Girls love sleep overs! Perfect if no male in the home. You could hire a sitter or 2 to at least take some of the pressure off until bedtime.

I just hosted a party in our apartment that was pretty easy. I proposed a game afternoon. A friend showed up with twister and I played with the friend and my older DD while younger DD got to be included spinning (which she loved). Once more kids arrived (ultimately 11 10 yr olds, plus two younger siblings) we played “kids against maturity”, had cupcakes, and then played charades. I’d also put a pile of pillows on the floor for sitting / lounging / playing, and there was a stretch of time kids were just goofing around / falling on the pillows, building forts etc. One friend asked if she could sit out for a game and read, which no one had a problem with. It was surprisingly easy. (Cleanup was easy too - throwing away cupcake wrappers and charades papers and was done.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the home party/sleepover. My DD (just turned 11) and her friends have all been doing these this past year. They just want to hang out and do whatever without worrying about masks, distancing, etc.

Does she like to bake, OP? Or simple crafts? Those things are also hits at this age, and can be inexpensive.

NP. At home parties and sleepovers are a lot of effort for me, or at least seem that way since they keep me up and I don’t get sleep.

Go somewhere. Painting pottery, ice skating, cosmic bowling or a trampoline park. Let her pick. Book a venue or just take them if it’s only a couple kids. If it’s a small group, go out to eat after.

I’m a single mom of a 10yo and same. We did a few friends at an art/craft venue similar to the pottery painting place. Still kind of pricey but not outrageous. We don’t do a “party” every year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did pottery painting for a smallish group of friends. Low stress for me, fun activity and low pressure/civilized for my reserved DD. Girls all loved their art pieces and because it was a small group we let them select whatever they wanted. Snacks afterwards and called it a day!

Where was this at? Sounds interesting.

I’m not the person who shared this idea, but I bet All Fired Up in Cleveland Park would work for this. I’m the pp who doesn’t live in DC anymore, but I have some nice pieces I made at All Fired Up when my 10 yr old was a toddler.

Anonymous wrote:Agree with the home party/sleepover. My DD (just turned 11) and her friends have all been doing these this past year. They just want to hang out and do whatever without worrying about masks, distancing, etc.

Does she like to bake, OP? Or simple crafts? Those things are also hits at this age, and can be inexpensive.

NP. At home parties and sleepovers are a lot of effort for me, or at least seem that way since they keep me up and I don’t get sleep.

Go somewhere. Painting pottery, ice skating, cosmic bowling or a trampoline park. Let her pick. Book a venue or just take them if it’s only a couple kids. If it’s a small group, go out to eat after.

OP. Excellent ideas all. Sleepover won’t work but I love many of the other ideas.

We’re not in Dc anymore so I don’t know if this is an option there, but my 10 yr old was just invited to an escape room for kids (Harry Potter themed in this case). It’s up to 4 people so forced to be small.

Also, the other day she and a friend walked and got burritos together. She said it was special because she’d never gone to a restaurant with a friend without an adult. It reminded me of the time when I was 13 and my friend’s parents invited 4 of us to join my friend at a restaurant. The parents paid for the meal, but sat at a different table. It was so exciting! 10 yr olds might be old enough for that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do a hotel sleepover (a suite w/kitchen and separate bedroom/living room) with a pool. We did swimming and a spa night with chocolate facials and orbi pedicures. Had a fantastic time.

Maybe you missed the single mom not wanting to spend a lot part..

No I didn't miss it, but appreciate your attempt to snark at me. Why would you think this is expensive and cost prohibitive? This was cheaper than hosting a party at a facility and has a bigger wow factor. You can get a Marriott suite room for maybe 130, bring your own food and put together your spa stuff (amazon and dollar tree) and then add in a bonus of a heated pool. It was by far my cheapest party with the biggest positive response for how it turned out.

10 yr olds alone in a room at night?? Parents dropping them off for 12-18 hrs? Wow

Why would you assume the host's parents wouldn't stay with the kids?

OP, if she doesn't have many friends (my 11yo is like this) I would do an activity like pottery painting or movie in the theatre or the like, and then out to dinner. Kind of like a "yes" day that she gets to share with 1-2 friends rather than a full on party. My DD was about that age when she started wanting experiences over parties. The pizza and slumber party sounds fun too, if that's what your DD would go for (mine was not into that type of thing).

Anonymous wrote:We did pottery painting for a smallish group of friends. Low stress for me, fun activity and low pressure/civilized for my reserved DD. Girls all loved their art pieces and because it was a small group we let them select whatever they wanted. Snacks afterwards and called it a day!

Where was this at? Sounds interesting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do a hotel sleepover (a suite w/kitchen and separate bedroom/living room) with a pool. We did swimming and a spa night with chocolate facials and orbi pedicures. Had a fantastic time.

Maybe you missed the single mom not wanting to spend a lot part..

No I didn't miss it, but appreciate your attempt to snark at me. Why would you think this is expensive and cost prohibitive? This was cheaper than hosting a party at a facility and has a bigger wow factor. You can get a Marriott suite room for maybe 130, bring your own food and put together your spa stuff (amazon and dollar tree) and then add in a bonus of a heated pool. It was by far my cheapest party with the biggest positive response for how it turned out.

10 yr olds alone in a room at night?? Parents dropping them off for 12-18 hrs? Wow

We did pottery painting for a smallish group of friends. Low stress for me, fun activity and low pressure/civilized for my reserved DD. Girls all loved their art pieces and because it was a small group we let them select whatever they wanted. Snacks afterwards and called it a day!

Does she want a party? Around this age, my kids started declining having one. Instead, we would just do a special activity with our immediate family and maybe a best friend. We also did some overnight trips to Kalahari water park, Richmond, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Those were more variable cost, and some of them could make a nice day trip.