Well I usually take kids out to an amusement park etc for my DD but decided to have a barbecue,
She is turning 11 and I would love some great ideas to make this fun without a pool. Game suggestions etc greatly appreciated!! There will be kids and adults.

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DOLLAR TREE!!!

water guns, water frisbee, spray bottles, those water "tennis" games from Dollar Tree.

Scavenger hunt, treasure hunt, water balloons (throw them, water relays, etc)

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Sllip-n-slide; they also have a new twister game that you hook your hose up to and it sprinkles during the game; just do an old-fashioned "company-picnic" type games, like 3-legged races, the race where you use eggs on spoons, face painting, etc. That way food can be cheap and easy, like hot dogs or corn dogs and fries or chips too!

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Have the courage to be yourself.

I know it sounds corny, but a "birthday egg hunt" was a hit at a party my kids went to years ago. In the eggs you can put finger nail polish, costume jewelry, little perfumes, coins like those gold Sacajawea dollars, candy, little lotions - basically as mentioned above, Dollar Tree items.

If you don't have the eggs, you can get them at a party store or ask a neighbor or friend if they have some. The trick is to hide them especially well. Don't tell your daughter ahead of time what you are doing and then if it looks like the party is slowing down you can tell the girls/boys that there are eggs hidden. (If you have an older child, let them hide the eggs, they'll do a really good job)

You can always do T-Shirt painting. Good Luck with the party, hope they all have a great time!

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Mary

We usually do a pinata and the kids love that.

FamilyFun: Fun stuff for Kids, Parents - and More Family Fun is a great resource.

Tie dye kits are available for around $10 at Walmart. 100% cotton teeshirts can be found at Walgreens for $2 each (?). This is always a fun group activity... not that we've ever done at a birthday party -- but we did do them at a family reunion a few years ago and everyone (kids and adults) had a great time!

We have two boys and parties usually involve the kids playing video games in a room on the opposite end of the house from us or outside running around with nerf guns or super soaker squirt guns! We've never done huge parties with adults (being that we live 6 hours from family).

I second the slip and slide you can even use heavy plastic if u cant find one make sure to use it on a small incline so its easier to slide and we use a LITTLE dawn dishsoap, my girls are 18-14 and still like
slip and slide before they go into the pool.

Also I think target has the packages of water balloons that can be alot of fun as well.

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squirt guns, water balloons, sidewalk chalk, beach ball volleyball, scavenger hunt, crafts

how about horse shoes and badminton for the adults? Water balloon fight for the younger kids?

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Is there a theme other then BBQ?

So far I have done a "Pirate Party" (complete with treasure hunt) and a "Survivor Party" with 5 challenges and Tribal Counsel. I am currently planning n "Amazing Race" party for DS2s 8th b-day and have 1 "Road Block" planned so far. DS1 was going to have a "Crime Scene" party but changed his mind (went with "Survivor" instead) so I have that planned also. I LOVE planning kids b-day parties, just give me a theme and let me go.


----edit----
I wanted to add that after both the "Pirate" and "Survivor" parties I heard parents say "I wish my b-day parties were this cool!" That totally made my day.

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Thanks for the ideas. So Far have the Water Balloon, Chalk, Slip n slide, Toss a cross, volleyball, bocci game etc. Got great ideas from Family Fun site and I think the kids will have fun. Praying for good weather.

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Without Health you have no Wealth!

I saw that Target has a slipnslide type thing except it for skim boards and includes a skim board in the price. DS loves to skim board- wonder if anyone has tried this thing out. I am thinking of getting one. Also, we have a volleyball net set up full time, suprising how much kids like to play badminton, and four or even more kids can play at a time, depending on how many raquets you have.