Birthday Party - Lusby, MD

You can do a girls' slumber party - with or without the sleep over. You could do it from 6-9pm, and have everyone wear their favorite pajamas, and bring a pillow and blanket. They can have pizza and popcorn and a movie, or you can hire some of the 14-16 year old girls in the area, and have them come do make up and nails (the little girls would think that was so cool!) Get the birthday girl a pillow case and some paint pens, and allow her guests to sign a birthday pillow case!

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you could do a bounce zone party. but there arnt games just big bouncy castles.

you can do some small indoor games in your house that are sit down games. also do you have access to a community center? you can do running games in there and so on.

also not sure but you could do an american party. they have an american girl store in new york.

just a few ideas

OK, I am replying from memory of my own childhood only; my daughters are two years old and three weeks old, so I have no current experience. However, I remember that several of my friends had their parties at the indoor pools of local hotels. I am not sure what that would cost or if you have any nearby, though. As for games, at that age, I think we still had some fun doing musical chairs, believe it or not. Perhaps you could also do an indoor scavenger hunt. If you and your daughter enjoy cooking, maybe you could have her and her guests create their own mini pizzas and/or ice cream sundaes or cup cakes from a variety of toppings. That is kind of an activity and a meal in one. Or, maybe they could make bead bracelets or something. Best wishes in your planning!

Hi! For my daughter's 9th birthday, we had a slumber party. I set it up as a "spa" theme. So we had stations with different things, like a pedicure, hair, finger nails, stuff like that. For goody bags all the girls got cute little eye masks for sleeping, (not like any of them slept!)finger nail polish, lotions, lipgloss, bubble bath. It was lots of fun for them, (and me, NOT my husband!). Good Luck!!!!

I agree 100% with Katie L. The www.birthdaypartyideas.com website is the BEST! There are endless creative ideas offered there. You can't go wrong!

Hi, N.,

There are outdoor games that kids can play in the fall. I would suggest that you pick three themes that you can manage and work from. Let your daughter pick from them and then work from that one theme. Choose games that you can do indoors in case of rain, and then plan games that you can do outdoors for nice weather. Outdoor games can be relay races, a pinata which you can buy or make with your daughter prior to the party. You could do shorter versions of board games indoors, depending on your theme, if you have all girls indoors and they are very girly do a tea party complete with real dress and tea set not baby things, or cooking, whatever the girls would be interested in just let the imagination go.

Once my girls had a theme party where all the guests came, were given manacures, semi facials allowed to dress and had a formal tea, (with my china) and then my mother told them a story of coming to america. The kids loved it, they acted as real English ladies and had a blast, then they had a while to just be girls and hang out.

I hope some of this helps.

I don't know where you live but if your close to Manassas VA , then there is a place called 'House of bounce'. The party packages are very reasonable and you get the facility to yourself , you also have the option of having them provide pizza/party bags etc. The packages accomodate up to 25 kids.

Hope this helps.

K.

Pool parties work well. You can have relay races etc. If you live close to a gymnastics gym, that is a really fun party. Movies are fun but not a lot of kid interaction. Many movie theaters have a room for cake and ice cream after the movie. If you know someone who makes jewelry, you could have a make your own jewelry party at your house. Also, maybe a place with large inflatable slides. In Manassas, it is called House of Bounce or Pump it Up. Those parties allow you to include a lot of kids (up to 20 or so, I think) and will allow you to eat pizza and cake after the bouncing.

I have a girl with a december birthday and it is very hard. Good luck.

Firstly, congratulations on your adoption! You could do an indoor party (10 girls is already a lot! Even 5 would suffice) and have games like hot cross buns, musical chairs, and in the tail on the donkey and have them decorate a cake. Or you could have it at a ice skating rink. Does she like to skate? ANother idea would be to have a 'crafts' party where you buy materials to make necklaces or decorate boxes.

Good luck! Let us know what you do.

Hi. Congrats. House of Bounce and Pump It up are good for winter time. There is also Build-a-bear. Mathis Movies in Manassas lets you rent out a movie theater, or just get a special group price. What about ice skating? There's a skate rink in Dale City.
Good luck.
M.

The most memorable birthday party I went to as a kid involved a scavenger hunt through the neighborhood (not just in the backyard). We were divided up into groups of two or three (with an adult or older teenager as a chaperone) and given a list of items and an assigned street to find our items on. We knocked on doors and asked neighbors if they had anything on the list (random things like a large bobby pin, a buffalo nickel, a non-standard paper clip, etc.) The neighbors seemed to have as much fun finding these odd items as we did and were happy to help. We had a time limit and the first team back with everything on their list (or the most items on the list)won a little prize. It wasn't my team, but I still had a blast. Something like this might work for your daughter. It really sticks out in my memory.

Do you live near a recreation center that has an indoor pool - you could do a pool party. How cool to have a pool party in Winter! You could have all kinds of neat hawaiian stuff.

Just an idea. I had one of my kids birthday parties at skateland. All the kids had a blast. A lot of them did not know how to skate but still had a lot of fun trying (falling) they all laughed with each other. Plus, it was on the less expensive side. If she has never skated now is a good time to introduce it to her and if she likes it that might be a good idea.

You've had tons of great ideas passed on, so I'll just add this thought. You can get decoratable magnetic (or not) picture frames, from oriental trading co., Factory Card and Party Outlet, probably craft stores, etc. If you have some kind of "crafty" party this might be a fun one to do - if you have a digital camera you could take a picture of the girls when they arrive, print them out, and then clue them in at the end of the party. This way all the girls can take home a "favor" they have decorated themselves (EASY!) and more than that, your 10-year-old has a built-in captured memory. I also know of some who did scrapbooking parties, but I don't know quite how that works. In any case, I thought having some pictures immediately ready for display might be a great way to start building and preserving memories of her new family! I'm sure anything you do will be special - by virtue of the fact that it's the first. Congrats on the adoption!

One of the best parties we had for my granddaughter was a craft party. We had several tables set up with a different craft at each table and the girls rotated until each had completed all of the small crafts we had to complete. Oriental Trading has tons of small inexpensive ideas. Congratulations on your adoption!

How about some indoor games, like Twister.

There are also a lot of fun dances, such as the Locomotion, Limbo, Elecric Slide, You can get a CD from the library.

Or a craft theme: jewelry making, (you can buy cool beads and let them make friendship bracelets. Or if you don't mind a little mess, make homemade playdough and let the girls sculpt.

Have fun.

Hi N.! I found a great website this summer that I used for my daughter's birthday (and plan to look at it again soon for my other daughter's birthday in November) The site is www.birthdaypartyideas.com. When you get to the site click on "Kids Party Ideas". You'll see a huge list of themed party ideas. Even if you don't like any of the themes click on some anyway. There are TONS of game ideas that you can use even if you're not doing that particular theme. We had great success in August. Now I, too, will be looking for some indoor game for my younger one! Good luck and have fun !

K.

Winter is a challenge, here are some ideas:
1) Michaels craft store has a back room where you do a craft, have cake and all the kids sing happy birthday over the loud speaker in the store.
2) There are folks that make jewelry that have parties for girls where they come to the house and each girl makes a bracelet.
3) The pottery making studios are fun for indoor parties.
4) Some of the hair salons do a hair, make-up modeling kind of thing in the back of their salons.
5) Iceskating for more active kids
6) Bowling or Duck pins are fun too
7) There are some Joanns that hold classes that might be appropriate activity.

Hope this helps.

I'm not sure if it'll be as fun as she wants, but maybe a girls 'tea' birthday party? They can come dressed up, maybe they can decorate their own tea cups from a pottery place??? (You can buy mugs or something at Michael's and then have the girls decorate them.)

If u breave enough for it~SLEEP OVER!!!!

I can understand the culture/language barrier--I lived in central Europe for 6 years! It sounds like your adopted daughter is very active. You could try one of the rec centers in the area. Cub Run in centreville/chantilly is the newest and has a big indoor swimming pool with fountains and two big slides. My kids just love it! You can rent a small party room for one hour (for cake and ice cream time) for about $105 and that includes the entrance fee for about 15 kids. Or if you prefer home, you could have a face painter (try craigslist) come. Girls love that!
Good luck!

Pick up a Parent magazine - they usually have two full pages of birthday ideas, where many come to you. Animal Workshop (like Build a bear), a tea or princess party.

What kinds of things does she like? Try to gear a theme based on what she is interested in. My daughter was in love with scooby doo, so we had a scooby doo party, mystery and all. If you give us some insight to what she enjoys doing, maybe it would be easier to help you come up with ideas for an at home party.
K.

How about an ice skating party, a scavenger hunt in the neighborhood (for B-Day candles, napkins, plates etc.)or a scavenger hunt at the mall(for socks, lip gloss, ice cream, etc.)?

WINTER WONDERLAND theme. Decorate in light blue and silver. Do snow cones or even a tea party. Let the girls do their nails and purses. You could go get canvas tots at a craft supply store like Michaels and buy fabric pens. They can sign each others bads, etc... Then they could play some games. Or watch a move with popcorn. Do a sleep over. You could even add a princess twist to the Winter Wonderland party with the decorations. I love to throw parties. Good luck and I think it's wonderful you adopted and this will be her first brithday party. How special. She will never forget this.

~K.

I would definitely do a bowling party. No translation needed and they do a great job at most bowling alleys for parties. You only pay for who plays (so you're not stuck paying for the parents who don't play. The food is average but convenient and the pricing is a pretty good bargain for the entertainment and cohesive feel of the group. I've been to probably 6 bowling parties and have enjoyed everyone of them (and so have my kids!).

My son has a November birthday and we always have a costume party so the kids can dressup. We play indoor games such as limbo (always a favorite) or scavenger hunts outside, weather permitting. There are plenty of online sites with party game ideas. I have it in the fellowship hall of our church which is large and has kitchen access. Consider a make and take craft. Good luck!

I remember loving slumber parties- Do they do those these days? Cool movies, food and cake. At ten, her friends might be into cool spa stuff-painting nails, braiding and fixing hair, foot soaks, silly natural face masks(the internet has lots of natural spa recipes make from your fridge or pantry stuff)-girly girl stuff. When I was little I had a friend who was adopted from Korea around the same age, 11. Her new Mom used to make the effort to make authentic food from her birth country. I always thought that was really great and looked forward to it each year(I have been eating seaweed & weird vege's since I was 9!-I'm 43 now.) we use to do treasure hunts with prizes, games, lots of picture taking, and just plain goofing off, trying to stay up ALL night and never making it past 2! How about a cooking theme? My son is 5 and we have an ongoing search for the 'perfect' pizza crust recipe-lots of fun to make with much involvement.
Also, baltimore's child (the free mag) has lots of really neat people who come to your home to entertain the troops-princess parties, the mad scientist, magic, etc.
Well that's my input - congrats on the new family addition and have a great time!

Pump it up gives great parties, there is a new one open in Waldorf, MD. Here in Waldorf they also have pool parties at the county indoor pools and also there is an ice skating rink that gives wonderful parties. Waldorf also has one of those ceramic making party places. Check these things out online....Charles County.

Good luck. I'm a mom of 4 so I am doing 4 parties a year.... its alot of work, but worth it.

Are you near a roller skating ring? My son went to one and had a blast and we are planning on have his at one in Dec. Hope this helps.

You can do wonderful inside birthday parties. If you are not comfortable at your home check and see if your local library or YMCA rent rooms reasonably.

Our kids have loved in the past:

*BINGO birthday parties

*spa parties (ask a couple of your friends or do you know any teenagers who would be willing to come and give pedicures/manicures

*sled riding party or Snow Fun party - you can still do relay races outside all bundled up. If you have a place to build a fire it is really great and fun. They can warm up there and roast hot dogs or marshmallows. We do not even do birthday cake - we put candles in s'mores and they LOVE it.

*a lot of times the kids just like to get together and play board games, or group games of charades

*papa johns or other pizza places will allow you to come make pizza's for small price and that is really fun. Also why not

*a baking party. Let the girls make the birthday cake or homemade pizza's. If you are creative you can make chef's hat or aprons or you can buy some from places like oriental trading or Walmart sells aprons you can paint.

*Craft party: t-shirts to paint, or aprons or purses, crafts from Oriental trading, dipping pretzels in chocolate

*rent the pool at the YMCA, or go to the bowling alley

*themed parties are fun. Pick a theme and do everything around that. Like High School Musical: for the brainiacs you could make "ooblac" (just mix cornstarch and water together until it is like paint thickness - when you play with it in your hands it is firm but the second you stop it becomes liquid. It is messy, but fun and easy to clean up especially when it dries), for the dancing part you could put a dance cd in with YMCA, Cha Cha slide, the chicken dance.

*a dance/karaoke party

Have fun!!