This is a list for real parents with real teens who, when they come to say with a whining voice and sulky expression, 'I'mmmm booreedd.' and you suggest something for them to do and they sneer and say, 'Oh sheesh, Mum, that's so like babyish/boring/gay/' or 'What am I??!! A geek??!!'

As a parent of real teens I have read countless ideas for things for teens to do on the internet and I have to say that many are so corny and either their teens are Pollyanna viewed through rose tinted lenses or very wealthy.

Nope, my teens, spots and bolshy sneers and all have enjoyed doing these things with their friends - bearing in mind that most teens don't like being on their 'bill' (alone) the majority of these activities involved friends coming round in some way.

Further more, while there are literally thousands of things to do on Wubuto many involve money and or Mom's taxi and not all parents are in a position to be active drivers for the entire duration of the teen years.

Bury a time capsule - get your friends together and ask them to fill in a questionnaire that you've all designed together and ask each of them to bring something small that they'd like to bury with the capsule and bury it somewhere. Depending on how old you are depends on how long you leave it in the ground - if you've just started high school - well you can meet up with your friends at the end of school and unearth it then - older teens can arrange to meet up in ten or twenty years.
Great questions are - who do you fancy, what career do you wish to follow, who's your favourite pop group, who did you first kiss, who would you like to kiss, what's your favourite hair colour/style, who do you think has the best fashion sense at school, would you have a tattoo/body piercing if your parents let you, who is you fav movie/pop star

Fashion cents - Buy some fashion magazines and choose the outfits you like best then go into town and see if you can create the same look, including all the accessories, as cheap as possible by visiting charity /budget clothing stores.

Late nights and laziness

Sleep patterns go crazy during your teenage years. Many teens have the energy to play computer games until late at night but can't find the energy to get out of bed in time for school. This may be more than just laziness and bad behaviour.

New research suggests that the hormonal upheaval of puberty could be causing adolescents to love a lie-in, but loathe an early night. One thing is for certain - sleep is crucial for teenagers because it is while they are snoozing that they release a hormone that is essential for their growth spurt. They need more sleep than both children and adults, but they get less than either.

Join a group - a drama group, start your own band, orchestra, football team, free running etc

A picnic. In the park or on the beach. Do a ring round and ask a bunch of friends - each friend has to bring enough of one particular food or drink for the group, ie enough crisps for eight, or enough cool drink and each must bring a game, for example a frisbee or a beach ball, cricket stumps etc.

Camp - you don't have to go to a camp site to camp. You can put tents up in the garden or even indoors. Everyone brings a sleeping bag and marshmallows and food for midnight feast.

Photoshoot - Take a photo every day for six weeks. It can be a self portrait, or a shot of friends, pets or even, heaven forbid, your family. This can be made into a great collage and is a great memory to have when you're older - if only to blackmail your friends by how short/spotty/skinny/lanky they were.

Get creative in the kitchen - make your own ice cream or popsicles - make dinner for your friends/family - design your own pizza or pasta dish - melt chocolate and make your own chocolate shapes and use them to decorate biscuits.

Raise money for charity - I know this can sound kind of unusual but sometimes the fact that you are doing it for some one else is such a good feeling it can help motivate you when you just feel like slobbing around doing nothing. If you have six friends get each of them to think of something - for example - a cake sale in one of their gardens, offer to wash peoples cars in one their streets, do a mini pet/fashion/skating show with an entrance fee and get all your friends to invite their friends and so on.
At the end of summer get together and hand the money over to the charity of your choice. You can even invite the local papers to take photo and tell the story - great fun, great for a charity and great for your cv when you are ready to start working.

Sport - Take up a sport for six weeks - any sport - you don't even have to feel passionate about it. Just try it. As you get fitter and get more and more skilled at doing it you might find you have a real skill at it. If, after six weeks you don't fancy it any more - try something else.

Graffiti - Ask your local council, church, scout club, parent, neighbour if you and your friends can graffiti a wall or fence panel. Part of the deal is that when you've finished you'll paint over it if it's a disaster!

Pavement art - Pick a pavement invite some friends and get some chalk/washable crayons. You can even put a jar to ask for money to sponsor your art work and put this money toward your charity event. (Or some pocket money ;-)

Make a music video - get your friends to sing along to a favourite song. Choreography, music and a good laugh and even better when it get loads of five star ratings on YouTube

Decorate / rearrange your room - this doesn't have to cost a fortune, just some paint and some cool ideas.

Computer / Play Station / Xbox Wii/ games - come on, I said this was a realistic list! Teens love to play electronic games but when you get fed up with the games you have, phone your friends and arrange have a major swap round of games. A blind swap, so you don't know what you are getting because although sometimes the idea of a game might not appeal when you actually play it, it can be a whole lot of fun.

DVD night - Get your friends to come for a sleep over and spend the night watching dvd's and eating popcorn and all sorts of junk then sleep until lunch time.

Facebook - Chat on the internet with your friends, upload photos to your facebook album

Get singing - Wait until everybody is out the house then just sing! Must be loud and long. (If you have a lousy singing voice that's no problem it just feels so good to sing - but while all your family might be out of the house - respect your pets and neighbours!)

Keep a journal - not the regular kind 'I woke up and did this and that today' but one that you can draw doodles in when you're bored. Glue in little interesting pictures and things you find also. Get your friends to each doodle a page for you and stick it in. It's not something you have to do everyday but every now and then when you're feeling bored you can get in touch with your creative side and fill it with works of art that you have done yourself. Deviant art is a great resource. More info can be found here at scrap booking and videos can be found here

Play a murder mystery game - you can download them from the internet or design them yourself. They can be a lot of fun but you need at least six participants for most of them

Star gaze - learn the constellations. Ever looked at the night sky and wondered? Stop wondering and learn which stars go where

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it - Ferris Bueller