American Girl party...with BOYS?!?

HI,

Help! Dd just HAS to have an AG party for her 9th Birthday, but she has 2 brother's & a boy cousin who will be attending, as well as one little girl who does not have an AG. Really hope the little girl isn't one of those kid's who would LOVE an AG doll & mom say's no. She will have four other girl's over that all have AG doll's. Hannah should have her Lissie by July & has said she will share her doll's w/ the girl who doesn't have one for the party stuff. Anyhoo, I think I can get away with AG doll crafts & games w/ the non-AG little girl, but am not sure what to do with the boys. Should I have dh do fun stuff w/ them seperately & just have them join us for cake & snacks? Dh would be more than willing to help out. Honestly, I think my ds6 & ds2 would be o.k. w/ the "girly" party...they are playing dolls w/ dd right now, but I really don't expect my 10 year old nephew to endure it. [img]confused.gif[/img]

Any mom's out there who have faced this challenge? What was your solution? Having two different parties won't work due to $ and time. Ds has a June Bday & dd's is 4th of July, plus we have to fit vacation in there too. Not inviting the cousin would not work because his younger sister will be coming & we, esp. my dd, really want him to come (she only has two cousin's).

TIA,

Bren [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

If the crafts are something that a boy could use (i.e. not pnik, etc.) then crafts shouldn't be a problem. The nephew could always bring a stuffed animal, the other littlge girl could bring one of her dolls or stuffed animals as well.

This wouldn't be a problem if society wasn't so determined that boys shouldn't have dolls. [img]graemlins/grrr.gif[/img]

Bump [img]wink.gif[/img]

Quote:

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Originally posted by *The*Paranoid*Pumpkin*:
If the crafts are something that a boy could use (i.e. not pnik, etc.) then crafts shouldn't be a problem. The nephew could always bring a stuffed animal, the other littlge girl could bring one of her dolls or stuffed animals as well.

This wouldn't be a problem if society wasn't so determined that boys shouldn't have dolls. [img]graemlins/grrr.gif[/img]

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">There's an idea, could you make it a 'toy' party?

If the boys get uninterested, I'd just keep a playstation in the other room, honestly.

Well I would suggest maybe buying the little girl without an AG a springfield collection doll with a 50% off coupon that she could take home if the crafts you are making are for the doll, if you use the coupon it would be pretty cheap. I also know at AC Moore and Michaels they sell the premade ceramic things you can paint. They have a varity of things and quite a few boy things.My DD had her party this year at "plaster fun time" and 4 boys from her class came they really enjoyed painting the ceramics. I still think boys at 10 enjoy arts and crafts type projects. I know recently they had wooden birdhouses that could be painted at Michaels, I think boys would really enjoy making those too!! I really dont think you need to do two seperate parties it sounds like it would be fun if you have the arts and crafts. And as suggested if all else fails have DH do something a bit different with the boys. Hope you DD has a great bday!!

I would think of some crafts that awould be able to go both ways - Maybe making something in the Kitchen - Create your own desert kinda thing. Then if all else fails let them play outside

Going along with what FelinaDoon suggested, why not let them make some things from Julia's Tiny Treats book? I haven't read it yet, but I'm sure it's fabulous. [img]wink.gif[/img] I don't know too many kids, boys or girls, that would turn down treats, especially when the girls can serve them to their dolls. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I'm sure everyone will have a good time with whatever you decide on! [img]graemlins/cake.gif[/img]

My two sons liked "active" party games more than crafts, but they both love cooking. Make sure that some of the games involve some running around like "tag" or a basketball type game, etc. I think making the Tiny Treats is a great idea. The boys would like that. Let the boys retreat and play on their own with playstation, etc. as needed. It should all work out fine. If the boys need a break, they will let you know. We often had family birthday parties that included different ages and sexes. If the party is at your home, the boys will have plenty of opportunities to do other things if it gets too "dolly" for them. Also, your sons may not want to show an interest in dolls in front of their "big" cousin if he is someone who might tease them a bit about it or if they want to be cool in front of him. My son would play dolls with his sister in private, but if there were other boys around, he wouldn't.

What if some of the games or crafts were things like Kaya would have done- she always struck me as a "non-girly" girl. You could even "stretch it a little" and send them on a "treasure hunt" in the back yard where they are following the clues to track down the prize like Kaya would have used clues in the woods to find her way home.

You could try to enlist the 10 year old nephew as a helper in an activity- if you think it's going to be too "girly" - just do it in a way to make him feel special, not excluded- e.g. You know, this make your own tiara craft is really complicated, do you think you could help me out by running the glue gun- I just don't think the younger kids can do it. That puts him in the position to still be involved in the activity, and he can work on his own if he wants, or he can assume the role of "helper" if he feels he's too manly to do the activity.

Or what if, like from the Samantha movie with Eddie's money jar- your nephew is Eddie. You give him a baby jar with change in it and send him into the back yard while the others are doing something he wouldn't enjoy to hide it. Then see if the others can find it. Tell him to hide it really well- he could give "warmer-colder" clues as they search. Then the kids split the money. I once did a treasure hunt in our sandbox when my daughter had an under the sea party and hid change- less than $1 worth in mostly pennies, nickles, a few dimes and one quarter-the kids acted like they were looking for real buried treasure and got so excited when they found a coin- I can't imagine the jubilation if they found a whole baby jar that they could share- just make sure the money divides evenly.

Sorry this is so, long- I'm just rambling about some ideas that are popping into my head. Have a great party!

Jo

HI,

Thanks so much for all the input. The party isn't until July so I have plenty of time to think it over. DD is wanting a sleepover (her 1st) and I'm thinking of having games & maybe making some "Tiny Treats" (need to buy the book first! [img]rolleyes.gif[/img] ) for the early part of the party and saving the girly crafts for the "slumber" part...after the boy's are gone. [img]wink.gif[/img]

Any more ideas? I'm making a list. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Bren [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]