What To Do For a 13-year Old Birthday

[bytheblood]

I need some ideas. My daughter will be turning 13. Here is a little about her/us:

She is extremely intelligent, but very much a little girl at heart. She is a sweet and innocent girl, cannot watch movies over a PG rating, LOVES all things Disney, likes playing games, but is not into sports or outdoorsy stuff. She is home-schooled, so most of her social interaction is at church and on the weekends when friends are available to come over (or her there). Most of her friends are like her, just never been to Disney World, so not big into all things Disney.

What we have planned so far:

• She will have family and about 8 friends over.
• We will be playing Disney bingo with prizes for the kids.
• I will be making her a 4-layer 8 inch & 10-inch round stacked fondant-covered cake decorated Minnie-style.
• Her plates are black, napkins red with large white dots, black plastic-ware and white table cloths.

She has chosen all of this. I am a little concerned that at 13, her party might be a little boring for other girls her age who are not into Disney like we are, so we have to find some things that are non-Disney related. She has a trampoline in the backyard, and we have a Wii, Game Cube, X-Box and lots of girlie things to play with. We also have a pool table upstairs in a huge game room (lots of room for playing). She is my only child and so I don't know what to do at a party for a 13-year-old. Her guests (friends and family children) will be ages 3, 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and adults.

So, that gives you a little insight...do you have any suggestions about what we could do to keep to keep the fun going after the food is gone? Maybe with all of that, they will entertain themselves????

 

[disneyjunkie]

I need some ideas. My daughter will be turning 13. Here is a little about her/us:

She is extremely intelligent, but very much a little girl at heart. She is a sweet and innocent girl, cannot watch movies over a PG rating, LOVES all things Disney, likes playing games, but is not into sports or outdoorsy stuff. She is home-schooled, so most of her social interaction is at church and on the weekends when friends are available to come over.

What we have planned so far:

• She will have family and about 8 friends over.
• We will be playing Disney bingo with prizes for the kids.
• I will be making her a 4-layer 8 inch & 10-inch round stacked fondant-covered cake decorated Minnie-style.
• Her plates are black, napkins red with large white dots, black plastic-ware and white table cloths.

She has chosen all of this. I am a little concerned that at 13, her party might be a little boring for other girls her age who are not into Disney like we are. She has a trampoline in the backyard, and we have a Wii, Game Cube, X-Box and lots of girlie things to play with. She is my only child and so I don't know what to do at a party for a 13-year-old. Her guests (friends and family children) will be ages 3, 4, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14 and adults.

So, that gives you a little insight...do you have any suggestions about what we could do to keep to keep the fun going after the food is gone.

Bingo will be a hit with the 3 and 4 year old, maybe the 9 year old. Not so much with the other kids.

Kids love to dance. Have plenty of music and let them dance.

I would say show a movie, but the PG thing will bore the older kids to death.

 

[Alphabetsoup]

The 3 & 4 year olds are kind of a lost cause in this.... you are trying to come up with something that would appeal to them and to a 14 year old?? Not going to happen.

However, from 5-14 one thing i know that we used to love were scavenger hunts/treasure hunts.

 

[bytheblood]

Bingo will be a hit with the 3 and 4 year old, maybe the 9 year old. Not so much with the other kids.

Kids love to dance. Have plenty of music and let them dance.

I would say show a movie, but the PG thing will bore the older kids to death.

Dancing is fun. That is a good suggestion. She also mentioned to me after I posted that they could play on the pool table upstairs.

I can guarantee that the kind of kids my daughter hangs out with would not be bored by PG movies.

 

[bytheblood]

The 3 & 4 year olds are kind of a lost cause in this.... you are trying to come up with something that would appeal to them and to a 14 year old?? Not going to happen.

However, from 5-14 one thing i know that we used to love were scavenger hunts/treasure hunts.

The 3 and 4 year old I am not worried about. More than likely, they will be with their grandparents.

Scavenger hunting is a good idea. Thanks for that tip.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

How about playing Disney Scene It? DS14 and DNiece13 both love playing it!

 

[allison443]

Is she having 8 similar aged friends, in addition to the family and the younger kids you mention? If so, I would gear the activities to that age, rather than try to accomodate such a wide age range.

I think at that age they generally entertain themselves, don't they? The things you have mentioned sound good. Since you said some of the others aren't into Disney I wouldn't have Disney trivia or anything like that that requires a knowledge of Disney.

Enjoy!

 

[NHdisneylover]

How about tie dying shirts or pillow cases? You would have to prewarn guests to wear something they can afford to stain and you need to prepare (you should soak the shirts in soda ash the day before). You could do black and red dyes to match your theme if you want (and have instructions available to do the Mickey ones if anyone wants too). DD13 tie dyes shirts with her friends recently and that was a big hit. They liked having instructions available for some of the nicer patterns and trying them out.

We also often have a "birthday person" trivia game with a prize for the most correct answers and one for the silliest answers. Keep prizes simple so no one feels too left out when they lose. Ask things about your DD, like what her favourite song is, or how old she was in her first dance recital, etc. Try to have some things that will be funny. This tends to go over well and we get requests from guests to do them now. 10-15 questions is good without being too long. We do it orally, and draw it out and try to be fun when it is happening.

 

[ksjayhawks]

Is she having 8 friends over that are her age and the ones you listed are extras (not in her 8)?

I would gear the activities to her and her friends. Ages 9 and up should enjoy a scavenger hunt, trivia about her (good suggestion!), music, playing pool and other games--perhaps set up a rotation of the games like 10 minutes of pool, 10 minutes of Wii, etc. Movies can always be your backup plan.

 

[nskjerven]

Thanks for the trivia idea My DD is turing 13 in a couple of weeks and we are having her slumber party at a local hotel (with a pool) we are bringing in dinner and cake and plan on movies and junk food for the girls to hang out and gab - that is what my 12 year old loves to do the most these days I figure it will be the same as she turns 13 soon too

 

[NHdisneylover]

I am glad a couple of you like the trivia idea. TIP: make sure you figure out the answers before the rotfl: We forgot to count shoes once (how many pairs of shoes does Marika own? Oops!). We always try to do a couple of number questions like the shoes one (how many songs are on Rio's iPOD right now, how many books did Marika check out from the library last year, how many days has Rio spent on board a cruise ship, etc.).
Add in things like" middle names, favourite movies/TV Shows/candy bars, etc.

Really try mix it up enough that friends an family (since both will be at the party) will have equal chances. We did one for ME at my 35th birthday. It was a bog, casual aprty and a few people brought guests. The winner had NEVER met me before that night

 

[quasar4legs]

My niece decorated cupcakes at a birthday party and she came home raving about how much fun she had. The parents put out a selection of sprinkles, different coloured icings etc. and the mum had pre-made the cupcakes so no cooking involved.

 

[Ceila]

My niece decorated cupcakes at a birthday party and she came home raving about how much fun she had. The parents put out a selection of sprinkles, different coloured icings etc. and the mum had pre-made the cupcakes so no cooking involved.

I did this for DD8's last birthday party and the girls had a lot of fun! I used the oversized cupcake baking cups (http://www.reynoldspkg.com/reynoldskitchens/en/product.asp?prod_id=1794).

I let the girls choose their cake flavor (I had made chocolate, vanilla, and swirled) and an icing flavor (vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry) which I put on for them. Then they sat at the kitchen table and decorated their cupcakes with candy, sprinkles, etc. If you can, go to a cake decorating store or even Jo-Ann's and get some of the "fancier" decorations.

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

Scavenger Hunt is the best idea... Bingo seems too babyish for 13 year olds (I used to teach middle school).... Tye-dying could be fun also.... What about Karoke with one of those at home machines?

 

[kristilew]

How about a "Minnie Project Runway?" You could set up the activity as Minnie Mouse needs some new outfits and she's hired a group of aspiring designers - your DD and her friends - to craft them for her. Have a bunch of fabric scraps, lace, ribbons, etc in Minnie's favorite colors (red, yellow, white, black, pink) and some cheap tees that can be cut up and embellished. Fabric markers, glitter glue, safety pins, feathers, glue-on plastic "jewels" - whatever you can find at the fabric, craft or dollar store - will add to the fun. The girls will love to spend time creating the perfect ensemble for Minnie. Then they can each model their creation, or if you have a big Minnie Mouse plush, they can take turns putting them on her, and have a picture made of the "star" with each "designer."

Other ideas - Minnie Manicures. Since you will have several adults in attendance, enlist their help to paint the guests' nails. Of course, one of the main offerings could be bright red with white polka-dots.

- Blindfolded Minnie Mouse portraits. Pair up the girls and have one wear a blindfold. This one is the artist and is given a large sheet of paper and a marker. The other is the guide and must give instructions for the drawing of a picture of Minnie Mouse. "Put your marker down and make a circle. Now pick it up and move over a few inches and make another one..." After awhile, switch artists and guides. This was an activity at DD's youth group a few times and caused lots of giggling and fun. The pictures come out really crazy and for some reason this age loves that.

 

[LuvOrlando]

My DD11 and her friends who age 11-13 seem to just LOVE to play with each other's hair, use glitter, put on makeup and do nails. Whenever we have a sleepover, either going or coming, I make sure I have plenty of dollar store make-up, applicators, hair brushes, combs, bobby pins barrettes and glitter from Walmart. The girls each get their own bag with brushes marked with their names as part of the goodybag, it's good hygiene and they love it, they know to wash up before bed. Sometimes at my house I'll even allow nail-polish with stick-ons and those little stones the girls can glue on. Our last sleepover also included 2 craft kits from Michael's that made friendship bracelets. The girls didn't need anything else, all the giggling told me they were fine. I don't think they ever even watched the movie. If you do want a movie "Penelope" and "Cinderella Story" are good PG's for that age group.

Mom to mom, I wouldn't lay the Disney thing on too heavily at that age. Even if your family are huge fans 8 girls is an awful lot to expect to be on-board with the theme, one BFF would be ok but with 8 girls one is bound to say something. My kids do like WDW but it's become more of a private thing in recent years because their friends have decided Disney is babyish. If you and your DD really want a Disney Themed party can I suggest 2 parties, one for her girlfriends and one for her family. I know you have some much younger kids so maybe you can't see that your DD's age group has mostly moved beyond Disney, but I can't help but worry you might be opening your DD up to some pretty harsh criticism from her peers. My DD is 11 and won't even let me use her WDW sheets in case one of her friends might see, she wears her Princess jammies at home privately. Just my 2 cents.

Have fun!

 

[Magic Mom]

Are all her friends pretty similar to her in their likes? Because Disney bingo seems too young for that age party. My 10YO is sweet and innocent too and would not like bingo at her birthday. Other more age appropriate ideas might be manicures (they can pair up and do each others nails, provide hand exfoliater, cutical cream, wild nail polish colors, and some nail decals-gems, stars,etc), facials, dance talent show (give them some time to practice), get some fabric markers and paint and let them decorate tshirts.

 

[aprilgail2]

Are all her friends pretty similar to her in their likes? Because Disney bingo seems too young for that age party. My 10YO is sweet and innocent too and would not like bingo at her birthday. .

My daughter is ten and she would rather not have a party than to have Disney Bingo and a Minnie Mouse cake at it....that really is WAY to juvenile for a teenagers party- Why not let her grow up and not try to keep her 6 years old? Sweet and Innocent is a good thing, but trying to keep them 6 years old at 13 is really not. Not saying have some drinking and dirty dancing party- but why not something age appropriate??

 

[bytheblood]

How about playing Disney Scene It? DS14 and DNiece13 both love playing it!

Love that idea - thank you!! We also have Pirates Scene It, so they will have 3 of them to choose from.

 

[bytheblood]

Is she having 8 friends over that are her age and the ones you listed are extras (not in her 8)?

I would gear the activities to her and her friends. Ages 9 and up should enjoy a scavenger hunt, trivia about her (good suggestion!), music, playing pool and other games--perhaps set up a rotation of the games like 10 minutes of pool, 10 minutes of Wii, etc. Movies can always be your backup plan.

It is 8 friends, plus family. The kids that are 3 - 9 and the 14 year old are cousins. Her friends are either already 13 or some still 12 (like she is today).