give me some good ideas for a low-effort 11th birthday, please?!

[Notmyidea]

dd wants to involve 2 friends. I want to spend around 50 pounds and not deal with a sleepover/houseguests as I'm heavily pregnant, not sleeping and grumpy.
All dd's ideas are reasonable until the "and afterwards can we go to pizza hut?!" at which point it gets expensive. I've said that if she needs to cut it down to one friend if that's what she wants to do. She says she would feel mean which I do understand. She has a "bff" dating back to reception class who has been a feature of all her birthdays since, and another friend who has joined them in the last couple of years who is a little socially awkward and, if I'm honest, bloody hard work as a guest. Think I should follow my dd's lead in being generous and inclusive, though!
Ideas welcome.

Is Pizza Hut for three eleven year olds really more than £50? Blimey! I don't think Pizza Express would cost that so maybe take them there if that's the case!

no, but she wants to add it on to an activity, e.g pottery painting, lagoon pool, high ropes course, cinema etc.

Do Pizza Hut on a Saturday daytime - all you can eat buffet. I would drop them to see a film.while you have a coffee and read a book in the cafe and the the buffet.

Can you not do make your own pizzas at home after activity?

What about just Pizza Hut? That's a big treat when you're 11 (from distant memory....).

think I may have to, hangingon.

When I say the second friend is a little awkward I have my suspicions there is some undiagnosed, or at least I've not been told about, asd going on. Not a child who is able to cope with "being dropped" at anything, so I need to factor in at least one adult in anything they get up to.

on the pizza front - can you print one of those half price/2 for 1 pizza express vouchers from online? I'm not quite sure where you get them though...??

try here

pizzaexpressvouchersweb.co.uk/

when pregnant my solution to everything was to try and throw some money at it !

good luck!

Would it not be less tiring for you to just bite the bullet and have them over to your house? Its got to be easier than dragging them around town.

Pizza and a movie. If her actual birthday is on a school day you could do it after school and have them picked up at 7. Done.

drmumsy I like the voucher tip very much, thank-you!

most welcome

not so sure about that! My house contains things like dust, food with additives, noise, pets and other children. All of which have been known to cause distress to one of dd's friends.

no way, not to the house! the last time I had a party here for dc I spent a week cleaning into the run up to get rid of said dust etc then a few days cleaning up the aftermath - although these were 6 yo's!

no sure Notmyidea is up to that!

How about a make your own pizza party at Pizza Express?

Are you with Orange for your mobile phone? If so there's Orange Wednesdays at cinemas & Pizza Express. Handy if her birthday is on a Wednesday.

Or how about a Saturday morning kids movie (normally quite cheap) followed by a Pizza Hut buffet?

Dare I say McDonalds?

could feed 3 kids and an adult in there for under 15 quid. I agree, do the cheap saturday morning movie - take your own snacks and drinks and McDs afterwards. or actually the pizza hut kids menu is pretty cheap

www.pizzahut.co.uk/restaurants/menus--deals/children's-menu.aspx

or go a weekday before 5:
www.pizzahut.co.uk/restaurants/menus--deals/happy-hour.aspx - works out 24 quid for 4

and at our cinema a weekday family ticket (could have 1 adult and 3 kids) is 26 quid and take a drink and packet of sweets from home each for them.
Job done.

hadn't thought of saturday morning cinema or family tickets, either! Thanks again Mumsnet:D