Would you let your 14/15 year old go camping with their boy/girlfriend? UPDATE NEED NEW IDEAS

[Catwoman]

15 minutes ago, Sunshine State Sue said:

Sounds very awkward for a teenage girl, imo. 

My 17yo gdd is going to Disney with her bf and his family next week.  She'll be sharing a hotel room with his mom.  She wants to go but thinks it will be awkward sharing a room with his mom.

I would think that most teen girls would find it very awkward to be roommates with their bf’s mom on a vacation. 

[hippymamato3]

1 hour ago, Catwoman said:

I would think that most teen girls would find it very awkward to be roommates with their bf’s mom on a vacation. 

aww depends on the relationship! I am still super close to DS's ex-girlfriend and we've totally room together. lol 

[happi duck]

Kayaking+camping+another activity sounds exhausting!  For that reason a day trip sounds better to me

[Katy]

Whatever ends up happening, I think it is so great that even with all the stress that's happened in the past few years, you're focused on maximizing fun for a birthday. There's a good chance I'd still be curled up in a ball. You're a great mom.

[Drama Llama]

9 hours ago, Katy said:

Whatever ends up happening, I think it is so great that even with all the stress that's happened in the past few years, you're focused on maximizing fun for a birthday. There's a good chance I'd still be curled up in a ball. You're a great mom.

You're sweet.  I'm still a mess, never fear.  I think there's a good chance I'm overcompensating because I'm sure I'm going to be having a hard time, and I want them distracted enough that  my disengagement, and their father's absence, doesn't hurt them. 

[Drama Llama]

14 hours ago, bolt. said:

I think "what you feel at the time" can be quite different from how you feel about it at various points afterwards. As a woman in my 40s, I don't currently regard my 'exes' from my young teen years as something terribly serious to me now. But at the time, and for a not insignificant number of months and years afterwards, my break ups felt like key events in my life.

I agree that if they broke up he'd be very sad. 

I was responding to your comment about the memories being ruined long term.  It's not uncommon for kids to date classmates, although these two go to different schools.  Kids who date, and are part of the same friendship group or social circle, will be at all sorts of events together before, during and after those events.  The kid you dated last year might be on the band trip with you, or cheering at your championship game, or dancing with someone else at your prom.  But people still remember those things fondly.  

[Janeway]

If you are split up by gender, then it would be fine I think. 

[livetoread]

Both dh and I were raised conservative Christian. We went on vacation with his family when we were engaged, in our late 20s and openly living together. I shared a sofa bed with his mother the whole time. Yes it was awkward, but they paid for the condo so their rules. It felt a bit silly, but it was fine.

[Drama Llama]

UPDATE:  Yesterday, my oldest and girlfriend and a couple of her family members were in a car accident.  DS is very shaken and triggered (as are the rest of us) but OK, but GF has a broken collarbone. We're all very grateful because it could have been so much worse.  But it means no kayaking for her this summer.  

Any other ideas for fun things to do to celebrate with a group of 12 - 15 year olds?  

[kirstenhill]

9 minutes ago, Baseballandhockey said:

Any other ideas for fun things to do to celebrate with a group of 12 - 15 year olds?  

My 13 and 15 year olds really like the "Escape room in a box" - like "Exit the Game" (there are quite a few titles).  For my 13 year old's birthday this year we kept it pretty simple and just had party foods and the kids did the escape room (took them several hours, partly because they kept getting distracted).   But you could do it up with food or decorations themed to go along with which ever game you pick.  

You could also GO to an escape room if there are any near you, but I feel like that is less satisfying in some ways because you have to solve it in an hour and then its over either way.  With an "At home" escape room you can just ignore the time suggestion and enjoy it for as long as the party goers find it enjoyable.

ETA:  "EXIT" games:  https://store.thamesandkosmos.com/collections/exit-the-game

Edited July 11, 2022 by kirstenhill
added link

[Spryte]

1 minute ago, kirstenhill said:

My 13 and 15 year olds really like the "Escape room in a box" - like "Exit the Game" (there are quite a few titles).  For my 13 year old's birthday this year we kept it pretty simple and just had party foods and the kids did the escape room (took them several hours, partly because they kept getting distracted).   But you could do it up with food or decorations themed to go along with which ever game you pick.  

You could also GO to an escape room if there are any near you, but I feel like that is less satisfying in some ways because you have to solve it in an hour and then its over either way.  With an "At home" escape room you can just ignore the time suggestion and enjoy it for as long as the party goers find it enjoyable.

Along these lines, we did a murder mystery in a box party for 14 yr old that was a huge hit.

Our local escape room also “caters” — meaning they will set up a tent in your yard. Pretty cool.

 

[Terabith]

We did an escape room party for Cat's birthday one year.  It was a lot of fun.  

[happi duck]

Is there a show or movie series that they'd like to binge as a marathon?

[catz]

Aww that is so sad!  I'd be inclined to want to keep on the down low for the poor kiddo with the broken collar bone.  Like maybe pizza and movies and/or video games at home.  Or maybe movie theater or a show? 

Am I remembering correctly, were these 2 theater kids?  Anything good showing locally that might be fun to go see?  Our local theaters have done a fantastic job with covid protocals, still are masking at most theaters!  My daughter is doing a 6 week run this summer and they're still following back stage mask protocals too - no covid yet!  Our local parks have fun outdoor performances going on too, maybe something to search around for.  Even our local community theater is really great to go see and super affordable.  

[Soror]

No ideas but sorry to hear of the wreck 😞

[Katy]

I second the murder mystery party. 

[gardenmom5]

On 7/8/2022 at 7:14 PM, happi duck said:

Kayaking+camping+another activity sounds exhausting!  For that reason a day trip sounds better to me

exhausting can be a good thing.  They'll sleep well at night.

Dh is part of a friend group of four (one woman) since they were eight.  They families were also friends. Two were engaged in their twenties.  They broke it off shortly before the wedding - dh got to hear everything from both sides.  Both went one to marry and have families.  The first time they saw each other again was our wedding.  They are still very good friends - many many decades later.
- the woman in the group is actually 1st cousin 1removed with dsil.

1 hour ago, Baseballandhockey said:

UPDATE:  Yesterday, my oldest and girlfriend and a couple of her family members were in a car accident.  DS is very shaken and triggered (as are the rest of us) but OK, but GF has a broken collarbone. We're all very grateful because it could have been so much worse.  But it means no kayaking for her this summer.  

Any other ideas for fun things to do to celebrate with a group of 12 - 15 year olds?  

I'm so sorry, but glad no one was seriously hurt.   I hope she's feeling better.  dd was practically immobile for more than a week (that's how she spent her spring break that year and she needed my help to shower) - 1ds . . . would slip his arm out of the sling all the better to use the keyboard. . . . 

 

a binge watching party - I once saw a "group" ice cream sundae where they had a long outdoor table, put down foil, put down ice cream, and everyone added what toppings they wanted to the pile. . . 

a game in a box of some type

something like that.  

[Spryte]

If you want to look at murder mystery parties —

I think we used this site for ours: https://www.mymysteryparty.com/

They give easy to follow directions on timing, and suggestions on good to serve (pretty sure what you come up with would beat their suggestions!), and decorations. They sell boxed sets, but we did the download/print version. Everyone knew their character ahead of time and most came in costume. We provided some extra props at the door. Our theater group had a lot of fun! Our shyest guest volunteered to be the victim — she rocked it.

Or if this isn’t your thing, I bet the hive mind can come up with more ideas.
 

 

[ScoutTN]

7 minutes ago, Spryte said:

If you want to look at murder mystery parties —

I think we used this site for ours: https://www.mymysteryparty.com/

They give easy to follow directions on timing, and suggestions on good to serve (pretty sure what you come up with would beat their suggestions!), and decorations. They sell boxed sets, but we did the download/print version. Everyone knew their character ahead of time and most came in costume. We provided some extra props at the door. Our theater group had a lot of fun! Our shyest guest volunteered to be the victim — she rocked it.

Or if this isn’t your thing, I bet the hive mind can come up with more ideas.
 

 

My Dd’s lit teacher and her husband hosted one of these and the kids had a blast.

[Drama Llama]

47 minutes ago, Soror said:

No ideas but sorry to hear of the wreck 😞

It could have been so much worse.  The other parents and I are very very grateful.  

[mommyoffive]

How scary.  Poor kids.  I feel bad for his GF.  I don't have any experience with that injury.  

Drive in movies? 

Movie night outside and campfire? 

I like the escape room idea too.  Fun.

Are you close to theater shows?  That is what we did for a recent kiddo birthday, got tickets to a bunch of great shows.  

[ktgrok]

3 hours ago, Baseballandhockey said:

UPDATE:  Yesterday, my oldest and girlfriend and a couple of her family members were in a car accident.  DS is very shaken and triggered (as are the rest of us) but OK, but GF has a broken collarbone. We're all very grateful because it could have been so much worse.  But it means no kayaking for her this summer.  

Any other ideas for fun things to do to celebrate with a group of 12 - 15 year olds?  

Maybe show a movie on an outdoor screen, or project onto the house, roast smores outside, etc?

2 hours ago, Spryte said:

If you want to look at murder mystery parties —

I think we used this site for ours: https://www.mymysteryparty.com/

They give easy to follow directions on timing, and suggestions on good to serve (pretty sure what you come up with would beat their suggestions!), and decorations. They sell boxed sets, but we did the download/print version. Everyone knew their character ahead of time and most came in costume. We provided some extra props at the door. Our theater group had a lot of fun! Our shyest guest volunteered to be the victim — she rocked it.

Or if this isn’t your thing, I bet the hive mind can come up with more ideas.
 

 

We did this for a homeschool tween "dance" and it was a hit. I was concerned that there would be a bunch of kids who, if it were just a dance, would sit on the outskirts and not interact. So I suggested the mystery idea, and it worked GREAT. Kids were all talking to each other, it gave them a way to break the ice, and they all had fun. 

[Harriet Vane]

Another vote for a murder mystery party. They are so much fun, and they tend to draw in almost anyone. Both of my kids and their various friends rave about them (as do dh and I and various of our friends).

[Bambam]

I'll add another vote for the murder mystery. We did one here, and the kids really enjoyed it. Many dressed up as their characters. Some adopted accents they thought appropriate.  If I did it again though, I might pick one for a slightly lower age group than the average age of the group.