We had a cooking party when my daughter turned 13 and it was great! The kids made a simple dinner and dessert and they loved doing it. There was someone supervising and directing them, but they did the cooking themselves...we all had so much fun.

No makeup

My kid does the following (and has friends over frequently):

- talks
- masks
-movies, popcorn, snacks
-study together
- selfies
- take a walk together outside

That's great OP!
Above are all great ideas. With my 11-13 year old DD I am often the driver to/from various events for the other girls too- movies, hanging out at the mall, karaoke night at the coffee house down the street, skating, sport events...
Having a driver at the ready makes it easier for everyone to hang out together. And you hear the most interesting things from them in the car...

Thanks for posting, OP! It is a welcome glimpse of light at the end of the MS social tunnel. I hope they have tons of fun.

Anonymous wrote:With all these posts about mean girls, I have to say after a brutal 6th grade and rough 1st half of 7th, my daughter FINALLY made a couple friends. This is just now happening and she invited them over for a few hours. My daughter is worried that they will be bored at our house. She loves playing video games but doesn't think these girls play. I asked my daughter to ask them what they like to do but she is too shy to do this...so I am reaching out to DCUM to find out what their middle school daughters like to do with their friends? Leaving the house is not an option so it has to be stuff to do at home. None of the girls have cell phones.

Its always that awkward little adjustment time when new friends come over. They have to figure out what they want to do together. Most kids this age just want to hang out, not have structured activities.
My kid is 10, so these ideas may be young to them. But they like making slime, playing just dance, watching things on youtube, talking and joking around. Eating junk food.

Makeovers (real and themed), decorating cake pops, talking in dds room, kinect video games with dds little brother, going for a walk, chatting with me in the kitchen.

Oh yes - do be sure there are plenty of snacks and junk food. This makes a house fun and different from home.

Also, if you have a dog they might like taking him/her for a walk for a little independence. This might be especially helpful if there is a pesky little sibling in the house. If there is concern about none having a cell phone, perhaps if you have a landline, your DD can take yours?

They do HW together, eat snacks, watch funny YouTube videos, look at things on Pinterest, go to stores together, and some of what all the PP said.

Hits at my house include:

Baking, as a PP has said - get mixes to help make things more organized and turn out better. In addition, or alternatively, they can make fancy coffees - perhaps if you have Keurig, they can use that and then put on whipped cream, sprinkles, etc. My girl concocts things at home that look like they'd be $5 at Starbucks.

Watching movies/TV. And, unless really offensive and non-age appropriate, let them watch what they want to watch. As in, if you don't normally allow teen bopper shows, allow them.


Experimenting with make up, yes. Or, if you wanted to go a little lower key, my girl (fairly tomboy) is into those face masks. You can get them at CVS - i think the brand is "Yes 2" or something like that. Along these same lines, it can be fun to do manicures/pedicures, and this is something families that don't do make up are usually okay with. Just make sure you get nail polish remover too!

Above all, they likely want privacy. Give them that - they can have supplies to do stuff, but let your daughter do the asking/suggesting. Hope she has fun!

Monopoly Mega is a hit with my daughters friends - it goes much faster than Monopoly.

My daughter plays the dancing video game with her friends (don't ask me the name)

Board games. Card games. Fooling around with eye makeup.

Anonymous wrote:When my daughter was that age she and her friends loved to bake together. They also loved making jewelry. So if it was me I would have three things ready to go: brownie/cupcake supplies, movie to watch and some sort of craft supplies. Make sure your daughter knows what you have and let her ask the other girls. some way to play music would also be helpful. Somehow it is always a little easier with new friends if ther is music playing in the background.

Yep, this. My DD hasn’t played video games with her friends. The girls spend a lot of time “talking” - not sure about what!

When my daughter was that age she and her friends loved to bake together. They also loved making jewelry. So if it was me I would have three things ready to go: brownie/cupcake supplies, movie to watch and some sort of craft supplies. Make sure your daughter knows what you have and let her ask the other girls. some way to play music would also be helpful. Somehow it is always a little easier with new friends if ther is music playing in the background.

With all these posts about mean girls, I have to say after a brutal 6th grade and rough 1st half of 7th, my daughter FINALLY made a couple friends. This is just now happening and she invited them over for a few hours. My daughter is worried that they will be bored at our house. She loves playing video games but doesn't think these girls play. I asked my daughter to ask them what they like to do but she is too shy to do this...so I am reaching out to DCUM to find out what their middle school daughters like to do with their friends? Leaving the house is not an option so it has to be stuff to do at home. None of the girls have cell phones.