Birthday Ideas - Plano,TX

Let him invite some friends over to the house, get some pizza's from Little Caesar's, have his favorite music going, and they'll figure out the rest. I did that for my son and they had a blast! No mom in the way with childish birthday games, just kids having fun together. I put them in the sunroom so they could play their music and have fun. Or you could go traditional and go to a skating rink, have a bounce house, but I wouldn't put alot of money into it. At this age, friends coming over will make them happy.

I guess it depends on his interests (and the weather) there is a Skate/bike park in Allen that is a lot of fun for the boys - my son went to a party there this summer - we were thinking if the weather is nice about doing his party there in Feb. Or in Allen there is the Natatorium for indoor swimming. What about ice skating or roller skating? And f course there is always Laser tag. I personally think Whirly Ball would be a lot of fun. There is a court in Plano and in Dallas....

I agree with other posts: loosely structured active games or activities! At that age my kids loved scavenger hunts.

I prefer not spending much money, so we always made our own cake, etc, and had parties at home. However, during this time of year, it's hard to plan on outdoor activities - can you find a place with lots of room to move? But even at home, you can send them all over the yard and house to search for spots that they have to do an activity at. The Jedi Academy sounded perfect!

Have fun!

A.

Hi V.,

We usually do home parties...the kids love it, and we save money. We really get into doing it too :o). We're getting ready to have our Star Wars Jedi Training Academy party this weekend! My husband has planned an obstacle course for the Jedi's to go thru (training)...we told the kids to dress up and bring a light saber too. We are dressing the part as well - Darth Vadar will be at the end of the training for the kids to conquer! Should be fun.

We did a Scavenger Hunt last year for my daughter...that was tons of fun too. They had clues to figure out where to go, then at that station they did an activity (like find the pirate treasure in the sand, dress up with the costumes, run thru an obstacle course, jump rope 10 times, etc). The good part was, all the things they found along the hunt, they put in their bag to take home as "goodies".

We've had many fun house parties...hope you find a great plan for your son! I also like the post about doing the Limo!!!! Sounds fun!!! Good luck! If you need more detail, let me know....

A.

I don't know your budget but my first suggestion would be a Wii if he likes gaming systems. We got our Wii when they first came out and it is still such a hit at our home with family night, daughter and her friends. They love Mario Kart, Sims, and especially Guitar Hero.

Other options, Ipod, camera, anything electronic, gift cards, sporting items from his favorite teams, etc.

I am sort of in the same boat as you because my daughter turns 14 on Dec 27. It is hard to do birthday and Christmas in the same month and I am not going to delay her celebration day just because it is Dec.

Good luck!

Does your son like pirate stuff? There are a lot of great party accessories with that theme and you can make swords for everyone out of cardboard covered with aluminum foil. You could even have them make their own as an activity at the party. Be sure to ask a neighbor or relative or other moms to help, so you have some more adult help. You could even get several bandanas (Dollar Store or Wal-Mart) so they can wear those.
Boys of this age have lots of energy, so physical activities are great. They will get into all the electronic stuff soon enough.
Have fun and Happy Birthday to your son.
B. G. (mother of 8)

I agree with another one of the posts. Boys this age like to be acitve and not have alot of structure. If its a small group, try laser tag at a local laser tag place. Take them to a park with a bunch of balls of different sorts and make up crazy games or just let them play.

On my son and my daughters 10th birthday I rented a limo (sounds extravagant but it was only 100 bucks. Very close to what I would have spent otherwise) and picked up all the friends at their houses. They picked up each friend and took pictures at each house. There was pizza, drinks, candy, mini cmaeras and gifts for everyone in the limo so they had a great time for an hour. Which is how long I rented it for. The car dropped them off at the movie theater where everyone got to see them get out of the fancy car. Myself and a couple of other parents supervised, and then parents picked them up from there. It was a fun memory. I sent each kid a pic of themselves when we picked them up as a party favor.

Hint*** I spoke to the limo company ahead of time to let him know that these would be rowdy boys who wanted to poke their head out of the top and yell etc. He was prepared for that and understood that riding around in the limo for an hour WAS the party vs. the limo being the ride TO the party, they also opted to send a fun car (like a purple jazzed up limo) rather than the fancy shmancy one that needed to be kept a little cleaner :)

www.marthastewart.com

have a back yard camp out party for selected friends.