Seeking Inexpensive Birthday Ideas for 9Yr Old Birthday Party....

We just had my daughter's birthday and blowing up balloons and having the kids keep them up in the air as long as possible was a great fun game. We had multiple balloons going, music on and the kids had fun with this for at least 10 minutes. We also played baseball with the ballons and a soft bat - that was really fun. I bought soft footballs with the torpedo things on the ends at the dollar store and the kids had a great time playing with these both inside and out too... We had the party from 4:30-6:30, played those games above, they just played and then had Mac n Cheese with hot dogs, opened gifts and had cake - and then they just all played a bit more and it was alot of fun. Truly kids just want to be together and play.

Happy day to you and your son...

We recently looked into party ideas for my son and were suprised to find a indoor rock climbing place in Rancho Cordova that has reasonable rates. It is $18 per kid, but you only have to have 6 kids for a party, so you can do it for a reasonable price without costing a fortune. You pay per climber, so if parents want to climb, they would have to pay too. I have never been there, but have talked to several people who have who thought it was great. We still have a bunch of follow up questions (like what about younger siblings who aren't climbing etc) but thought I would share the info we have so far. I believe they give you 3 hours, two of climbing and then an hour in a party room where you can bring in whatever you want.

An old fashioned home party could be great. Make your own Pizza (those personal boboli ones) with toppings, then make your own sundaes. Possibly a scavanger hunt while the pizzas are cooking, tell your neighbors first, or if your house is not too small, you can hide things all over inside and out and have clues to find each item, when they find that item it has the next clue attached. If you have 12 kids, hide 12 things each kid can keep one,(my parents did this for me once, it was the best thing ever). I did a Pump it up party for my kids when they turned 7. It was $400 for 25 kids. Way too expensive. We did the make your own stuff party, and they seemed to have just as much fun.

When my kids were little I used to hire pirates and clowns and get matching tableware and make huge brouhahas out of birthday parties. Here's what I noticed: okay, the clowns were okay, but the kids really could have lived without them, and they NEVER noticed or appreciated the matching dinnerware, hats and blow-thingys, balloons and streamers; instead they just destroyed them and threw them all over the place in a mad rush for pizza, cake and ice cream. Afterward I would be sure to send out fancy thank you notes to all the moms.

So over the years, the parties got more and more casual, and I decided I didn't care what the other moms thought so I gave up on the thank you notes. I just made sure my kids thanked their friends for the presents at the time.

9 year old boys REALLY don't need all that fuss, or care about it. They are happy to have their friends come over, have some food and cake, and get presents. Three hours is plenty. Pinatas are always popular and fun, so get one of those. Musical chairs and Pin-the-Tail-on-Something are also fun, even at 9 years old. And then the boys can yell and jump around. Get him a present he wants and he'll be happy.

Oh, and if you're real nice, make the party a sleepover and your kid will be thrilled. Then you just have to rent a couple of movies.

I second Page's idea. Good food and good friends. Possibly a sleepover if you all can handle it. I had a magician at that age and it was a hit!