Survivor Birthday Party for the 11 - 14 year old. I couldn't decide what to do so I combined my ideas of "Survivor", African, and a slumber party in one. INVITATIONS: On heavy pieces of paper with scorched edges, write: You have been selected to participate in Survivor Africa. Please meet at _______ on ________, at which you will be relocated to your castaway destination with 15 other individuals." Include the time of party (have it start mid-afternoon Saturday and last until noon Sunday), activities, necessary clothing (one formal outfit, one casual outfit, and a bathing suit) and to bring one luxury item. Roll the invitations up and place them in a piece of bamboo 12" long, and hand deliver to the guest's homes (place in mailbox).Tie a piece of heavy paper to the bamboo with grass ribbon that says "Invitation enclosed". SCHEDULE: Let the girls gossip/talk until everyone arrives at the scheduled time. (Have the girls dress in their formal outfit before they arrive). Have a limosine pick them up and take them to the hotel room. (If you live in Edmonton, Alberta - book the African luxury theme room at Fantasyland Hotel - definite bonus). The parent should ride up with the driver while the girls sit in the back. Ask if beverages can be served in the limo, and if so, serve either soft drinks (Sprite in martini glasses is especially classy) or sparkling cider.Provide options so you can cater to everyone's personal tastes. Take everyone to the West Edmonton Mall Waterpark (if you do not live in Edmonton, have an alternative like a public pool) and spend 1 - 2 hours on the slides and in the waterpark. At the Waterpark you can rent the private area especially for birthday parties, where you can serve dinner, or, for the more expensive budget, try going to some of the great restaurants in West Edmonton Mall (something more modern and fun would be great for a birthday party - themed restaurants (especially an African theme) or Red's in WEM (again, if not in Edmonton, find an alternative) and have dinner. If the girls are older, like 14, let them eat dinner by themselves (give them a budget of $50 - $150 depending on the amount of guests) and let them order by themselves while you, the parent, decorate the hotel room. After dinner, take the girls up to the hotel room and tour the facilities. Then, Survivor really begins. Have everyone's luxury item in a secure place, and then let them change into their casual clothes, if they haven't done already after playing in the Waterpark. Have a burlap bag with two different colors of bandanas - for an African theme, try bright colors - or, if they are available, prints like leopard or a picture, like African animals. It would be ideal to have bandanas with animals, i.e. a leopard and a rhinoceros, and call the tribe names accordingly. Have tribe names chosen beforehand and let the girls divide up into their tribes. If you have 16 guests and only several hours for the Survivor game, then you might consider eliminating one girl from each tribe after each Tribal Council. Note: If you don't want hurt feelings, then have them vote for the best performance at Tribal Council, and that person recieves a small favor (African-themed animal minatures work especially well). Have 8 challenges, four of reward and four of immunity. Some suggestions for challenges (that you can do in a hotel room) include: 2 Truths and A Lie; "Animal Hunt" - use plastic animals; food challenge - have 16 "snacks", some tasty and some disgusting (not really, really disgusting ... just like olives, mushrooms, onions, etc.); making rafts out of wooden dowels and string; a relay race; etc. Make sure that the Immunity Challenges and Reward Challenges are not in a row. For Reward Challenges have the winning team recieve a small prize (candy,etc.) and for Immunity Challenges have an Immunity Idol for which the winning team will recieve. The losing team must vote off 2 members (or see alternative above). The winner of the entire game should recieve a grand prize (i.e. a makeup box filled with makeup products, candy, necklaces, rings, hair accessories, music CDs, etc.). After the Survivor game have the girls relax in the jacuzzi and then watch a movie (or, for the real Survivor fan, Survivor Africa replays). I suggest a chick flick that is age appropriate, such as Save the Last Dance, What A Girl Wants, Charlie's Angels, etc. After that (it should we almost midnight by now) have the girls play some of those juicy slumber party games (Truth or Dare in the jacuzzi is alot of fun!)or painting nails and giving makeovers until they eventually start to nod off. Have the birthday girl sleep in the big bed and draw names from the burlap bag for who can sleep in the bunk beds. Everyone else can sleep on the floor in their sleeping bags. When they wake up, go down to breakfast in a restaurant, and then go shopping or have manicures at a nearby spa until the parents pick them up. Really fun!!