Preteen and Teen Party Games and Crafts: For Girls

Games
Mall & Movie Madness
Every preteen and teen girl loves going to the mall and the movies with her friends! Combine a trip to these routine hang-out spots with lunch to create an extra special outing for your daughter and 2 or 3 of her best girlfriends. First, take them to the mall, give them each $20 or an amount of your choosing, and turn them loose to shop or just bop the mall together for a few hours. Have everyone regroup later on for lunch at your daughter’s favorite restaurant, followed by a movie of the girls’ choosing.


Girls' Nite Out
Rent two hotel rooms next door to each other—one for the parents and the other for your guests. Before the party, decorate the girls’ hotel room with a banner, twists of streamers, balloons, and other party decorations. Once the room is prepped, you can go back out, pick up your guests one-by-one, and let their anticipation build as you head toward the “secret” destination, or you can have the girls’ parents drop them off at the hotel at a set time. Either way, the girls will love having a sleepover party in their own private room!

Depending on the amenities of the hotel you’ve chosen, early-evening entertainment might include swimming in the hotel’s pool, playing games in a recreation room, or enjoying other activities the hotel offers, such as karaoke. Later, once the girls are back in their room, they can stay up late playing games, listening to music and dancing, watching movies, snacking, giving each other makeovers, gossiping, putting safe, non-permanent henna tattoos on each other, or even having a bubble gum competition to see who can blow the biggest bubble without popping it. The girls will have a blast no matter what entertainment they choose… and the best part is that mom and dad don’t have to clean up the mess in the morning!

Crafts

• Pretty Wrapped Headband
• Decoupage Collage Box
• Clay Bead Necklaces

For more ideas check out a full listing of Crafts and Projects for Teens.

Preteen and Teen Party Games and Activities: For Boys

Baseball Party
Take your guests to a minor league baseball game. The tickets should cost about as much as movie tickets, making this a very affordable outing. Add to the fun before the game by making your own “team jerseys” using plain white T-shirts and fabric paint. You can also talk to the team’s booster club ahead of time to see if your group can meet some of the players after the game. If you can arrange this, bring along a baseball for each guest so that they can get some of the players’ signatures after the game. 

Splash Attack
Nothing beats an outdoor water balloon party! The boys can have a traditional water balloon fight or they can try their hand at a few special water games, such as the following:

• Water Balloon Toss - For this game, you’ll need to pair off the boys. Have the members of each pair stand across from each other, forming 2 lines with 2’ – 3’ in between them. Give a water balloon to each player in one of the two rows.
  When you say, “Go!” the players on each team must begin tossing their water balloon back and forth to each other. Each time a player successfully catches a balloon, he must take a step backwards. The space between the two rows will grow with each toss, making it harder for the players to catch the balloons. When a player misses a toss and a team’s balloon breaks, that team is eliminated from the competition. The last team with an unbroken water balloon is declared the winner.
• 500 - A single player (usually the birthday boy) throws a water balloon into the air and calls out a point value (for example, “300!”). The other players must try to catch the balloon without breaking it. If one of the players successfully catches the balloon, award the number of called points to that player. If the balloon breaks, deduct the number of called points from the score of any player who touched the balloon. The first person to earn 500 points gets to switch places with the thrower. Play as many rounds as desired.
• Egg Thief - Divide your guests into teams, preferably so that you end up with an odd number of teams. Prepare 10 water balloons for each team, and then set each team’s balloons in their designated “egg crate” (e.g. a cardboard box, within the bounds of a hula hoop, etc.). Give the teams 2 – 5 minutes to snatch as many balloon “eggs” as possible from the other teams. Each team member can only take one egg at a time, and any player who pops an egg is out of the game. Count each team’s eggs at the end of the time limit; the team with the most eggs wins the game. If two teams are tied, determine the winner based on which team ended the game with the most players.

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