boy's 13th birthday party...

[Leader of the Club]

My son will be celebrating his 13th birthday party the weekend after we return from WDW. We just moved to a small city last summer and all of his new friends have been great about including him in birthdays, sleepovers, inviting him to scouts and youth groups, taking him sledding, etc.

I'd like to have a party for him and invite all of his new friends, but I can't break the bank. And what do you do for a 13 year old boy? And my son is the oldest in his group (he's a year behind in school) and his buddies have all just turned 12 over the past 6 months.

We have all of the usual lazer tag, bowling, skating, etc places, but all of his new friends have had their parties there and I want to do something different.

HELP!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My DS had his last party at a paintball field, you do have to ask about the age, though, at ours you have to be 10 to play. The boys (and DD) loved it. To cut down on costs we didn't have a party there, it's not far from our house so DH took a cooler of soda and water for everyone, then afterward they came over for pizza and cake. It was very low key, I didn't buy decorations or favors or anything, but DS and his friends were happy.

 

[mom2cookies]

DS just turned 14 but when he was 12 he had a gaming party. Video games, board games ( pirate dice lol ) yard games ( basketball etc. ) no decorations, just teen friendly good food and cake. On the side note, he goes to a very small private school and didnt have a whole lot kids to invite.

 

[3boymthr]

When are you going to WDW?

I can think of several suggestions but a couple are dictated by indoor/outdoor availability.

Strictly on the indoor front:

Try contacting your local Y or other Gym with a pool - ours do parties - basically for that age all you need to do is rent the pool for an hour. The kids have a blast.

The movies - have pizza, salad, cake and ice-cream at home then go to the movies after. Kids love that. Do the pizza thing so they're full and not asking for junk food.

Okay, now this one is on the expensive side but my oldest just went indoor go-karting. He and his friends loved it. The biggest issue I had with this one was the height restrictions - we ended up keeping his younger siblings home because they weren't tall enough.

Least expensive and best if you can go outdoors too - Staying home and doing a giant party and gasp - inviting girls too. Play music, chips, dip, pizza, appetizers, etc. At night in the basement with lots of decorations and - gasp again - mood lights those crazy disco ball things and a lava lamp or two.

ETA - check with your son because I found that at that age my oldest wanted to ditch the big party thing and have a more expensive event with just one or two friends - thus the go-karting.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Depending on the number of friends you plan on inviting, check your local parks for a ball field or soccer field. You can usually do a baseball or soccer game, then pizza afterwards or even hotdogs in the shelter. This is very inexpensive and you could even have the parents stay and watch. Your largest expense would be food, and that can be done very inexpensive if you watch the sales and keep it simple. Hot Dogs, a bag of chips, juice box, and cracker jacks. I belong to Sams Club and all the items can be purchased there for a good price.

Enjoy your son's birthday, they all go by so quick.

 

[LMN]

My DS will be 13 in April. In our family, you get a bday party each year until age 10. After that, no party, but you get to invite 2-3 close friends to go out to eat with the family and then Dad (for DS) or Mom (for DDs) takes the bday child and friends out to an activity of the bday child's choice. DS chose laser tag/bowling for his 11th bday and a movie for his 12th bday. He is thinking of video games for this year, but hasn't officially decided yet. He has really enjoyed just hanging out with his friends instead of having a party.