Imge courtesy of Dreamstime.com
I have a child turning 12 in a week, and we trolled endlessly through all sorts of websites looking for good party ideas. By “good,” my daughter means something amazing and awesome that all her friends will be jealous of. By “good” I mean something easy that won’t require me to do anything or spend much money. You’d be surprised at how successful I’ve been at finding party ideas like that.
One place to look for party ideas for kids is Parenting.Com. They have a whole page set up with links to a couple dozen different birthday party themes. Every page they link to gives suggestions on both decorations and activities. Unlike many parenting sites and magazines, these ideas are actually kind of realistic; you don’t have to have Martha Stewart on and to complete the crafts for you.
Here’s an example, the Space Odyssey Theme:
Decorate: Buy silver paper goods. Hang planet-and-star mobiles (use Chinese lanterns for planets and cutout poster-board stars).
Eat: Serve astronaut ice cream (freeze-dried; find at sports stores) and “rocket dogs” (hot dogs in foil).
Make: Rockets from toilet paper or paper-towel rolls, cone-shaped cups, foil, and stickers.
Play: Space flight! Create a solar system on the floor with concentric rings made of tape or string. Tape construction-paper planets in place, with the sun in the center. Have child stand on the sun, blindfolded. Spin him, and let him toss his rocket. Where does it land?
Most of that is entirely do-able, even for creatively challenged moms like me. And the planet theme is adaptable to fit either the 12-year-old girl or the 6-year-old boy. Other themes are the same way: surfing, spy, art, photography, animals (and what ‘tween doesn’t have a favorite animal?), and others. The party page is full of ideas for cakes, games, and even invitations and thank you notes. It’s all easily adaptable for both genders and all age groups, from toddlers to teens.
In case you were wondering, I’m taking my daughter and 4 of her friends to the mall for a mall scavenger hunt and dinner at the food court, then they’re all coming to our house to spend the night. We got that idea somewhere on the internet.
