What can I buy to make our basement fun for tweens?

amother

Sat, Sep 20 2014, 10:46 pm

I want to keep an eye on my tween girls (BY, American, chilled) and make our house a place they want to hang out in with their friends. But money is tight. What can I buy that will make our basement a fun place for them, but that isn't too expensive? I ordered a magnetic dartboard. We have a balance beam that they like practicing cartwheels on. Any other ideas?

amother

Sun, Sep 21 2014, 12:11 am

I think this is such a wonderful idea. If they're hanging out at your house, you can create a fun, wholesome environment for them and build such great memories!

I'm trying to think of things that my friends and I loved doing not so long ago...

LOTS of board games and card games (easy to find cheap at garage sales). There are so many really fun ones out there. Things I love(d) were: scattergories, taboo (they make a Jewish version -- may have to edit out some of the cards that are more secular/cultural/stereotypical than actually religious), Apples to Apples (same idea with the Jewish version, there's also a jr. version that is pretty parve but may be too young for tweens/teens), dominoes, catchphrase, bananagrams, uno... We would also write our own ideas on scraps of paper and play charades a lot.

A mini fridge, like someone above suggested, is a great idea. It's not so fancy but has enough cachet because then they have access to their own snacks, it's a little out of the box, feels very "grown up," not everyone will have one, etc. You can probably also find this cheaply at a garage sale.

Lots of comfy seating options (sectional couch, papasan chairs, beanbags, etc.)

One really cool thing you could do for just the cost of a can of paint and some chalk is to create a chalkboard wall. Google it or look on pinterest -- there are lots of tutorials. That would probably have lots of appeal.

I'm having fun just thinking of what my friends and I enjoyed -- it brings back wonderful memories!