What to do for 8yr old birthday

viccig

Hello there, Its my step daughters birthday on Sunday, but we have her tomorrow so are going to have a celebration at ours.
Ive made a nice cake, bought some lovely presents and was going to give her and my son a 'piccy dinner' with the cake etc for lunch.

The only thing is, she doesn't have any friends near me (all our neighbours are elderly)
and I really wanted to do something special for her, but I'm stumped!!

Ive checked our two local cinemas and theres nothing on that she hasnt seen,
I was hoping to tap some moneysaving knowledge to see if any of you have any nice (and reasonably priced) ideas for a fun birthday

any help would be really appreciated

vicci

pinkpig08

Are you on good terms with her mum - does she have the phone numbers of a couple of friends who live near her that you could invite?

Or maybe an hours bowling if you have a local alley?

viccig

Thank you for your reply.

No to the good terms with her mum and they do live a little way away, and because non of her friends parents have met us I wouldn't feel comfortable asking unfortunately.

Good tip with the bowling though id never have thought of that, but my partner has just had an operation on his arm and my little boy would prob go chasing down the lanes (hes quite hyper lol)

sticher

Hi how about going to a soft play area - the ones with the bouncy castles and big slides, etc?

My boys still enjoy those places and they are a bit older.

cookie54

do you have a play centre near you where you could all go and play and mix with other children . another good one near us is a shop where you paint something of your choice and keep it .......

perfectlypoor

what about doing some craft type thing,wilkinsons do loads of kits and there are things to make,paint etc, how about decorating a mug ( do not put it in dishwasher onces its done DS still hasen't forgiven me for wrecking his handywork) lol

savvy

Hi viccig

This board may have some ideas for you, or ones you could adapt I used to have some hyperactive 'step children', so I know how difficult it can be! :rolleyes: What about a treasure hunt, you could do it around the house and/or garden, or even extend it out to going out in the car. Each one of them can have different clues set to their age, for each stage, or a seperate one with different answers that are at the same place.

If it's in your house you can hide things at each clue, that lead to the birthday present, or if out in the car and dropping in and out of places, they could have a small prize/sweet for each clue they get right etc, then a bigger prize at the end.

There's all sorts of things/ways to do it, obviously a bit short notice to do a car based one, but easy enough to do around the house tonight

LilMissEmmylou

does she get to bake often? You could have a mini baking session with her? Do some buns and jazz them up after with sprinkles, icing etc? i loved doing cakes when i was little lol

kazmeister

How about setting a room up like a salon and do a princess party just for her. Do her hair, nails and if she's allowed a little make up. My daughter who will be 9 in March would love it.

viccig

Thank you so much for all your replies, It turned out her grandmas came for lunch with more pressies and there was just enough time for an hour at the softplay and the bairns really enjoyed themselves phew!!:T

The replies have been extra helpful though, as we dont see her as often as we would like, I do try and do a variety of things, I want her to have good memories of the times she spends with us so I'll certainly be using some of those ideas.

The treasure hunt is a fantasic idea savvy, It reminded me of one easter when we took her and my brother on a treasure hunt in Hexham, we asked permission from the land owner and made an easter egg hunt with clues and rhymes. Id forgotten all about it and I know my little boy would love to do that this year! :j


Thanks for the tips everyone