What did you do for your 10 year old DD's party at home?

[ReturnOfTheBlackSheep]

Shamelessly looking for ideas!

Movie night? Craft kits?

Decorate cupcakes orI found some cheap decorative clocks they could use deco pens to decorate.

Sleepover (with movies and popcorn etc.)

'Camping' in the garden with firepit and toasting marshmallows etc (can get them to actually sleep inside if it isn't safe for them to actually camp).

Scavenger hunt/treasure hunt

Themed party if there is something they're all into. You can have a quiz and/or craft activity on set theme.

I can't do a sleepover and we don't have a garden (plus its cold and might well be raining). DD doesn't have any ideas for party or presents, normally she knows what she would like!

Takeaway and a movie?

Mine had a black and white party. Jewellery making with black and white beads, mask-making and spoon-people making with feathers, washi tape and other bits and bobs, decorating biscuits with black and white icing and other edibles. We basically put everything out on the table and they got on with it, chatting, singing and being loud as they did so.

How many of them?

We’ve had a ‘pyjama party’ where they get picked up before sleepover time, but they’ve in ‘sleepover’ mode: decorate white pillowcases with fabric pens, buy cheap pillows to go inside (Wilko!), have a pillow fight, watch a movie with personalised popcorn (sweetie selection to choose your own topping), etc.

We have a small house but my 9 Yr old just had 6 friends over last week. I basically just let them run feral! They had pizza, played the switch and just ran around. I think kids missed parties and stuff through covid so the bar is set low, don't worry!

Sleepover, movie and lots of sweets and popcorn and domino’s for tea. Left them to it other than singing happy birthday and dishing out pizza and birthday cake.

cupcake decorating, those build-a-bear type kits you can buy to do at home, takeout pizza.

I think I had a sleepover with my two best friends around this age. My mum took us to rent a video and did us a really nice party bag each, because it was only the three of is, so we had loads of cute bits from Claire's. It was small but also one of the best birthdays I remember.

Chocolate fountain as dessert!

T-shirt decorating (doubled as their ‘party bag’), McDonalds, movie and popcorn. They seemed happy enough with that!

Chocolatepartyinabox - melted chocolate in the microwave (I did this bit) and then shaped and decorated chocolate lollies etc. I bought kits online but you could probably buy the ingredients a lot cheaper in the supermarket and get the transfers and lolly sticks online.

Took a bit of organisation but we did a 'minute to win it' party- loads of silly games and challenges. Think we had hot dogs or pizza and a chocolate fountain. Was a big hit! The internet has loads of ideas for the type of games and challenges you can do. It was so much fun - I think we enjoyed it as much as the kids did!

"Silly" games

• chocolate game
• limboing under ever decreasing rope
• eat doughnuts off strings
• pass the parcel with forfeits
• mummy game
• lots of games with balloons

etc.

For my DS’s 10th (quite a few years ago) he had a rockstar party. We had the party at home, about 10 kids, I ordered inflatable guitars and decorations from Amazon. Karaoke machine, disco lights and let them run wild!. You could add a photo booth, red carpet,etc.

escape room in a box and a film

My dd just had her 10th birthday party at home. 8 girls came and I just let them run feral. I thought they might want to watch a film but they just faffed about with twister, the just dance on the switch, then hide and seek. I didn't have to do anything but feed them! It was great, much easier than when you had to actually entertain them! I think at that age they can just get on with it themselves.

Bouncy castle and games in the back garden for one.

Sleepover with nerf games battle in park across the road followed by movie.

We're doing a science party, making slime, blowing up balloons on a bottle with vinegar and bicarb, DIY lava lamps. I'm excited and nervous in equal measure!

I did a film party, she had a mixed friendship group.

DD2 actually just had a bowling party, which worked out for the best as we had covid in the house. Though doing it by myself was not much fun.

Did these things for an 11 year old recently:

Pizza party (make your own, choose toppings etc); eating doughnuts off a string; musical statues with a fancy dress bag (so each child has to put something on if they move); inflatable light sabre fights. We also did an age appropriate ‘I have never’.

Like pp’s have said it was one of the easiest parties I’ve done despite it being a mixed group and their age, I was worried they would be too cool for the party games but it was what DD requested and they had a whale of a time and then spent quite a long time off playing light sabre wars and miraculously didn’t trash the whole house!

I did Harry Potter. Including:

Invitations were scrolls delivered by owls (white balloons with pipe cleaner feet and Sharpie details, tied to people's door handles)

Two massive white sheets painted with a Hogwarts doorway and brick wall respectively. Hidden seam down the middle for running through the brick wall.

Treasure hunt through the Chamber of Secrets and beyond (fake snakes and spiders) and then through a giant string web complete with Aragog and babies. Final thing to do was smash a Papier mache Voldemort head full of golden snitches (Ferrero Roche with wings)

Printed Ford Anglia and Nearly Headless Nick onto tracing paper and put in the windows so the light shone through them

Sign across the stairs saying the third floor corridor was out of bounds etc

Used old toilet rolls painted white with reusable battery powered tealights to make floating candles on translucent thread. Strung up round the dining room

All food was HP themed including Hufflepuffs (wotsits) and Bertie Botts every flavoured beans, homemade chocolate frogs, butterbeer and so on.

Dobby's grave in the back garden

Games like Pin the Nose on Voldemort and HP Would You Rather

Have You Seen This Wizard photo booth with props

There was loads of stuff. I'd never done a party at home before and a couple of dd's friends were moving away so it was a big celebration in many ways.