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Not that I really want to 'entertain' of course, but sadly I have forgotten what kind of things you want to do when you are 11

My niece is coming to stay for a week (this was out of the blue, she arrives on Monday ) She lives quite far from us, I have only seen her 3 times in the last 12 months, and only once the year before... so I am a bit of a stranger to her.

I have discovered she is not a fussy eater and may be very interested with picking stuff in the garden to eat

I was thinking of doing girly crafty things, but have no time to get materials... We can muck about in the garden if it is nice, but if it rains... yikes... we don't have a TV. I don't know if I have suitable DVDs and I doubt that the few PC games I have will interest her.

I know that she will love spending time with E but there will be times that E is sleeping (she sleeps a lot)

Of course, to add to the fun, I don't drive and we live 2 miles from the bus stop, where the only bus goes to a rather dull small town... no day trips to the beach or castles, or what have you - we will be mostly house/ garden/ surrounding countryside based.

Any ideas...

Well you have the puter so you can print of assorted puzzles, word games, pictures to colour... if you dont have a printer a lot of things can be done on line

I bet there is a good chance she can't sew or knit...again the puter can help you with patterns for simple stuff like bags, pencil cases. maybe crossstich if you have any fabric.
Show her how to turn an old pair of jeans into a trendy shoulder bag ...

Friendship bracelets used embroidery threads and beads...

Baking always a big hit...

Oh ask her to bring some Cd's with her or any thing else that she like to use that can be transported.

Remember to give her time for herself ... they do sometimes just like to sit and read...
Can I come to stay ... I would love to just be allowed to walk for hours....

i would phone her and get her to bring some old clothes that you can show her how to rehash and personalise

Hi. When SD was 11 she used to like me to do things with her hair, as her mother wasn't very good at that sort of thing! I would brush it out really well, do French plaits, twists etc. It's amazing how much time you can waste like that!

If you have the opportunity and funds, you could try getting a couple of magazines. SD liked animal magazines and a craft one called Make it Groovy. Some of the projects do require vast stashes of craft items, but others are very simple to achieve with the usual bits and pieces we all have knocking about.

Totally agree with the baking, but you could expand that to include making pizzas, lollies (yoghurt and fruit ones) and even ice-cream, for which you absolutely don't need a maker!

I've yet to meet a child who doesn't enjoy a BBQ or a picnic, even if you just go down the bottom of the garden to eat it (the picnic I mean!). Preparing it is half the fun, especially if you're being fairly lenient about goodies.

I don't know how old E is or what's feasible, but if you have a spare bike your niece might enjoy a bike ride, either exploring on her own or with you. And totally agree with PP who said she'll probably want to read and do her own thing some of the time.

Sorry, edited to say that SD also enjoyed Scrabble and Monopoly, things like that.

Have fun!

They like indoor picnics too ... many a time we have got everything together to be beaten by the rain... pah just put a blanket down and away we go ...

oooh just thought collages ... paper fabric any old bits and bobs can be a theme or just a pattern and if you have an old picture frame even a tatty one cuss she can glue nice things to it or cover it with fabric/paper... she will have something really good to take home.

I have an 11-yr-old. They are quite easy to keep busy/engage - at least my model is!

She is not internet savvy at all, but loves to spend hours reading about insects, plants, animals and her favourite music groups on wikipedia, which is the only site she's allowed at her age. She knows not to use the 'external links' at the bottom of the pages.

Many of the above suggestions also quite amuse her, and she enjoys simply playing with scrap materials with needle and thread, making little bits and pieces for her soft toys. Her grandmother taught her the rudiments of knitting, and that can keep her going for hours. Audio books are also a good one, and we have many to choose from at the local library. Rocks and sticks in the vege patch become natural mosiacs, and a permanent ink pen with a thick tip is used for making faces on rocks as well. She and her friend have a whole menagerie of rock animals which come out every time they get together, and then get buried in a special 'cave' under a huge old stump in the garden. They made the rock creatures over 2 years ago, and still play with them!

Have fun! I think 11 is one of those perfect ages.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

Great! I have some ideas now

Thanks everyone, I love the rock animals idea, We can do baking and plenty of craft stuff - she lives in an inner city so it will be a big deal for her to be in the country air anyway. E is 22months, but I was hoping to roll out the play dough, paints and crayons for the 2 of them to do together (we ll the three of us actually )

My niece is great with my wee girl, so most of the time should be great - well noted to give herself time to herself too though... great top tip

Maybe hen E has gone to bed you and your niece could make pop corn and curl up with a chick flick - something to make her feel a bit more grown up too!
Also - judging by my own girly of about the same age - she may like to make and try out some home made skin care stuff. I have recipes if you'd like them.
In fact - it sounds like you lot will be having a ball!

Popcorn and fizzy juice ( a rarity in our house) has been bought in especially for 'film night' - great minds think alike

I would love some recipes for homemade skin-care - I am paler than pale but niece has quite dark skin, any special ones for her would be extra nice

If you could beg borrow or steal the Great Big Glorious Book for Girls you'd be onto a winner! My DD is 12 and has had it for over a year and totally loves it! There's loads of things to do in it and even just reading it will keep her going for Aaaaaaaaages!
Anyway, as promised some girly skin care stuff for you and her to make and try out on eachother!
Body Scrub:
1/4 cup sugar mixed with 2 tbsp olive oil & 2 tbsp milk. Gently rub the mixtruer into your skin while stading in the shower and rinse off with warm water

Oatmeal Scrub:
Mix a little cleanser with a sprinkle of porridge oats and gently massage into your damp skin. Rinse off with cool water

Lip Gloss - vanilla
1 tsp cocoa butter
1 tsp coconut oil
1/8 tsp vit E oil
2 drops vanilla extract

Lip Gloss Chocolate Almond
1/2 oz cocoa butter
1/4 tsp cocoa powder
1 drop almond oil

Basically 1 tsp cocoa butter with a little oil as a base and add your chosen flavouring!
For each recipe, mix the ingredients in a small bowl and leave to set over night

Have fun! If you'd like more just gimme a shout!

She could keep a scrapbook of her time with you incl pictures, pressed flowers, photos and written descriptions. If interested she could also include rainfall, temp and so on.

Simple sewing projects. I can remember making a tortoise at that age, lock ness monster shaped head, circular body and flippers made from an old coat or something like it. Then we made lots of those puffs - is that the correct word, a small circle of material,all dif colours from the patchwork bag, turn in the edge and gather like a mop cap except you pull it right up. I had to sow these one to the other until I had made a round of bigger and bigger circles enough to cover the tortoises back.
Made a mop cap for it's head and sewn on eyes, voila!

You could also show her how to put in a zip, by making a pencil case for example.

How about pot holders - you know the kind that are plaited fablic scraps sewn tog in a spiral.

Well, she is leaving tomorrow but I am saving all these ideas for next time.

We made lavender scented hand warmers - she enjoyed making hers so much, that she made another 3 today. She had never used a sewing machine before so I showed her how, and I taught her how to do a hidden seam to sew up bit at the end.

We made cookies and iced them with colours from the garden - spinach green, strawberry pink, turmeric yellow and cocoa brown (OK those 2 weren't from the garden).... had so much fun that our second batch is just out of the oven and she wants to ice them in the morning.

We ran away from wasps in the kitchen - a bonding experience if ever I had one.

We talked, which is nice, for a niece I hardly know and who lives at the other end of the country.

We went to the cinema and for a grown up meal afterwards.

We had a really nice time, it would have been better if it hadn't been pissing it down again all week, but hey ho.