Any ideas for an at-home 7 y/o boy b-day party?

[jkcyoung]

I am starting to think about my DS7's Birthday in late November. He wants to have it a "bounce" place but I can't get past the $$$$$ for a party for a 7 y/o. I was thinking if I could come up with some good ideas for an at-home party he would be very happy. Anyone have ideas? Any would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Jill in Chicago]

What we did was an out of home kid party one year, and a at home party the next year. Both parties were kept to 7 attendees. This really helps when they knew that next year they can do miniature golf....

I would not try to come up with a great idea to convince him. My fear is that you will come up with totally great ideas, and because he wants the other party nothing will change his mind.

Instead I would firmly say,"The party has to be at home this year." Do not go into money or anything because that gives him yet another opening, "How about if you don't give me anything for my birthday but the party," or "How about we don't go out for pizza and instead you give me the party." (You get my reasoning. Most children, if given the chance, will work hard to get their way.)

So once you establish that it is either an at home party or no party then have him make the theme choice. You will be so surprised at what they come up with. Also have him come up with the party games. (Skip the prizes even if there are winner loser games. Kids love to play just to play.) And you would be surprised to find out how much all kids like craft projects, or decorating their own cupcakes...

I am not sure what a bounce party is or how much it costs. Does it matter on the number of children you invite? Is it somewhere you go? Or is it one of those blow up things you rent?

If it is somewhere you go, and it is paid for by how many attend can you tell him, "You can have one friend and do a bounce party, or invite 7 friends and have the party at home."

 

[bigmama67]

Hi!

We did a home party last year. DS loves "breakfast for dinner" so we had a brunch starting at 11:30. We got quiches, bagels, hummus, and frozen waffles and french toast. We also cooked up a mess of (turkey) bacon and made a fruit sculpture - hollow out a pineapple and skewer pieces of pineapple, berries, melon and star fruit and stick 'em in. Everybody loved the food!

We hired one of the girls from my DD"s daycare to help out. She did a craft project with the kids on the porch, supervised games in the basement (including a dance contest, musical chairs and hot potato). She also wrapped the kids' gifts (we got each kid one of those wooden animal craft kits at Michael's dollar section and didn't have time to wrap them ahead of time). Best $10 per hour I ever spent!

I guess what I'm saying is that we didn't have a "theme" (other than the Spongebob cake); we just made different activities available. We had 16 kids here and they were spread out all over the house. For awhile some of them were playing in DS' room so it was kinda trashed, but that's to be expected. It was low-key and low-tech and everyone seemed to have a great time.

This year he is inviting 5 boys for bowling/pizza and then back here to sleep over. We are getting each kid a medium-sized Lego kit (about 60-70 pieces) and will have an assembly race. They can take home their kits. He wants a pinata. That's about it - they will watch movies, eat popcorn, etc.

What about a small sleepover? Or "almost sleepover" - the kids stay late and do stuff they're usually not permitted to do. We're planning to get the fixin's for sundaes and root beer floats. DS had his first root beer float on our summer vacation and I think he discovered nirvana.

 

[2disneyboys]

We always do the 1 party at home, next year, out somewhere thing and keep them small.. a few cousins and friends. We have done Hot Dog Roasts at our local park, (and also @ Home) we have done skating parties, bounce house parties, make your own pizza at home parties, barn yard parties (@ home and we came up with various games and just gave them barn/animal type names) had a apple string contest (sort of like bobbing for apples, but instead you had an apple on a string and child has to put hands behind back and try & grab the apple with thier mouth.. 1 apple per kids (they don't share!))
The boys have a lot of fun coming up with ideals of games/food/activities.. Once they get down that it's a no party or party at home choice, I will ask them for theme ideals and then we'll talk about either crafts, games or movies or other cheap entertainment.

My son's favorite was one we did in our yard and we had it later in the eve so it was dusk/darker out.. roasted hotdogs and marshmallows over a "campfire" and then told stories etc. If you wanted, you could even turn this into an overnight thing and put a tent in the back yard (if you have a tent, and if you know the kids/families)
We also had a pirate adventure party where DH & I hid some stuff (Cheap) in the back yard (like you do easter eggs) and made a pirate map for the kids to follow. Then we "buried" treasure (toy coins/jewels/etc) in the sand box and let each kid have 1 minute blindfolded to gather as much treasuer as they could (you could do this same sort of thing in a tote etc) This party we told the parents it was a costume party but had to be homemade costumes... the kids had a blast at this one also! most of the kids just showed up with a white shirt, blue jeans, eye patch and a bandana vola.. pirate.. just add some pirate makeup when they get there... lots of fun!

 

[jkcyoung]

thanks for the responses...keep them coming. He is a reasonable kid and WILL be happpy with an at home party. I guess I would just like some ideas so we can have some "organized" activities instead of a complete free for all. My son is a planner(very type A) and he would love to hear some ideas for the party...I just don't have any

 

[thebeesknees]

We did a Lego party last year for my son. I made a Lego cake out of a loaf pan and frosted marshmallows on top to make it look like a giant Lego. We dumped all our Legos out on a big table and let the kids go to town building whatever they wanted, then we had a game later where they each picked a card out of a pile that had something they needed to build on it - then the other kids had to guess what it was. There were a couple of other games we did like guess how many Legos are in the jar, stand on a chair and drop a Lego into a jar, etc. We did a scavenger hunt to find Lego Racers. The boys put them together and raced them, then took them home as their goody instead of doing goody bags. This party was a HUGE hit with all the kids, and DS actually wants to do it again this year.

 

[polkadotminnie]

What about a dinosaur theme? You can dig for fossils, have dino olympics... You can even make dino dirt cups for dessert.

 

[Katy Belle]

We always do home parties. FamilyFun.com is a great resource. Just be sure to plan more games than you think you will need. Sometimes it can go fast! I have boys, they were never really into crafts. Any craft we did at a party was pretty quick....they stuck plastic jewels onto plastic wine glasses at a Medieval party one year...
Oh, we ALWAYS did a "pin the something on the something" game...made by the birthday kid to fit the party. Like...pin the patch on the pirates eye...etc.

Have fun!

 

[ktlm]

Before you make your decision, sit down and figure out just how much your "at home" party is going to cost by the time you buy food, drinks, party favors, plates cups and napkins; decorations; game supplies etc. DD's first three birthday parties were "at home" parties and I was shocked at how much I wound up spending on them between food and drinks for the parents and kids and all the other stuff that goes with a birthday party. Her last party was a "bounce" party. At our local facility, they provide everything except for the cake. They provide plates, cups, and silverware as part of the package. You order the drinks from them. The only thing you have to bring is your own cake. You can buy party favor bags from them, and they are MUCH cheaper than what I spent on the "at home" party favor bags, because the bounce place buys everything in bulk. If you want ice cream, they get it for you and if you want Pizza, they get that too, also at a discount, so it cost us less than it would if I bought it myself. The bounce party did not cost me any more than the at home parties, in fact I think it wound up being cheaper. Plus, the kids have loved them, and there is no clean up!

 

[zoemurr]

for 5 we did dinosaurs
for 6 and 7 we did a carnival (so fun we did it 2x)
8 was a treasure hunt
9 was "Minute to Win It" (huge hit and not a lot of $$)

Check out www.birthdaypartyideas.com for tons of great ideas. I'd be happy to give you more details on ours if you're interested.

 

[riley2008]

We did an at home party this year. We rented a bouncer (and a snow cone machine). I probably spent about $300 for everything. (The bouncer being most of the cost.) I'm not sure that I would have spent that for one child though. I was convinced by my mother that I was really getting 2 parties for that price, so I gave in.

We had no other games. We made our own snowcone flavorings during the week before. Bought 2 undecorated cakes from our local bakery (one vanilla and one chocolate) and the boys decorated their own cakes with their legos. (Washing the legos after being sunk in icing is a story for another thread, but it was worth it.)

We had 7 other kids and their parents. We ate chips, baked beans, watermelon, and hotdogs boiled on the stove with a crockpot of chili and bowls of other toppings.

We didn't buy any fancy birthday papergoods - we keep bulk supplies here and just used what we had on hand.

Everyone had a great time. The kids found plenty to do and the parents enjoyed the visit.

 

[jadeblue13]

We did a beach party inside in december one year. Dug in a pool of sand for buried treasure(the loot for favors), danced to beach music with cheap plastic leis, did a picture of each child in a beach chair with an umbrella and put together with a craft frame decorated with seashells. Served beach cupcakes one half blue and one half brown sugar sand with a gummy fish in the water. Easy and boys and girls liked it.

have fun!

 

[EeyoreEma]

My kids are younger, so I'm not sure if this is an activity that would be a hit at the 7 year old stage, but what about a pirate treasure hunt, or a scavenger hunt? Those are always fun.

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

For my boys 7th bday they had a pirate party

They dug for treasure (filled an old plastic pool with sand and put all kinds of trinkets in there.. Gold coins, beaded necklaces, Skull rings, etc.)

Cannon ball (my sister covered old newspaper balls with black tape and had two huge piles of equal amounts)... we laid down 2 water hoses to mark the sides of each team.... she blew the whistle and when time was up the side with most cannon balls lost. She really didn't time them she just let them play until they started to loose arm power.....lol

Sink the ship....... we used 4 plastic storage bins and put a boat in each one, gave each team a large cup with holes in it and had a central water station with equal distance to each bin... the team to fill the bin up first won.

Pin the eye patch on the skull.

Treasure chest pinata.

ETA forgot that they had to find the treasure pool first

my sister made this out of a box

 

[luvmy3]

The bounce party must be the thing for 7 year olds. My almost 7 year old just went to a party at a local one and now he wants his there next month. I was just going to do it, but after reading about thebeesknees' lego party I would love to do something like that. Its such a cool idea and my ds loves legos so I think I can persuade him. Thanks for the idea bees

We did a Lego party last year for my son. I made a Lego cake out of a loaf pan and frosted marshmallows on top to make it look like a giant Lego. We dumped all our Legos out on a big table and let the kids go to town building whatever they wanted, then we had a game later where they each picked a card out of a pile that had something they needed to build on it - then the other kids had to guess what it was. There were a couple of other games we did like guess how many Legos are in the jar, stand on a chair and drop a Lego into a jar, etc. We did a scavenger hunt to find Lego Racers. The boys put them together and raced them, then took them home as their goody instead of doing goody bags. This party was a HUGE hit with all the kids, and DS actually wants to do it again this year.

 

[MinnieGi]

We just did a Star Wars party for my now 6yo son. It was actually his first "in-home" party. I've always done outside parties for him - bounce places & Little Gym parties. All have always gone well and I liked that the mess what at their place!! But he has been asking for a home party so we did it here and had lots of fun.

It was mostly an outside party filled with relays and games and play time. He has active friends like him and I knew a craft would not go over with them. I looked up Star Wars birthday ideas on Google and got loads of great ideas. We did pizza, cake and ice cream and opened presents in addition to all the games. I'll tell you it was fun, but lots of work. He's talking about having an ice skating party next year and I'm all for it!! It's easier out of the house!! And really depending on how all out you go for the home party it's not that much cheaper!!

 

[thebeesknees]

The bounce party must be the thing for 7 year olds. My almost 7 year old just went to a party at a local one and now he wants his there next month. I was just going to do it, but after reading about thebeesknees' lego party I would love to do something like that. Its such a cool idea and my ds loves legos so I think I can persuade him. Thanks for the idea bees

You're welcome! If you Google Lego birthday party, you will get a bunch more ideas, too.

 

[ktlm]

We did a beach party inside in december one year. Dug in a pool of sand for buried treasure(the loot for favors), danced to beach music with cheap plastic leis, did a picture of each child in a beach chair with an umbrella and put together with a craft frame decorated with seashells. Served beach cupcakes one half blue and one half brown sugar sand with a gummy fish in the water. Easy and boys and girls liked it.

have fun!

That's great! I may steal that one if we have an in home party!

 

[mumto3girls]

What about a dinosaur theme? You can dig for fossils, have dino olympics... You can even make dino dirt cups for dessert.

A friend of mine did this one at a local park and did a hunt for dinosaur eggs. She used just a larger size Easter egg and filled them with candy/small trinkets and the kids loved it. I think you could even do that inside if you had some good hiding spots--not sure of your climate in November.

 

[soccerchick]

Have you seen the show "Minute to Win It?" My kids love it, including DS7. They have lots of fun challenges that could be done using the stuff you probably already have around the house.