Time to Party!

Your child wants to have party......how are you going to keep a bunch of  preteens happily occupied (and keep your own sanity!) for a few hours?  Here are some tips for having a cool get together! 

* Friends - I've found that as the kids get older, the number of friends at the party get smaller.  When they were younger, it was nothing to invite 20 children or more.  That number seems to drop to about 10 to 12 close friends.  Company is usually mixed, boys and girls.

* Food - Keep them fed and watered!  Pizza is always a great option but make sure there are tons of munchies all night too: chips, nachos, popcorn, etc.  Beverages have shifted from juice, to soda and water bottles.

* Music - The right music is really important!  Let your tween select the cd's or download a bunch of favorites and make your own cd's.

* Karaoke / DDR - Karaoke is a good choice for tweens.  Also, Dance Revolution is really popular (and the kids don't have to actually dance with each other.....eeewwww!)

* Movies - Make it a movie night!  If you aren't familiar with the movie, make sure you pre-screen it!  You also may want to "clear" the movie selection with the other parents.

* Don't Hover - Always be in ear-shot (and eye-shot!)!  But try not to cramp your tween's style.