DawnM Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 A couple of questions: 1. Do you have birthday parties for your kids? 2. What would you suggest for a 14 year old and his friends? My oldest is turning 14 next week. We will not have anything next week but I am thinking later in the month we would like to have a few (very few) friends to get together. The problem is, everything I suggest is "boring" and he can't come up with anything. I think just having a few friends over would be fun. He doesn't want the younger brother invading his time with his friends. He is too old for some of the birthday themed things around here. I thought maybe some of you have had a 14 year old and could help me with some ideas. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennsmile Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 When I was a kid at that age roller skating was popular. Our local planetarium do birthdays along with Xbox rentals on the big screen. We do birthdays at 5, 10 & 15. I figure they still get the experience but they are spaced at little so I don't go broke and it is something for them to look forward too. Other years we celebrate with family and trust me there is plenty of people then too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 At that age it doesn't have to be a "birthday party" per se but just you taking him and a couple of friends to do something fun "for his birthday." You could take them to play laser tag, to go see a movie they want to see, to go glow-bowling at night if they have it by you, to a video game arcade, see if there's a place that has rock climbing or a big rope obstacle course and stuff like that. If he wants a couple of friends to come over and maybe rent videos or play video games or do a sleep over, do you have a relative or another friend at whose house younger brother can go have a sleepover at, so as to not invade big brother's space? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 A couple of questions: 1. Do you have birthday parties for your kids? 2. What would you suggest for a 14 year old and his friends? My oldest is turning 14 next week. We will not have anything next week but I am thinking later in the month we would like to have a few (very few) friends to get together. The problem is, everything I suggest is "boring" and he can't come up with anything. I think just having a few friends over would be fun. He doesn't want the younger brother invading his time with his friends. He is too old for some of the birthday themed things around here. I thought maybe some of you have had a 14 year old and could help me with some ideas. Dawn We usually have some kind of celebration for our kids, but it's not always a "party." My daughter's last kid-type birthday party was when she turned 12. (We would have continued the party thing, except that she went off to the early entrance program after that and was often just barely home for her birthday.) That year, I rented a room at a nice Comfort Suites, and she had a couple of friends sleep over. We had an Egyptian theme and decorated the sitting room area accordingly. They did some crafts, ate, swam in the pool, hung out and talked, etc. It went well, and I would do something similar again, if I had a kid who was interested. My son is turning 14 this year, and I don't know yet what he'll decide to do. Last year, though, we took a group of his friends to the big sci-fi convention that he loves to attend. They all went in costume, explored the vendor hall, ate, played the demonstration video games, ate, bought souveniers, ate. When they were ready, we brought them home, and my husband ran them through a simplified role playing game while they ate home-made, custom pizzas. They had a blast. The year before that (when he turned 12), we took more or less the same group to a movie and then brought them back to our house to play Wii and eat and generally hang out together. A friend of his had a bunch of kids over to his house to spend the day playing Dungeons and Dragons, with occasional breaks to swim in the family's pool. That was also a big hit. And just a couple of weeks ago, that same friend took the group to a theme park for the day (because a parent works there and got them in for free) and had a sleepover. Another friend happens to live on a lake and just had the group over to swim and hang out for the day. My son is insanely busy in the weeks right around his birthday. He's got a show running at that time, and his choir has a couple of gigs and extra rehearsals. (Ack, and I just realized that my daughter ALSO has shows running on surrounding weekends at a different theatre.) So, we'll probably lean toward something simple this year. They love role playing games and don't get a chance to get together to play often enough. So, I might guilt my husband into running something for them and just let them sleep over and eat and play. My husband also works for one of the theme park companies and gets some freebie admissions. So, I've also been considering taking the group to a park for the day. I guess the theme I'm trying to expand upon is that the most popular celebrations for this age seem to involve something to do (but not "party games"), time to hang out together and lots of food. If we provide those things, they seem to enjoy just being together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Hmmmm.....video game arcade. I wouldn't mind something like Dave and Busters, but as I recall, it was $10 for about 10 minutes of play time. When they were young we used to go to Chuck E Cheese (since we home schooled we went when it was not crowded) and just took a few friends and go tokens and pizza, not their official party deal. If we took 5 boys to a Dave and Busters type place, how much would I be looking at spending just on the video games portion? He doesn't want laser tag and we have no relatives near us to leave the other two with. We did rock climbing with this same group of boys recently and we are bowling in two weeks with our homeschool group for Valentine's Day, so I am quite sure he won't want to choose that. Dawn PS: We can wait to celebrate until later as well. This doesn't have to be right at his birthday. We will take him out for dinner and give him gifts as a family on his actual birthday. Edited January 30, 2012 by DawnM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Ok, Dave and Busters is half price (for games) on Wednesdays. I may see if a couple of his homeschool friends can go on Wed. for late lunch and games. That would give them more game power for sure and we can get there before schools let out, etc.... But I will talk to him more when he wakes up. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Oh, what about a Japanese Hibachi Steakhouse for dinner? Or one of those drafthouse type theaters where they serve lunch or dinner while you're watching the movie? Or finding a place with an indoor pool for swimming? Or an indoor water park kind of thing? Or ice skating? Or tickets to a show or sports event or concert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lily_Grace Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 1. Do you have birthday parties for your kids? Not usually. We do experiences or family gatherings. This year the 2yo is going bowling and to Cirque (free show). The Teen had a sleepover and a day at the arcade for his last birthday. 2. What would you suggest for a 14 year old and his friends? I suggest giving him a budget. Tell him how much you are willing to spend on cake, decorations, party...total. Then let him decide how to spend it to celebrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 He woke up. He says he doesn't care. We are going to a place tomorrow night for our homeschool teen group. I am going to see if we can take in a cake. That is what he asked for. I am fine with that, I just want him to know he CAN do more if he wishes. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Ok, Dave and Busters is half price (for games) on Wednesdays. I may see if a couple of his homeschool friends can go on Wed. for late lunch and games. That would give them more game power for sure and we can get there before schools let out, etc.... We just did this last week. My son's friend had his birthday & he wanted to do something w/ us. So, we met them at D&B's & they treated us to dinner. If you order off a particular part of the menu, a $10 game card comes w/ your meal. Since it was Wed., the kids got to play quite a few games for their $10. The other mom & I played a couple of games, but gave our cards to the boys to use up, so that gave them more play time too. On Wednesdays, the game tables are also 1/2 price. The guys wanted to try shuffleboard, so we did that too. Our teen dds (who were also along) wanted to play pool, so we got them a table & they played pool while the rest of us did shuffleboard. I think the kids enjoyed that part more than the video game arcade. So, if that's something your ds might like, you could meet friends mid-afternoon, order a couple of appetizers & let them use the shuffleboard & pool tables....? Oh, & to answer your first question... yes, we do birthday parties for our kids. When they were younger, we typically did a theme & had some planned games/activities. As they've gotten older, they just like having food & their friends over. I like that part, lol. We moms hang out, eat & chat & the kids do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
higginszoo Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 He woke up. He says he doesn't care. We are going to a place tomorrow night for our homeschool teen group. I am going to see if we can take in a cake. That is what he asked for. I am fine with that, I just want him to know he CAN do more if he wishes. Dawn Sounds like my older two. They'll be 13 and 14 this summer. Last year, the now-13 year old had 2 friends over. They ordered Chinese takeout and played board games all night hyped up on caffeine and then collapsed for two hours until one of the boys had to leave to go to his sisters' dance recital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 I talked to one mom tonight. She said she would be able to do a Wed. I need to talk to the other mom. The other mom is the one who may not be able to make it. She is one of those who fills up every free moment for her kids with everything she can sign them up for. She usually says weekends....which would not work for this situation. But I will see. Dawn We just did this last week. My son's friend had his birthday & he wanted to do something w/ us. So, we met them at D&B's & they treated us to dinner. If you order off a particular part of the menu, a $10 game card comes w/ your meal. Since it was Wed., the kids got to play quite a few games for their $10. The other mom & I played a couple of games, but gave our cards to the boys to use up, so that gave them more play time too. On Wednesdays, the game tables are also 1/2 price. The guys wanted to try shuffleboard, so we did that too. Our teen dds (who were also along) wanted to play pool, so we got them a table & they played pool while the rest of us did shuffleboard. I think the kids enjoyed that part more than the video game arcade. So, if that's something your ds might like, you could meet friends mid-afternoon, order a couple of appetizers & let them use the shuffleboard & pool tables....? Oh, & to answer your first question... yes, we do birthday parties for our kids. When they were younger, we typically did a theme & had some planned games/activities. As they've gotten older, they just like having food & their friends over. I like that part, lol. We moms hang out, eat & chat & the kids do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 At that age it doesn't have to be a "birthday party" per se but just you taking him and a couple of friends to do something fun "for his birthday." You could take them to play laser tag, to go see a movie they want to see, to go glow-bowling at night if they have it by you, to a video game arcade, see if there's a place that has rock climbing or a big rope obstacle course and stuff like that. These are the types of things we started doing once the kids were middle school aged. We'd do lunch or dinner too, with cake as part of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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