Crafty Birthday idea?

My daughter is turning 10 and wants to have a small party with friends.  She loves crafts and they are a great way to entertain… but I am at a loss for ideas on good crafts that aren’t too expensive, simple for a group activity, but still create lots of fun (and giggles).  Anyone have any ideas?

When I was that age, I liked to tie-dye old t-shirts. It’s messy, but fairly inexpensive if the girls bring their own old shirts. Another idea is to have them write messages and make little doodles to each other on a dollar store canvas tote bag so they have a souvenir from the party.

Scrapbooking might be fun as well, if you have some leftover supplies you’re willing to part with or you print out some free online kits to give them a start on how to embellish their pages.

Debbie, when my oldest daughter was turning about ten I was pregnant with my third child.  I felt a little on the lazy side and told the girls that we were having an unparty.

I gave them the materials to make banners and wall decorations:glitter, glue, felt tips, paper, etc.  I also made cupcakes but left them undecorated.  I gave each girl a cupcake and then put a bunch of bags of frosting in the middle of the table.  They had a great time creating their own party!

I like the idea of letting the girls decorate their own cupcakes! In fact, you could even pick up pre-made pizza crusts and have them make their entire dinner themselves (can’t get much easier than that!).

Simple beading projects usually are big hits, like letting the girls string their own necklaces or bracelets. Beads can get expensive, so pull out all your “leftovers” from other jewelry projects—they’ll never know the difference. Another idea is to take simple hair barrettes and add sparkles, ribbons and beads. Simple recipes for making lip-gloss are online, too—most involve just a little bit of powdered juice mix and petroleum jelly.

Good luck with the girls!

Craft stores like Michaels have kits you can buy to make beaded necklaces or keychains that would be perfect for girls that age.

Something I wanted to do at my son’s party is decorate mugs. They sell them, usually just in groups of two, and you can use permanent markers to decorate them. As long as no one microwaved them or put them in the dishwasher, glue-on faux jewels would look great too.

I was at Target last night and thought of this discussion board. My local Target had a lot of these craft kits on clearance for 30 percent off. I love stocking up on these things, not just for birthday parties but as rainy day craft items as well.

This are all such wonderful ideas!!  Thank you all! Now I just need to get my daughter to narrow it down to which idea she wants to try

Good luck with that Debbie!  LOL!  It seems like getting kids that age to decide on anything is almost impossible!  If she gets stuck have her put a few in a hat and draw them out.  That way the decision is easier..maybe.

I like the hat idea! Thanks!!

Some of my favorite childhood memories are of making Christmas ornaments with my mother. We made several types of beaded ornaments and pipe cleaner ornaments. We usually did this betwen Thanksgiving and Christms, but you could do it any time of year. As a bonus, you’ll have great handmade gifts to share with friends, family, teachers, etc. when the holiday season rolls around.

We took all our old Christmas cards and used a glass to make circles on the main art of the cards. Then we stapled them together in order to make Christmas orbs. My daughter boxed these up to give to her grandmother this Christmas.