and play them in a normal cd player. We did an "American Idol" party last year where we had them dress up and "perform" and then all the girls voted on "best singing", "best costume", "silliest", etc.

Another fun idea is a makeover party. You can call a Mary Kay lady or just have some other moms come over and give all the girls makeovers and do nails and "up-do's" in their hair. They always seem to like that. For my oldest's 11th birthday, I had a Mary Kay consultant come and do a skin care class for the girls, and then we did pedicures. I got my daughter some cleansers and stuff and she had to develop a habit of cleaning her face all year so she could wear make-up when she turned 12.

Another fun idea is movie and popcorn. High School Musical I or II is always a hit. Or get some other fun movie with lots of singing or whatever. Just let them "hang out" and have fun.

One thing to remember is that now that they're not little kids anymore, you don't really have to entertain them for them to have a good time. I have found parties have gotten super easy in the past couple years!

I have a 13 yr old and her friends sleepover regularly. They never have organized activities. I do keep healthy snacks on hand, plenty of nail polish and "spa" type things, and movies.

The girls that come here love to listen to music, play the wii, and just sit, talk and laugh.

I have found over the years to always keep an even number of girls. No matter what you do, some will pair off. In the event they start bickering, etc (as all moody teens do), I just tell the to work it out or go home. It is usually worked out pretty quickly.

I routinely have anywhere from 3-4 girls sleeping over at least 1 weekend night each week. Granted....I have an only child so it is easier for me to do this. I also like the fact that they like to stay here because I know what they are doing.

We have also done the hotel thing and it is GREAT! I got a suite at the shops of legacy so they had their own space. We had room service, movies and it was a lot of fun for the group. I had 6 girls total at that one.

Hope that helps!
Susan

Split into two groups and have a neighborhood scavenger hunt. Make a list of 10 items that they must collect, some of which will have to be obtained by knocking on doors and asking for the items. Example: two sheets of toliet paper, a plastic fork, a magazine, etc...normal everyday household items. Each group will have to have an adult with them and two seperate locations to hunt for the items. Also, put a bonus item on the list and the first group back wins or the one that obtains the bonus item...make the bonus item something really rare or goofy.

Or another time my daughter had a "hat shoe" party. Each guest was required to wear a funny/goofy/strange/ hat and two different shoes, then they had a judge determining the place winners for the most unique, outragous, etc.

The above of course have to have adults, but they are great fun.

A homemade talent show or they are at the age of fingernail polish and lite make overs, with curling of the hair in up dos, and so on.

Put a theme to the party, 70's retro dress up, or something along those lines.....

Have fun, I created a reputation for me and my daughter, everyone now comes up to her and ask what we are going to do this year for her parties and now I'm running out of ideas.

If it's within the budget, go to a local hotel that has an indoor pool! They can swim and you can order Pizza. If that's not in the budget, have them all bring their favorite movie and let them stay up watching all 5 movies, just provide them with LOTS of snacks! Maybe do Pedicures for them if staying at home.

Every time my 14 year old daughter has girlfriends over, they always want to make s'mores...if it's warm outside, we use the bbq grill or the little small chiminea...if it's too cool outside, we use the fireplace.

They love it...have fun!

S.

When I was 12 and had a slumber party, we watched movies and did nails etc. I don't recall having a lot of "planned" activities, I just wanted to hang out with my friends and talk about boys and stuff. I wouldn't push her to try and create activities. Let her come to you...I would however ask her if you will need to buy food, movies, etc. in advance so that you are prepared. Let her assert her independence here!

Mine is only 10 so 12 year olds might not be as interested but we usually do lots of crafts. One year we made bracelets. This year they made clipboards and loved it!!! It kept them occupied for a looooong time! You can email if you want to find out how to make the clipboards.
We have also done the nail and make up stations where they just put their own on or help each other. We always have pizza, movies and icecream sundaes. They have fun making their own.
Also, we have never had an actual slumber party but at 8, 9 and 10 she had a pajama party , where they wore their jammies and brought pillows for the movie but went home at 9pm. That is my idea of a slumber party!!!

My sister-in-law, who lives in the Dallas area, did a cool thing for her daughter. Lizzie just turned 12, so my SIL told her that his was the last "big" party thing she could have where her and her hubby would foot the entire bill for her friends. So they went to a nice hotel in Dallas that had an indoor pool (it was in Jan) and got adjoining rooms. The girls loved it. They got to swim and order pizza, and stay up all night. What girl wouldn't want that???

Ok so she's twelve. hmm... Sounds like Hannah Montana or HSM cd's, junk food, and a telephone so they can call the boys they like and hang up without saying a word because they chicken out. Maybe some make-up and nail polish. Then you show up periodically to see how it's going and embarass your daughter by being a mom and obviously not cool. (because at 12 noone's mom is really cool, and if you were it's not cool to admit it.)
yep, that sounds about right.

Good luck
B.

I didn't get a chance to read the other posts, but for our daughter's 10 year old sleepover, we did the usual..beauty stations...nails, toes, hair, tatoos, etc.

Then my husband printed pictures of the latest teen/tween hearthrobs and taped them to the wall. We blindfolded the girls, put red lipstick on them, spun them around three times and had them kiss the wall. Whichever they kissed was their "boyfriend". We also threw in some just for fun, like our daughter's brother's picture and some "nerdy" characters. The squeals were priceless!

She's also attended a party where they decorated pillocases w/fabric paint. Still her favorite and it takes care of any "Goody bags".

I also LOVE the hotel idea. We had planned that for the 11th birthday, but she wanted to invite 10 girls..too much! 5 is manageable though...pizza, movie, swimming (if there's a pool.)

Have fun!

Make overs, mani-pedi's and a fashion show!!

I did a birthday party for my teen sisters a couple of years ago that they all still talk about. We did a murder mystery dinner. I cooked food and they played the game (with a little assistance). I had them all come dressed up like it was fancy and decorated the table formally. I also baked a cake that was 3 tiers high and did plane white icing all over it. I gave them colored icing and whatever else I could find to let them decorate the cake. Afterwards they did what every other group of girls do, talk till wee hours. Hope this helps!

She probably wants a lot of 'girl' time. They want some privacy to gab and do their own grown up thing. A scrapbook activity is great for this age. Ask all the girls to bring a few of their favorite photos, take more digi prints at the party. Borrow a photo printer if you don't have one and print off some for the books they create. Try to give them as much space as you can. I know you want to keep an eye on them so set them up in the dining room or wherever and let them feel like this is their own space and project. Plus, this makes teh perfect take party favor. She is gettign too big too fast. I know!

I gave my daughter a slumber party who is the same age.I went out and bought picture frames, paint, glitter, glue, etc. and let all the girls decorate their own picture frame. I then took a picture of all the girls who were there (group photo) and put them in the frame so they could take home with them. We also made cup cakes and I let them do the baking and decorating, and I let the girls make their own pizza's and I rented girl movies from Blockbuster. The girls made their own video with the video camera they had a good time. My daughter just went to a slumber party a few weeks ago and the parent had it at the Hampton Inn where the girls were able to go swimming, they made their own flip-flops (Hobby-Lobby) they painted their nails and toes afterwards they went to Breakfast and the Outlet mall and all the girls bought matching t-shirts. I think the girls just enjoyed being together. They stayed up half the night just talking.
Hope those idea's help.

The best parties don't force the kids to do anything. Have a few back up idea's, like having nail polish ready, plenty of hairbrushes and rubber bands, and maybe a movie or two. Let the girls decide what to do. You may wish to get some cheap candles for that exciting se'ance! Let the girls direct you, just have a few backup idea's. Remember: what is the one thing every woman wants? To make her own decisions. It was true in King Arthur's time and it hasn't changed!

I found scavenger hunts or mystery type things a hit for this age. Maybe that will give you a start. I also think they sell some board games for this type of situation also, that gets the girls talking and stuff. Oh and having a self serv junk food station is a good idea if it's a sleepover. -Nita

Hey T.,
I had a 13th birthday party with a disc jockey. That was a surprise. I would suggest having each girl make their own personal pizza by scratch, and having an "american idol" competition, or some sort of beauty contest along with dress up. That's always fun. A scavenger hunt is also a wonderful idea! Ok, hope all that helps! Have fun.

T.

At 12, if they are the girly-girl type, they might enjoy a party at "Sassy Kats" or some similar place. They all get to have their hair, nails, and makeup done. Then they dress up in fancy outfits, gowns, etc. and have a runway show, with lots of pics. The cake and presents follow. My 10 yr olds friend had a party like that and loved it.
Another alternative, for the sportier types would be to have a party at your local gymnastics place. They usually have party options that include an hour lesson.
Here's a link for some other ideas that would appeal to a wide range of girls: http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/party_preteen.htm
Good luck...Kimberly