So has TV been lying to me? Teenage girls don’t like to go shopping?
The mall. She’ll know what to do.
Is she interested in martial arts? Bring her by the school and we’ll do a lesson or two with her.
Remove or securely lock-up all beer, wine, or liquor in your place. Do not drink while she is visiting. Do NOT let her drink.
Note: I am not a parent. I am an uncle.
When I was 15 (forty years ago) all I wanted to do was go to the mall, preferably without an adult. I also wanted to go to concerts.
However, this was 40 years ago, and we didn’t have any such newfangled devices as digital watches back then. I remember receiving a calculator for my 18th birthday, and gloating about it. So take that into consideration.
Here is a link to the Visitor’s Guide for Houston, there are several suggested itineraries. I’d suggest taking a look at those and maybe emailing a couple that sound good to your niece to look over before she comes. You don’t have to do everything, but it will be helpful to have an idea of what’s available to do each day and to know if there are any special events/festivals taking place while she’s with you.
http://www.visithoustontexas.com/things-to-do/suggested-itineraries/
This sounds really cool from the 3-Day Family Vacation:
Find out if she’s into “Hunger Games” - archery seems to be experiencing a popularity surge since the books/movies came out. My friend’s 14-yr-old loves it.
Can you take her to ride horses? My teenage step-daughters love to ride.
Seriously? I mean sure, don’t let her drink but don’t drink around her? Lock up the booze? That’s a little excessive don’t you think?
I’m not a parent but if sitcoms have taught me anything, its that she’ll have her first period around you and that there will be boy problems.
I’m the parent of a 15-year-old girl. By all means take her to the shooting range if she’s still interested and it’s okay with her parents. I’m sure she loves shopping and movies, too, but that’s something she would always remember and kids love stuff to brag about to their friends.
Excessive, perhaps a bit, but better safe than sorry.
Safe from what? If I have a glass of wine while my niece is visiting what horrible situation is likely to occur?
I have two girls, and when they were teens they were totally different from each other. They still are. The range sounds fine to me if she is interested.
Ask yourself what do you have that they don’t have where she lives. NASA for one, if she is interested. You can take her down to Bridge City and see the chemical plants spewing. Country music, perhaps?
And give her a call and ask her before she gets there so you can get tickets if necessary.
Do you ever sleep? Is that wine under lock and key?
I’m all for the range, especially if you’re running full auto- she’d never forget that. Anyway, where is she from?
Does she like history stuff- USS Texas, San Jacinto, Sam Houston monument, etc.
Is she a science fiend (I was going to say nerd, but that sounded mean). NASA is a must if she is, one of my best friends works down there.
Galveston- tons of stuff to do down there, doesn’t take that long to get there from anywhere in Houston. Granted, the water is dirty, but hey, it’s a beach.
If she likes riding or is curious about horses in general, plenty of places within driving distance to ride for a day.
OR, there is the fallback mentioned above- “give her a grand and drop her in Austin on 6th street.” Could be a bit risky.
-JR
Personally, I’ll never forget the time when a family friend was looking after me and her boyfriend was an army weapons trainer. We went to the range and he let me fire off an HK MP5. Quite sweet.
Anyway, if she’s mentioned it before I’m sure she’d like some time there. However, if she’s visiting you in Houston and then another relative in New Orleans, I suspect she wants a blast of city life. Show her cool places downtown, where theres good shopping, people watching or something,
In Galveston on the 51st Street rock jetty is a guy who will teach her to surf. $50.00 for a 2 hour lesson. SeaSick surfing, I think is the name. He’s usually parked there in a truck or a van. That guy had my couch potat,o high-functioning-autistic boy actually surfing in about 45 minutes. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
There is Moody Gardens and a Schlitterbahn in Galveston if money is not an issue.
Tour the Space Center.
There is going to be some free Shakespeare at Miller Outdoor Theater in the early part of August. Classical Albums will do ‘Hotel California’ later in August, too. http://milleroutdoortheatre.com/events/2012/8/
If she likes funky resale shops and hipster clothes, take her to Buffalo Exchange in the Heights. They are moving soon, so call first: Home - Buffalo Exchange My teen loves that place and always buys cool stuff for very little! That little area is fun to walk around in and to grab some lunch or an ice cream, too.
There is a Buffalo Exchange in the Rice Village area, too. That’s a fun walking around spot with lots of ethnic restaurants and a couple of Goode Company restaurants nearby.
I’d consider taking her to a play instead of a movie, but not necessarily a big production. We have lots of little community theaters that are both fun and not terribly expensive. Pasadena Little Theater, Clear Creek Community Theater and Harbor Playhouse (Dickinson) are my local ones. (Maybe surf, dinner in Galveston, and theater in Dickinson on the way back to town.) Sometiems even awful plays are so much fun!
You are an awesome uncle to host your teen neice. Some of my fondest memories as a teen were spending time with my much older siblings and getting taken to cool new and interesting things.
One thing I’ve been surprised by, in my experience with teenage nieces, is they love shopping at places that are different. My nieces live in Houston and you’d think they would get all the shopping they’d want in that city. But they visit my parents in upstate New York and they’re thrilled to go shopping at the little mall in Plattsburgh. Last month, my niece was visiting. She lives literally within walking distance of the Galleria. And she was excited because we have a KMart.