Preparing games for your daughter’s 13th birthday party will ensure that the birthday girl and her guests have something structured and fun to keep them occupied and entertained during the party. Plan a variety of games and activities that complement the theme of the party, including immature kid games and more grown-up teen games. Having a multitude of activities planned will help pass the time if a particular game doesn’t resonate well with the girls.
Sleepover Games
Sleepovers typically provide hours of giggles and delight while adding extra party time, which means more time to fill with games. Balance a childish favorite, such as tag or hide-n-go-seek, with a more mature outlook. For example, play the games after dark outside with flashlights. This game should be wrapped up by 10 or 11 to avoid unhappy neighbor complaints about crazy teenage giggles.
Makeup games are fitting as the girls will probably want to experiment with makeup anyway. For example, split the girls into teams of two and blindfold one girl. Have her put makeup on her partner while blindfolded, then switch. The outcome will likely be hilarious, and prizes can be given out to the craziest job and the best job. Or have one girl sit in front of her partner and let the back partner put makeup on the front partner.
Outdoor Games
Avoid outside games if they’re more into gossip, boys and makeup. If your daughter and her friends prefer to be active, play and be silly, consider some outdoor games. Some childhood classics, such as three-legged races and potato-sack races, can still be fun to 13-year-old girls. Water balloon fights are simple and still enjoyable for most teen girls. Capture-the-flag is an outdoor game many teens enjoy, and it can be a fitting game for a coed or all-girl party.
Scavenger hunts, particularly those around town–with a supervising adult, of course–or the mall, can make the girls use their minds, get to know new friends and still create a competitive game.
Inside Games
For an active inside game, tie a balloon around each girl’s ankle and have the girls try to pop each other’s balloons without getting their own popped. This game will likely be noisy as the balloons pop and the girls giggle.
For a quieter option, consider dress-up games, which are another little-girl favorite that can include a grown-up twist. Have piles of various clothes in dark closets, and ask each girl to get dressed in the dark. The mismatched results will likely incite fits of laughter. Or separate the girls into teams and have them create outfits for a mock fashion show out of old clothes and scraps.
Classic Games
Twister can be a great active classic game that 13-year-old girls typically enjoy. There isn’t much to the game, but they may find it to be fun, particularly if your theme is retro or polka dots.
For a more grown-up feel, consider a preplanned game of truth-or-dare. Inflate balloons without tying them; then, write out age-appropriate truths and dares, and let the air out of the balloons. Let the girls randomly select the balloons and inflate them to see their truth-or-dare. Another option is to place small slips of paper inside inflated balloons and let the girls pop the balloons to reveal their truth-or-dare.
Put a spin on the classic “spin-the-bottle” game by using nail polish. Set a bunch of different nail polish colors in the center of the group and let the birthday girl spin one bottle. Whoever the cap points to must paint one nail in that color. The next girl spins her color preference and so forth until each girl has painted her fingernails and toenails.
Considerations
Some 13-year-old girls feel like birthday party games are too immature for them to partake in. If your teen or her friends feel this way, put together a few activities in case they get bored but don’t try to force them to play the games. Crafts, such as jewelry making, scrapbooking, putting together videos, or making T-shirts or pillowcases, might be more appropriate.
Photo Credit
- Two attractive teen girls image by Monika 3 Steps Ahead from Fotolia.com
