^ I just read about the washing. You could keep them, wash them all together in one load and then give later.

If that’s too hard then the friendship bracelets are a good idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tie-dye/fabric paint t shirts
friendship bracelets/lanyards
STEM party kits (build a robot)

Tie-dye is no great for going down to a park. Carrying buckets of dyed water across the street to the park is not fun.

But you could get one of those camp batteries for an iron and then get some plain colored tees and bring iron-ons and clothing markers for the girls to make their own tees.

Tie dye is perfect. You buy a kit and it comes with bottles like this. https://www.amazon.com/Tie-Dye-Party-Kit-Easy-Squeeze/dp/B0877C5JJ8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=3CAJOMHU7DWF4&keywords=tie+dye+kit+party&qid=1695478077&sprefix=tie+die+kit+party%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1&smid=A3TLEDI88O2MMQ

We had a party around that age and bought bulk shirts from Amazon and they loved it. We had hand wipes and told everyone to wear old clothes. They take home the shirts in plastic bags.

Obviously the answer is friendship bracelets. These are very HOT right now, thanks to the ERAs tour. Kids are making them with their fave words, phrases, friends names, etc.

Anonymous wrote:they are older now, you can do more involved things. look at the sewing or no-sew projects. also, cooking or baking!

Someone lacks reading comprehension!!!

they are older now, you can do more involved things. look at the sewing or no-sew projects. also, cooking or baking!

OP here.
Yeah, the party is big - historically, we invite around 20 and maybe 12-15 RSVP yes. And then random older and younger siblings show up and stay (we walk everywhere in NYC, so this probably contributes to the low-key drop-ins).

We tried to cut the guest list down, but that got complicated. We live in a neighborhood, and most of the kids hang out at the library after school, so it’s hard to keep the other kids from knowing about party invites. The kids in the building talk to each other, too. It is socially easier to do a big cheap party.

I know the gift bags seem babyish, but they are still being given out (including at a party last weekend) and the kids like them. That’s a great idea about the face masks!

Although this is NYC, I actually think the kids in our circle are a bit less mature/sophisticated (for lack of a better word) than the kids of our friends in the DMV. NYC lifestyle is very dependent on the neighborhood. Most parents in ours are from another country (usually East Asian), and people have (relatively) less money than our friends in DC, so even at this age the parties are still kind of low-key with games and crafts - but I prefer crafts because I don’t like to have to orchestrate games! Anyway, my kid mentioned that the other parents wouldn’t like makeup. She also doesn’t want to do anything expensive.

Very good idea about tshirts with iron on decorations! Tie dye is hard in NYC because of the wash afterwards - you are afraid to wash the shirt with the rest of your clothes, but that’s annoying when you are using/paying for the downstairs laundry room!

(I’ll bet this is making everyone feel so happy to be living in SFH in the DMV!)

Thank you all so much, and I am greatly appreciating all of the ideas!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tie-dye/fabric paint t shirts
friendship bracelets/lanyards
STEM party kits (build a robot)

Tie-dye is no great for going down to a park. Carrying buckets of dyed water across the street to the park is not fun.

But you could get one of those camp batteries for an iron and then get some plain colored tees and bring iron-ons and clothing markers for the girls to make their own tees.

We just filled up some jugs and took those with the empty stacked pails. You can "dry" tie dye using bottles of dye/paint and just misting the shirts as well. In any case, that's why I included 'fabric paint', which would be the non-water version.

Anonymous wrote:Tie-dye/fabric paint t shirts
friendship bracelets/lanyards
STEM party kits (build a robot)

Tie-dye is no great for going down to a park. Carrying buckets of dyed water across the street to the park is not fun.

But you could get one of those camp batteries for an iron and then get some plain colored tees and bring iron-ons and clothing markers for the girls to make their own tees.

Tie-dye/fabric paint t shirts
friendship bracelets/lanyards
STEM party kits (build a robot)

Try oriental trading they have lots of kits

11 seems old for such a huge birthday party! Goody bags are probably a little babyish as well. That said, what about a “spa” party. They can make their own face masks and apply, do their nails. Instead of a goody bag, you could give them a bottle of nail polish or one of those cute Asian animal face sheet masks or a terry cloth headband to hold their hair back while wearing face masks when they leave?

Go to a jewelry making place and they can make bracelets, necklaces, etc. I know in DC area they host birthday parties.

Anonymous wrote:If it is for the Fall, you could have them decorate small pumpkins.

Or Halloween Trick or Treat bags.

If it is for the Fall, you could have them decorate small pumpkins.

Looking for new craft/gift bag ideas for a birthday party for 15-20 11-year-old girls.

With crafts, in the past we’ve done painting rocks with posca markers, 5 girls would share one of those dig kits for stones and fossils, they decorated mini pumpkins, and we bought a bunch of stickers and colored paper and they just drew and painted.

Gift bags the last 2 years had some dumdum lollipops, one pair of cute socks, and a (very) mini stuffed animal.

They always seemed very happy about this in the past (even the older siblings, several of who were dropping off their sisters but would just stay and participate), but I am looking for new ideas. Preferably not very expensive. Crafts need to be able to be done outside (ie no cooking) because we are in NYC and if the weather is good then we would prefer to use the park downstairs for free rather than paying for our building’s party room.

Thank you in advance!