Any ideas on how to make my dd's 13th birthday extra special?

[4kids4me]

I'd like to do something extra special for my dd's 13th, which is next month. Does anyone have ideas? What about something you did for your son/daughter's 13th? (I'll take suggestions for boys, too, since the next one is less than 18 months away.)

[Starr]

Let's see; I think for ds 12 was the year they made pvc marshmallow guns and had a blast in the church hall because it was pouring. It took 20 of us 1/2 and hour or so to clean the floor. lol and the janitor topped it off the next day. 13 we took everyone to the rock climbing wall at the college. The climbing club earns money having groups come in. We had snacks and they played Frisbee outside before and after. Dd invited several families over for a bonfire, capture the flag and fun. It snowed so that made it a little crazy. It's so funny because she had girly parties before that.

[Denisemomof4]

I took my dd away when she turned 8, and I realized that birthday parties were all fun and good, but once they were over, they were OVER. She rarely talked about them ever again. We went away to a Bed and Breakfast and I made it extra special. We got a room with a jacuzzi, I brought bubble bath, sparkling juice for her, I had wine, our room had a fireplace. We went out for a nice dinner and went back to the room. After breakfast the day was ours.

 

She talked about this for YEARS.

 

When she turned 10, we went away again. We had two nights at a B&B and toured old inns, sampled cookies, admired Christmas decorations, and judged gingerbread houses!!!

 

I also do this for her because sometimes I need to get her away from her troubled sister and just focus on HER. But we are building memories that will last a lifetime.

 

ETA: I just did this with ds15 and it most definitely will be a wonderful time he'll never forget. I've done it with ds18 in the past and hope to do it with dd7 in the future.

Edited August 30, 2010 by Denisemomof4

[gingersmom]

I took my daughter to Boston (her choice) for several days. She loved it and talks about going back for next birthday.

[Amy in NH]

My ds13 is a drummer, very into his kind of music. I brought him to see his favorite band for his birthday. It was his first concert, too.

[Heather in OK]

:lurk5:

 

My dd wants to get a hotel room and have a girls' night/sleepover. I think all she's thinking is swim, have junk food, and stay up really late. :lol: Definitely need more ideas. There's no way I'll be able to stay up as late as they can and even if I have an adjoining room, their noise will keep me awake!

 

Love the idea of taking just her away for a night. :) That might be a neat tradition to start with the kids since she is the oldest. Of course, we'd have to pray for good weather! Her birthday is in February. ;)

Edited August 30, 2010 by Heather in OK

[Mona100]

For my daughter's 13th birthday, I took her to Atlanta for the weekend. We went to the aquarium, the Coca-cola place, the zoo, CNN, and a couple of museums. Also took her to a really nice sit down restaurant and to the big mall there. We stayed overnight and had a blast watching cable ( we don't have cable at home). It was a real special trip.

[4kids4me]

Staying a night away sounds like fun. :) There's a nice B&B that overlooks forests, which will be nice during fall season -- it also has an outdoor private hot tub for two. Nearby is an eco-tour, which has zip lines, etc.