My daughter is turning 11, and wants a family party, any ideas for food & games?

Question

She always had a themed character party, but now she's "all grown up". She has done the slumber party thing before, but wants to celebrate with all her family, which is quite a bit. There are quite a few kids, and alot of adults, I just want to make her feel special.

Answer 1

The kids can make these themselves and they turn out great! Check out the link below for instructions and a picture. You can have the cupcakes baked already, so they can just ice them and make the roses. They look great when they're done and taste yummy too.

Answer 2

A backyard BBQ could be great, because if between inside and outdoors you house might be big enough to fit everyone, and this will avoid having to look at an outside source to hold the party. Also, you can have all of her favorite foods, and still have a large variety for everyone. Games are easy this way, because kids can play outside, while grownups can relax. You could even have a pinata or something, that she might think she is too old for, but the younger kids would love, and she probably would actually enjoy. Another idea would be to hold a "fancy" tea party. I know at 11 I would have loved that. Let her get dressed up and have a fancier event with sandwiches and china. I'd feel her out for what options she's looking for.

Answer 3

When my daughter turned 11 we had a luau. She wore a grass skirt over her swimsuit and gave everyone plastic leis... we had it cookout style in the backyard with all the decorations (tons of stuff available online at Oriental Trading Company or at your local party store) and we had a "Tiki Bar" with non-alcoholic strawberry daquiris and pina coladas (just use the bottled mix and ice in the blender) with umbrellas in the drinks.

For food we had hot dogs, hamburgers, ribs, a big veggie tray with dips, a big fruit tray, and if you do it at night you can set up tiki torches in the yard for lighting or during the day set up sprinklers or a water slide for the kids if weather permits. We got a CD of luau music at the local party store too and played that and a Beach Boys CD all day long.

We had a pinata for the kids... hers was a big pineapple hanging from the tree... and it was filled with tropical treats (snack packages of tropical trail mix and tropical flavors of Life Savers, gums, gummy stuff, Skittles etc along with the little trinket stuff from Oriental Trading Company.

It's easy to have cakes done with a beach or tropical theme... or you could just have big cookies done instead... maybe Mrs. Fields with white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Make sure Dad walks around all day in a Hawaiian shirt with a stuffed parrot clipped to his shoulder singing Cheeseburgers in Paradise and other Jimmy Buffett songs because that absolutely makes the party - lol

Whatever you decide, I'm sure it'll be great :)

Answer 4

We just had a family party for my 14 yr old. We had shredded BBQ beef, (you could also do shredded pork) chips, salsa & avacado dip, green salad and a fruit bowl. My family always loves Kool-aid, and now that it comes in colorless form we don't have to worry about red stains. For games you could do croquet, badmiten and horseshoe toss. Kids of all ages will participate. My family also enjoys a good game of bop-it! or catch phrase. (electronic games) Get her a princess crown to wear while singing happy birthday to her. When the family gets together to share her special day she can't help but feel special.

Answer 5

ask her if she wants her friends to come to the party (during or after family) and have a sleepover. that way she can have a family visit and a girls night in too!

as for the food, ask her what she might want. if you think her taste in food may not agree with the adults, ask her to either compromise or have her (and possible friends') food set aside. if it were me, i'd go for pizza, and, of course you have to have cake and ice cream for a birthday! but since she's growing up, she may not want that.

p.s.- if you think she'd like it, spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread would be a very sophisticated birthday dinner. especially if you add some sparkling grape juice as the drink (or reg. juice and club soda).

good luck!

Answer 6

mysister is turning 11 and we are planning a blacklight dance party... get a cheap dance hall and a dj or have someone do the music... buy a bunch of blacklights (even the regular looking bulbs would work), which you can get at walmart pretty cheap, and replace all the lights with blacklights, and put on the invitations for everyone to wear white so they will glow.. also, you could get some glow in the dark or blacklight paint for everyone to have fun with... decorate with white streamers everywhere.. idk how much you want to spend on her but since you said she has alot of friends it would be neat to get a fog machine or bubble machine.. just a few ideas that i know would make an awsome teen party... best of luck!!

Answer 7

Firstly, I think it's great you are giving your daughter the freedom to be hostess of her own party....Good for you Mom!

You could decorate with your daughter's favourite colours and/or have decorations that really signify your daughter, who she is in terms of what she likes, her hobbies, anything that people can relate to your daughter immediately, etc.

As for food, once again go with your daughter's favourite foods as well as some varieties for everyone. Big trays of lasagna always work and they have the advantage of being prepared and frozen in advance. A selection of sandwiches are always welcomed and once again, easy to prepare with a variety of fillings. Fruit and cheese platters and a variety of breads and crackers in a bread basket can work too.

I find finger food can be a great option, in particular with desserts. Tasty slices and small pieces of cake, mini cookies and individual puddings....they will always be wanting more!

Talk to your daughter and see how she would like her party to pan out, and most importantly....have fun!

Answer 8

try a more cultural celebration. you could have different stations and decorate according to the place where the food comes from. for example have a mexican food station and put up sombreros (big hats) and maybe mini pinatas around that area. maybe you could have some trivia from each place and whoever gets the correct answer for all the stations gets a prize or something.

Answer 9

There is a fun punch you can make. It is rainbow sherbert that you mix with sprite. It is really yummy. Maybe you could ask her to write down 10 of her favorite foods, then make little finger foods with them all. That is really cute that she wants a party with her family. Sounds like a bright little girl!

Answer 10

I back up the scavenger hunt stuff. I've done that for teen parties, even for bachlorette parties. Everyone enjoys them and they take a while!