Any tips...

[Brandi]

on how to entertain an 11 year old girl? Since my niece is coming to stay with us for a bit till her little sis get's out of the hospitol.
I know nothing about 11 year old kids. Not a clue. i could do sand sculpting with her. But the beach right now is pretty cold. My best friend has daughter's close to her age and have offered to let her hang out with them but they don't get out of school till next week so it's just me and dh. who has even less of a clue then me. I thought we could do christmas project stuff.

[alpinerabbit]

Walks on the beach, maybe 11year-olds are still interested in finding stuff (I was....)?

Renting a movie?

Sure, christmas crafty stuff might entice?

Going to see the lights at night?

[Biciclista]

paper, pencil, crayons, pastels, watercolors. encourage her to make christmas cards

[Irulan]

board games, fun movies

[Blueberry]

Baking cookies. Making snowflakes. Maybe help her make a crafty thing for her parents and sis as a present? Might cheer everybody up!

CA

[alpinerabbit]

nice xmas cards can be made with cut-out shapes, watercolor, a toothbrush and a tea sieve.

rub the toothbrush inside the sieve to spray the color onto cards.

cover the area well in newspaper.

a Tree shape, and a couple gold star stickers - done.

[Grog]

I was a big sister for a while. My little sis' was about that age and loved to bake and cook with me.

[Aquila]

The kids (my niece and nephew) I interact with at that age are pretty willing to do just about anything so long as there's adult interaction. (They're also really good at entertaining themselves by reading and playing alone, but when I see them, I get to focus on them for a bit.) Adult interaction may also be especially important if she's worried about her sister or if she's been feeling left out (if the parents have been focusing on the other child).

I really like that craft ideas and holiday ideas that people have come up with.

I have had a great time doing gingerbread houses (you can make the houses out of cardboard, and either buy a couple tubs of cheap frosting or make it yourself. Food coloring and some random candy, and voila. Hours of fun, AND it's a cool thing to get to display for a little while.

We've also done tie dye, painted birdhouses, played endlessly in the park (kids don't tire quickly of swings, at least that's my experience).

Board games and legos are also big for us.

Finally, my niece especially likes to help me with cooking stuff. Bake some cookies together or something, make pancakes, whatever.

And a visit to the local library for books for down time :)

[alpinerabbit]

Or you could make the gingerbread house out of - shock! gingerbread.

Surely there are recipes out there, possibly even kits, with frosting and all.

[solobiker]

Does she like to do crafts? Do you have any old clothes pins she could paint? I have seen people that have made them into snowmen and santas. How about making her own jewlery with beads? These are just some things I have seen my niece do when she was aoubt that age.

[Brandi]

These are all really great idea's! Thank you so much! the good thing is I am totally loaded on craft supplies so i won't need to buy any. tons of craft paper,crayons, marker's,paints etc.. I really like the idea for the ginger bread house i think we will have to do that!

[Grits]

All the craft and cooking ideas are great.

I don't know anything about where you live, but if there happen to be any children's museums or just good museums in general around, my kids liked those when they were 11.

[sundial]

All the kids love to play in my art stuff, so break out big pieces of paper and crayons, markers, pastels, you name it. Also, if you have any fun games, kids can be entertained with that pretty easily.

[tulip]

If you do the gingerbread house from scratch, you can stretch it out at least two days...do the baking one day and then the decorating the next day. You might want to have a kit as backup in case the original one falls apart (it happens).

Baking bread is also good--kneading dough is such a good thing to do when you're stressed, and no doubt she's stressed.

Cookies, too. Different kinds.

Lasagne's also a good thing to make, and so tasty (and easy)

Soup from scratch.

Obviously, I like to cook.

[Tuckervill]

I heard someone today say that you can make the gingerbread house with just cardboard, and decorate it with real candy and frosting. And I think the same lady said that you should not put the roof on the same day you put up the walls.

Karen

[smilingcat]

Spending time together is so important. Her mom's attention is all on Lore so the 11 year old may feel left out. So I think its important to spend time together with her.

I would definitely spend time on craft: making personalized Christmas cards, painting, I used to do charcol and pastel drawings around that age. And boy did I love to cook even back then. Took over my sister's Easy bake oven :D

If you don't want to make cookies from scratch, buy the mix in a bucket or even the ones in a tube from pilsbury. It could even be baking biscuits. Having hot biscuits you baked is a big treat for your niece. And crafts don't have to be just drawing or painting. It could be knitting, sewing. Make a simple pillow (case) with cute trim. Have her make one for her little sister. Or watch a movie together and share a bucket of pop corn.

And see if any neighbors have children her age and introduce her to them. When I stayed at my Aunt's house or my Uncle's house growing up, I used to play with kids in their neighborhood. My aunt would show me how to cook. and over at my Uncle's house, I used to draw, try to learn Calligraphy from him and went on nature walks.

If you are not sure ask your niece.

sicerely,
smilingcat

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, there's no reason you have to schedule every moment together. Follow her lead, let her do what she wants, make yourself available to her for whatever she wants to do. If you have errands or chores, include her in it, especially if it's something particularly interesting (like drawing out your next sculpture). Offer her tasks to do that help you out, that she may not be trusted with at home. Be patient. Listen. Hug.

Karen

[SadieKate]

I heard someone today say that you can make the gingerbread house with just cardboard, and decorate it with real candy and frosting. And I think the same lady said that you should not put the roof on the same day you put up the walls.

Karen

Hmm, I've never heard that and I've thrown parties with 10 couples each making their own house with lot. It depends on the frosting you use. Royal Frosting is best and you want to use a stiff gingerbread dough. I don't have a recipe handy, but it shouldn't be hard to find.

Here's a recipe for Royal Frosting.
http://www.recipekitchen.com/All_Desserts/Frosting/frosting19.html

[PscyclePath]

I may have missed something, but the obvious answer with this crowd hasn't turned up yet...

Bundle up and go for a bike ride!

[SadieKate]

Did we need to state the obvious? ;)

[SadieKate]

I thought of another that is always fun -- make taffy!

[Tuckervill]

Hmm, I've never heard that and I've thrown parties with 10 couples each making their own house with lot. It depends on the frosting you use. Royal Frosting is best and you want to use a stiff gingerbread dough. I don't have a recipe handy, but it shouldn't be hard to find.

Here's a recipe for Royal Frosting.
http://www.recipekitchen.com/All_Desserts/Frosting/frosting19.html

I looked for the article on CBS Sunday Morning that I saw the Gingerbread Lady of Virginia on. I could have misunderstood what she meant, but I have to tell you that her creations are fabulous and extraordinary. Johanna Shalloway (http://www.dailyprogress.com/cdp/lifestyles/columnists/food/article/homes_sweet_homes/31147/) is her name. I'm sure it was her opinion born out of experience!

Karen