Parents of Teens..... Okay, not what you are thinking!!! : )

[Wishing on a star]

I am on a planning committee for a big family type event.

There may be handful of teens there, and I am trying to think of some kind of activities for them to get together and hang out, maybe have some fun.

My DS is not that old yet.... ( I know, my day is coming!!! LOL!!!)

HELP!!! Surely you guys have some ideas.
Just simple ideas are best.

TIA!!

 

[hucifer]

Damn! I thought it was another juicy thread.

 

[ducklite]

Will they all already know each other? I'd have some sort of icebreaker game where they ahve to interview each other and get the answer to predetermined questions. Each teen can answer only one question from each others sheet so they have to mingle.

Give them a seperate area with music and a cooler of soda. What type of an age difference is there? 13 year olds will have nothing in common with 19 year olds who would probably rather hang with the adults than the 13 year olds.

Anne

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Hahahaha...teens will only come under pain of death or FREE FOOD!!!
They like LOUD MUSIC and skateboarding. Guys skateboard & girls talk about them.

 

[SoccerDogWithEars]

Hahahaha...teens will only come under pain of death or FREE FOOD!!!
They like LOUD MUSIC and skateboarding. Guys skateboard & girls talk about them.

Ok, I'm sorry, I was nosy and viewed even though I'm not a parent. I'm a teen. And just to clear things up, not all teens are like that. I hate skateboards. Now, I'm not saying it's the only thing that will get us there, but free food is a HUGE bonus. From my experience, music is ok, but it usually ends up in arguments over what to listen to. I'd almost say just let them do their own thing, they'll make friends within each other. If you see someone alone, try to find someone with similar interests and introduce them.

 

[Wishing on a star]

LOL MysteryMachine!!!

Well, we could always order Pizza, but I don't think that the skateboarding and LOUD music would go over well at the hotel where we are meeting!

Now, really, I know that all we really have to do is break out the cell phones and hook up the hotels internet access, (TV too, of course) and we'd be all set!

 

[Wishing on a star]

soccordog,

thanks!

Do you think some pizza and some cold drinks, etc. would be enough???

It would probably be a handful of teens. They might be familiar with each other, but not 'friends'.

What about some simple time-killer games/activities????

 

[The Mystery Machine]

A hotel, huh? That is a toughie. Are you renting a hall? What are you allowed to do?

 

[Nana Annie]

 

[ChristmasElf]

Face painting is popular with the younger teens. Dancing, music, pizza and soda will also keep them happy.

Maybe a movie (video) that everyone could enjoy would be an option.

Temporary tattoos?
There are henna tattoos that will last about 2-3 weeks that teens like and are fairly easy to use.
If there will be a lot of girls, maybe someone that can do hair braiding would be fun.
Buy some beads and let the girls all make bracelets.

If there is access to a game room with pool tables or air hockey, the guys would like this.
I didn't notice what state you are in, maybe using the hotel pool would also be fun.

 

[Wishing on a star]

You guys are right. They will probably end up doing their own thing!!!

I will check out the Game-Room situation. But, I am thinking it would be limited.

I probably could contact a couple of them and see what they think! I wonder if it would possible to see that somebody brings a PS2 or Xbox type set-up, and they could hang out and do that. Would that go over well with older teens??? I know it would the younger kids, but I am not sure about the older ones. Hhhhmmmm.

 

[tw1nsmom]

I don't have teens either, but what about movies? Can you arrange for DVD players in a couple of adjoining rooms? You could rent a stack of movies for each room. One room could have older teen movies and the other could have younger teen movies. Board and card games can sometimes be fun. Also, what about a texas holdem poker tournament? You could use pennies, or toothpicks and prizes. I've heard poker is popular with teens right now (I know Dh likes it, of course he's 33).

 

[ducklite]

Make sure there are a couple decks of cards and a couple board games like Clue or Pictionary--nothing long winded like Monopoly or Risk though. And give them something to use as poker chips--like candy, or let them use real chips.

My son LOVES poker, he's 20 now, but he's been playing it since he was about 14. One of his teachers got him interested as a way to build math skills. (Any port in a storm!)

If there's a pool remind them all to pack a swimsuit.

Anne

 

[golfgal]

Do you have your hotel picked out yet? If not, see if you can find one with a big waterpark. That will keep kids of all ages occupied. When we stay at hotels for basketball tournaments we usually get a meeting room and the adults hang out there, the kids will bring in board games and play some but they prefer to be in the pool. If the hotel has a regular pool, bring some fun balls, water frisbees and other pool toys. That will keep them busy as well.

We are having a family reunion on DH's side this summer. We tried to talk them into meeting at a large park with a beach, etc but no go, they want to have it at my In-Laws house which is next to a city park but there isn't ANYTHING to do for kids over the age of 7 or so.

 

[Hannathy]

More details please is this for an evening? a weekend? what is the set up? number of kids, ages. Are the parents there doing something else or is it just for kids. Boys Girls mixed. Do they want to be there?

 

[Wishing on a star]

This is over a weekend. A three day weekend for some.

I am sure that the days will be busy enough.
Plenty to do during the day.

There will be lots of younger kids, but probably just a few teens. I thought it might be nice to have some kind of ideas set up for them. Like in the evening after supper one evening, when the adults are visiting, and the little kids are just playing and being 'kids'.

There are some good ideas here, keep 'em coming!