Girlfriends Camp

It’s time for a summer girls-only party!

Looking for ideas for an at-home summer camp? Three years ago, we held our first Girlfriends Camp, a girls only, 4-day summer camp for all our favorite preteen girlfriends. This has turned out to be a wonderful tradition. We have moms calling us in February to find out the dates so they can plan their family vacations around the camp. It’s been a smashing success.

Not only do we have four sons, but we also live in a neighborhood with LOTS of boys. That means my daughter doesn’t get a lot of girl time. Neither do I for that matter! Don’t get me wrong. We love the boys so so much. But, it’s also fun to ignore them sometimes and hang out with our girlfriends. We love packing in some long summer afternoons with all-things-girl!

If you’d like to host your own Girlfriends Camp, here are some ideas that have worked well for us.

girls running a snow cone stand

How many days makes a great camp?

We like holding our camp for 4 consecutive days. We usually plan it for a Tuesday-Friday from 1:00-5:00PM. It’s nice to have mornings to get everything ready and we also like avoiding meal times. Our camp is free. It’s just for fun, so we don’t want to add the work and expense of lunch to our agenda. Three or four days seems long enough that it’s a big deal for the participants. And, we can do a lot of fun things in that amount of time.

What should the schedule look like?

First Day

On the first day, make sure you begin by introducing all the girls to each other. Play a get-to-know-you game like tossing a bean bag around the room asking each person to answer a silly question. You can also ask each girl to come up with a “camp name” for the week. It could be as simple as an adjective that starts with the same letter as their first name. Think Crazy Claire, Sassy Sophie, or Gorgeous Gretta. This will help everyone feel a bit more comfortable before you dive into activities.

girlfriends in pyramid

Daily Themes and Agendas

We choose a theme for each day of our camp and plan our activities accordingly. We include our agenda in the invitation we send to our guests. Click here for an example of an agenda: Girlfriends Camp Invitation

Each year, we have repeated three themes: baking day, art day, and swimming/movie day. On the last day, we’ve tried a different theme each year.

When you plan your own camp, make sure you allow for lots of free time to play. You don’t want to overschedule the camp. Be flexible. If you don’t get to one of your activities, don’t feel bad. Your goal is to build relationships and maybe teach a few things. If you only get two art projects done but the girls are laughing and having a great time… mission accomplished!

Here are some examples of daily agendas. You can mix and match however you like and add your own ideas. It’s pretty hard to mess it up.

Girlfriends in the Kitchen

We love to bake at our house so this one is a no-brainer for us. We’ve done a few different things for our Girlfriends in the Kitchen day.

The first year, I taught them how to make cinnamon rolls and pizza. We made the dough together. Half of the girls made bread dough for pizza crust and the other half made the cinnamon roll dough. They played while the dough was rising, then I pulled them to the kitchen in small groups to “decorate” their pizzas and make cinnamon rolls. Every girl took home a small pizza and a few rolls. This was fun but pretty intense as none of the girls had much experience with dough.

The last two years, we have made several types of baked treats. I made sure I had ingredients for 8 different kinds of cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and rice crispy treats. I let each group of 3 girls choose which recipe they wanted to make. The girls played in other parts of the house until their turn. Each threesome was able to choose and make their batter/dough with my supervision. One group in the kitchen at a time was very easy. We could usually pull a recipe together in 10 minutes. This was fun because we had lots of different kinds of tasty treats to share when we were finished.

free snow cone stand

The big finale to the baking day is a free snow cone and treat stand. The girls LOVE this! Every kid likes setting up a lemonade stand. A free snow cone stand is even better. While the girls take turns baking, they make signs and set up tables for their stand. I usually have the syrup and ice ready to go. We own a big snow cone machine.

We set out all the different desserts with signs and make a poster with all our snow cone syrup flavors. I text all the neighbors, church and school friends, and the girls’ parents in the morning so we have lots of customers. We only run the stand for the last 90 minutes of our camp so there’s not a lot of sitting around. The girls take turns doing different jobs. It’s so fun!

cookie stand

Girlfriends Get Creative

We’ve done a lot of art projects at Girlfriends Camp. We really like making camp t-shirts. One year we printed stencils from a Cricut machine and just painted yellow t-shirts. This year, we tie-dyed shirts (which you can see in the snow cone photo earlier in this post). When we’ve made shirts, we made our first day of camp the art day so the girls could wear the shirts on other days of camp. I kept all the shirts that first night so the paint could dry or I could finish the tie-dying process.

girls painting shirts in the kitchen

Other favorite art projects have included paper dolls and paper dresses, lots of painting projects, fairy houses made from small milk cartons and things found in nature (rocks, leaves, flowers, sticks), yarn frames, origami, and mixed-media portraits.

Girls doing craft and art projects

Pinterest — Example of Mixed-Media Portrait

Girlfriends Take it Easy

This is the easiest day for the planners. We just go swimming at our community pool, then return to the house for a movie and popcorn. I have to recruit a couple of parents to help drive and chaperone at the pool. I let the girls swim as long as they want, usually 2-3 hours. Then we come home for a movie. Choose a fun girly movie that’s age appropriate. We recommend “Ella Enchanted” or one of the American Girl movies like “Grace Stirs it Up”. One year I had a teenage neighbor come create fancy hair-do’s for all the girls while they watched the movie. You may have to extend this day by an extra hour to have time for the movie.

movie girls

Girlfriends Get Outdoorsy

We live close to a lot of great hiking trails so one of our days included a hike and campfire. I found another parent to help drive up to the trailhead. We went on our hike then found a firepit to roast s’mores. The girls loved having an outdoor adventure together.

Girlfriends Go Downtown

Once again, I recruited a couple of extra parents to help me on this day. We rode the train downtown, went to a free museum, played in the public fountains, and then divided into three teams for a photo scavenger hunt. Some of the girls had never ridden the train so they were excited about that. It was a really fun afternoon. Here’s our scavenger hunt if you need some inspiration. Girlfriends Camp Photo Scavenger Hunt

Girls in public fountains

Girlfriends on Stage

I’m not sure I’ll repeat this one in the future but it was certainly fun. My daughter and I wrote a short play. She was 9 years old at the time and it was a great activity to do together. We gathered and created simple costumes and painted a couple of old sheets with background scenes. The girls all learned their parts in one afternoon. We invited their families to come at the end of the day and the girls performed for them. They filled large cups with popcorn and made little tickets to give to their families when they arrived. I’ll attach our script here as an example. Girlfriends Camp Skit

We hope these ideas help you plan something fun for all your favorite girls. Women need women. Girls need girls. We need lasting, strong relationships all throughout our lives. Anything you can do to promote friendship is well worth the effort!

Children’s Thanksgiving Play

Children's Thanksgiving Play Skit Whole Cast

If your church, school, or neighborhood is looking for a great children’s Thanksgiving play to celebrate the holiday, here is a simple script we created. Printable Children’s Thanksgiving Play Script

Children’s Thanksgiving Play

Cast

3 Narrators
Squanto
3-6 Pilgrims
3-6 Native Americans

If you have more than 16 children, you can add more pilgrims, Native Americans, and narrators. Make it work for you!

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Children's Thanksgiving Play Narrators — Children’s Thanksgiving Play Narrators

thanksgiving play Script

Narrator 1: Many years ago, the Pilgrims prayed for a place to live where they could worship Heavenly Father and go to church.

Pilgrims kneel in prayer.

Narrator 2: They decided to come to America. They sailed on a big ship called the Mayflower.

Pilgrims carry cardboard ship across stage. Native Americans wiggle blue fabric for water.

Thanksgiving Skit Mayflower (2)

Narrator 3: It took great courage for the Pilgrims to cross the ocean. There were many dangers, and the boat was cramped. There were no showers or bathtubs on the Mayflower, so it was probably pretty smelly too.

One of the pilgrims smells another and passes out.

Narrator 1: After a very long voyage, the pilgrims landed in America in a place they named Plymouth Rock.

Native American runs by holding carboard sign “Welcome to Plymouth Rock”.

Children's Thanksgiving Play Skit Plymouth Rock

Narrator 2: They went in search of food in the forest. They gathered seeds and berries.

Native Americans hold branches in the air and pretend to be berry bushes. Pilgrims pick berries from the bushes and eat them.

Children's Thanksgiving Play Skit Native Americans as Berry Bushes

Narrator 3: But soon the weather began to change. The first winter that the Pilgrims lived in America was very long, very cold, and very difficult.

Pilgrims huddle together. Native Americans run by holding snowflakes and making rain and storm noises.

Narrator 1: Many of the Pilgrims became ill and nearly half of them died.

One of the Pilgrims lays on the ground as if she is dead. Others cry.

Narrator 2: When Spring finally came, it was a time of joy!

One Native American runs by with cardboard sunshine.

Narrator 3: The Pilgrims were befriended by the Native American tribes of the area. The Natives taught the Pilgrims how to fish, plant corn, and build homes. The Pilgrims could never have survived without the help of their new friends.

Native Americans and Pilgrims shake hands. One pair fishes. One pair plants seeds with dead fish in a hole. One pair stacks wood.

Children's Thanksgiving Play Skit Fishing

Narrator 1: One of the Indians was called Squanto.

Squanto walks in and stands with hands on his hips.

Narrator 2: Earlier in his life, Squanto had been kidnapped by an English explorer and taken captive to Europe. Although this was a horrible thing, Squanto learned the English language and, when he returned to America, he was able to act as a translator, guide, and advisor for the Pilgrims.

Two pilgrims walk in and shake hands with Squanto. Squanto leads them to other side of stage.

Narrator 3: Together, the Pilgrims and the Native Americans hunted ducks and geese, and other wild birds. The Pilgrims would be ready, this time, for the coming winter.

One Native American and one Pilgrim walk across the stage with sticks as guns. Another child dressed as a turkey runs from other side of the stage, clucking loudly. The Pilgrim says, “Catch that wild bird!” They chase the bird off the stage.

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Narrator 1: When summer ended, the harvest was bountiful!

Pilgrims walk across stage holding pictures of Thanksgiving foods. (Corn, Squash, Pumpkin, Bread, Fruit)

Narrator 2: It was time to celebrate! They had plenty of food and many new friends. They wanted to give thanks to Heavenly Father for all of their blessings.

Narrator 3: “Join us!” the Pilgrims said to the Native Americans. “Join us in a big feast of Thanksgiving!”

Pilgrims wave to Native Americans, calling them to join the feast. Native Americans enter.

Children's Thanksgiving Play Skit Whole Cast

Narrator 1: Everyone was so excited, and everyone gave thanks to our Father in Heaven.

Pilgrims place food in the center, then join hands with Native Americans.

Narrator 2: What a wonderful first Thanksgiving Day!

Narrator 3: So, this Thanksgiving, when you gather with your family and friends to eat and celebrate, remember to pause and give thanks.

All: Children are still standing in a line holding hands. Each one takes their turn to say, “Give thanks for __________________.” (At our show, we had each child make a poster and hold it up to tell what they were most thankful for.)

Children's Thanksgiving Day Play Thankful Sign

The children can choose what they want to say, but here are some examples.

Give thanks for family, food, laughter, a warm house, good friends, freedom, animals, ice cream, the earth, love.

Optional Dance/Song

If you want, you can add a dance and song at the end. We used this one by the Learning Station.

List of needed supplies

Costumes

Pilgrim costumes

Native American costumes

Turkey Hat(s)

Here are two great links for costume ideas and patterns:

Pilgrim Hat Templates

Simple Thanksgiving Costumes

Props

Blue fabric or 2 blue plastic tablecloths for ocean

Leafy branches for berry bushes

Fishing pole

Wood to stack

Cardboard cut-out pictures of:

The Mayflower
Welcome to Plymouth Rock
Snowflakes
Sunshine
1 Dead Fish
Corn, Squash, Pumpkin, Bread, Fish, Apples

Children's Thanksgiving Play Skit Whole Cast

The kids had a great time performing this children’s Thanksgiving play and, we hope, they learned a bit about the first Thanksgiving. We also hope it reminded them of the many reasons they have to be grateful.

You can adapt this script to your needs. We hope it gives you a good starting point for your own celebration. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thank you to my friend Charlotte for taking all these great photos of our Thanksgiving play!

Messy Disgusting Derby Party

If you have a kid who loves to play in the dirt, then we have a party plan for you. This party is a mess, literally. Get your camera set up and prepare to laugh a lot at our messy Disgusting Derby!

Whipped Cream Face

The Disgusting Derby

First things first…

Make sure your invitation warns your guests to wear old clothes. Seriously, they may want to throw them away at the end of the party. Here’s our simple invitation:

Disgusting Derby Invitation

Now for the activities…

Divide your guests into groups of two people. Each pair will be a team. The activities will include a series of disgusting competitions.

Messy Marshmallow Drop

Supplies: Each team will need 5 large marshmallows, one cup of chocolate pudding, and one chair.

One person from each team will stand on a chair. The other will lay on the ground next to the chair. The goal is to dip a marshmallow in pudding, then drop it into the mouth of your partner laying on the ground. The team with the most marshmallow catches gets the points.

Messy Marshmallow Drop

Spitty Sticky Game

Supplies: One roll of LifeSavers per team (14 LifeSavers are in a roll.)

This game is seriously gross. One person in the pair will suck on the LifeSavers, then stick as many as they can on their partner’s face. They have 30 seconds. The team with the most LifeSavers on a face gets the points.

Spitty Sticky LifeSavers Game

Whipped Cream Toss

Supplies: One or two cans of spray whipped cream.

An adult will spray a blob of whipped cream on the top of each person’s hand. The kids will flip the whipped cream in the air and try to catch it in their mouths. (See video.) Give every player at least three chances. The team with the most successful catches gets the points.

Whipped Cream Toss

Whipped Cream Catch

Gross Goatees

Supplies: Each team will need a plastic cup with 1/8-1/4 cup corn syrup in it. They will also need a plastic cup with 1/2 cup of Life Cereal crumbs. (Make the crumbs by pouring Life cereal in a Ziplock bag and smashing it with a rolling pin or your hands.)

Once again, the teams will decide who will do each of two tasks. One person will paint a beard and mustache on their partner with their fingers and corn syrup. Then they will pat Life cereal crumbs on the syrup to create “facial hair.” So funny! Best beard wins the points.

Gross Goatee Bearded Boy

Disgusting Derby (Relay Race)

Supplies: Paper Plates, Creamy and slimy foods such as pudding, refried beans, canned tomato soup, cottage cheese, peanut butter, hummus, whipped cream, baby food, yogurt, and mud.

Combine the pairs into two large teams for a relay race. Players will run across the yard to a table. The table will have paper plates sitting on it. Each plate has one of the following items: pudding, refried beans, tomato soup, cottage cheese, peanut butter, hummus, whipped cream, baby food, yogurt, or mud. Anything slimy, sticky, or creamy will work! The plates will then be covered with a second plate so the contents are hidden. When the runner reaches the table, they point to a plate. An adult removes the cover and the player must smash his face in the contents before he can run back to tag the next person in line. Those who hesitate usually don’t win!

Smashing his face into chocolate pudding. Lucky choice!

Refried Beans Face — Covered in refried beans

Disgusting Derby- Tomato soup — Oooh! Tomato soup slime.

Whipped Cream Face

Water Fight

End the party with an epic water fight! It may help clean up your little mess-makers, or it may just make everything more sticky. Either way, it will be fun.

Treats

You can choose your favorite messy dessert. We served Dirt & Worms at our party. Yum!

Dirt and Worms Dessert Recipe

We hope this party is as much fun at your house as it was at ours!

Find more of our unique party ideas for kids ages 8-12 at Big Kid Parties.