Girlfriends Party

Friendship is just part of being female -- usually a blessing, but sometimes a trial! Girls of all ages struggle with the usual ups and downs, hurt feelings and misunderstandings that come along for the ride of a true friendship. Why not offer to host a Girlfriends Party for your daughter? Your daughter and her friends will have a great time making focusing on all the good stuff about having friends! This party includes ideas for making charm bracelets, playing a game of “Good Gossip” where the girls talk about each other's qualities, and creating friendship books.

Having a party where girls laugh and giggle together can help build and strengthen positive relationships, both between the girls and between daughters and their parents. Hosting a party for your daughter and her friends can reap dividends for years. Here are a few potential benefits:

  • 'Tweens usually want their parents to know who their friends are. Inviting her friends over shows your daughter you care about her social life.
  • Parents who know their daughter's 'tween friends are far more likely to know her teenage friends in a few years, years when many more serious decisions will be made.
  • Knowing your daughter's friends will allow you to give her advice about choosing friends and the things they do together.
  • Not all kids have great parents to go home to. You never know what a positive role model and confidant you may become to your daughter's friends.
  • You as the parent probably work really hard all the time! Doesn't a party just sound like fun?

We hope our Girlfriends Party ideas will inspire you to plan a memorable get-together for your daughter and a few of her friends!


Laura Scott
editor, Creative Girls Club

Girlfriends Party

Girlfriends are forever! Your girl will always remember the fun time she had at this Girlfriends Party making charm bracelets and deco books with her friends.

Invitation
"GirlFriend, Please come ..."

Decorations
Make It Fun & Funky!

Party Favors
Girlfriend Deco Books

Activities
Girlfriend Charm Bracelets
Slippers or PJs Contest
"Good Gossip"
"You Go, Girlfriend"

Food Fun
Crisp, Cold Veggie Tray
Chips and Dip
Strawberry Lemonade
Girlfriend Cupcakes

"Girlfriend, Please
come ..."

Let's Begin!

Fold the neon green card stock in half so that it makes a card 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches. The fold should be on the left edge.

Cover

Use your computer and printer to print "Girlfriend, Please come ..." on plain paper as shown. (Or you can use gel pens or markers.) Cut out with scissors so that words are in center of a 5 1/2 x 3-inch rectangle. Trim long edges with "pinking shears" paper edgers.
Photocopy charm patterns. Color one of the charms in fun neon colors. Cut it out with scissors.
Glue the paper strip and charm to front of invitation using the glue pen.

Things You'll Need

For each invitation:

  • 1/2 sheet (4 1/4 x 11 inches) neon green card stock
  • Plain white paper
  • Charms patterns
  • Glue pen
  • Mini "pinking shears" paper edgers
  • Extra-fine pink neon glitter
  • 12 inches light green metallic 1/8-inch ribbon or cord
  • Computer with color printer (optional)
  • Gel pens or fine-tip markers: black, plus assorted neon colors
  • Scissors
  • Ruler
  • Pencil
  • Photocopier (optional)
Lay a clean piece of paper on your work table. Lay invitation on the paper. Draw around the charm with the glue pen. Sprinkle glitter over the glue. Turn invitation over and tap it so that extra glitter falls on the paper. Bend the paper into a funnel and pour the glitter back into its container.
Working as you did in step 4, draw a wavy line across the white paper with your glue pen. Cover it with pink glitter.

Invitation

Use your computer and printer (or gel pens or markers) to print party information on plain white paper:
 

Join the GIRLS for a

Fabulous

Slumber Party of Friendship
Below this, print your address, the date and time of the party, and a phone number and deadline for RSVPs.
Print the information in an area no bigger than 3 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches.
Cut out with scissors so that words are in center of a 4 1/2 x 3 1/2-inch rectangle. Trim short edges with paper edgers.
Glue the paper inside the invitation using the glue pen.

Finishing

Tie the metallic green ribbon around the center of the card, at the fold. Tie the ends in a bow on the front.

Make It Fun & Funky!

Cut large hearts, smiley faces, telephones and groovy swirls from poster board, card stock or paper. You can enlarge those designs on a photocopier if you want.

Color them in bright colors. Hang them all over with poster putty. Or hang them from streamers hanging from the ceiling or doorway.
 

 
Girlfriend Deco Books

Things You'll Need

To make the books:

  • Bright neon card stock in colors of your choice (we used purple, pink, blue, green, yellow and orange)
  • 1/8-inch circle paper punch
  • Brightly colored rat-tail craft cord
  • Brightly colored pony beads
  • Glue
  • Scissors

To decorate the pages:

  • Assorted small stickers, including alphabet stickers
  • Assorted small paper die cuts
  • Scraps of fabric and decorative paper
  • Colored pens, glitter pens, markers
  • Glitter, sequins
  • Charms
  • Colorful craft wire, ribbon
  • Small buttons
  • Glue, double-sided tape
  • Scissors

Before the Party

Make a book for each party guest. Each book should have at least one page for each guest. If you're having 10 guests, each book should have at least 10 pages, not counting the covers.

Let's Begin

Cut card stock in half down its length. Pieces should measure 4 1/4" x 11".
Fold each piece in half and run your finger along the crease. The folded pieces will measure 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches.
Open folded pages up. Using a pencil and ruler, mark two dots right on the crease. One should be 3/4 inch from the left edge. The other should be 3/4 inch from the right edge. Use the paper punch to punch a hole at each dot.
Repeat step 3 on all pieces of card stock.
Stack as many pages as you need for a book. The holes should line up.
Cut a 12- to 15-inch piece of cord. Thread one end through one set of holes, from the inside of the book to the outside. Thread the other end of cord through the other set of holes.
Knot the cord ends together outside the book, or tie them in a bow. Thread a pony bead onto the ends of the cord if you want.

At Your Party

Set out all the supplies -- glue, scissors, stickers, pens, ribbon and other things. Give a book to each guest. Then, have the girls pass around their books and have each girlfriend decorate a page or two in each book.
 

Girlfriend
Charm
Bracelets

Before the Party

Use a photocopier to make a copy of the charms patterns for each guest.
Attach a lobster claw clasp to one end of each bracelet using the needle-nose pliers.
Read all the instructions for coloring and baking the shrinking plastic.
Help your girl move the charms in and out of the oven, and attach the rings with pliers.

Let's Begin!

Lay shrinking plastic over pattern
page on work table. Rough, dull side
of shrinking plastic should be face up.

Things You'll Need

For each charm bracelet:

  • 1 sheet shrinking plastic
  • Charms patterns
  • Good-quality colored pencils in bright neon colors (See Note below.)
  • Fine-tip permanent marker
  • Small scissors
  • 1/8-inch circle hole punch
  • Regular circle hole punch
  • About 7 inches of silver jack chain (See Note below.)
  • 6mm silver split rings
  • 3mm lobster claw clasp
  • Needle-nose pliers or jewelry pliers
  • Cookie sheet covered with foil
  • Pot holders
  • Cooling rack
  • Oven

Note: Don't use cheap, waxy colored pencils or wax- or oil-based coloring products. They can catch fire in the oven. Silver jack chain is inexpensive. You can find it at home improvement stores.
Trace and color patterns. Or, sketch your own original designs. Add lettering with a fine-tip permanent marker or dark-colored pencil.
Cut out plastic charms with scissors. Round off any points or sharp corners.
Use the small circle punch to punch a hole near the edge of each charm.
Following the instructions that came with the shrinking plastic, bake the charms: Preheat the oven, and put the charms on the foil-lined cookie sheet.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Set the sheet on a cooling rack. Let the charms cool.
Use the pliers to attach a split ring to each charm. Then attach each split ring to the bracelet.
 

Slippers or PJs Contest

Have a "beauty contest" for pajamas or slippers! Give prizes for "silliest," "most like the wearer," "furriest," "warmest," "most elegant," etc.

If you choose to have this contest, be sure to put a reminder on the invitation to bring PJs and slippers.

 

 

Good Gossip

"If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all!" Make all the girls feel good about themselves by having each girl say something nice to another girl.

Have the first girl in line whisper something sweet, kind and/or positive about the last girl in line to the second girl in line. Pass along the sweet gossip to each girl until it reaches the next to last girl in line. She will repeat the sweet gossip so everyone can hear.

Now -- how much is it the same, or how much has it changed from the original compliment?

At this point, the last girl moves to the other end of the line and becomes the first girl, and the game is repeated. Have them continue until all the girls have heard some sweet "good gossip" about themselves.

"You Go, Girlfriend"

Keep this one a secret until your party is almost over! Near the end of the party, ask each guest to write down on a piece of paper the name of a girl they thought showed the most kindness, was most helpful and gracious during the entire party. Tally the names and present the winner with a small prize.
 

 

Cookie Pizza

Things You'll Need

Cookie dough
Note: Mix up a double batch of chocolate-chip cookie dough ahead of time or buy prepared cookie dough.

Round pizza pan
Pizza cutter
Toppings: chocolate chips, M&M's, coconut
     chopped nuts, marshmallows
Cans of white frosting with decorator tips
Spatula

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Press cookie dough into a pizza pan. Have the girls add their favorite toppings -- coconut, chocolate chips, M&M's and other candies.

Bake the cookie pizza in the oven for 15 minutes or until dough is lightly browned. Let cool.

Let each girl help decorate the cookie pizza using cans of frosting with decorator tips.

Use pizza cutter to cut cookie pizza into wedges. Let the girls dig in and have a slice.

Crisp, Cold Veggie Tray

Arrange rows of veggies in a large flower shape.

Girlfriend Cupcakes

Things You'll Need

Baked cupcakes frosted with white frosting
Tubes of cake-decorating gel or canned
frosting with decorator tips

Let's Begin!

Have the girls decorate frosted cupcakes with "girlfriend chatter" using the gel or frosting -- "Sweet," "Cute," "Funny," "Silly," "Chatty," "Giving," "Artsy," "Dancer," "Diva," "Girly Girl," "Groovy," "Chic," "Sporty," etc.
 

 

Next week you will get Easy Party Ideas Part 3: Scrapbooking Party.
Don't forget to check your inbox!

If you want to review part 1, click the title below.

 

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