mommymonster Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 My DS9 will become DS10 in a few weeks, and we're thinking about birthday party activity/theme ideas. We have a decent sized house and an OK-sized lawn, but nothing huge. DS9 is into Nerf guns, camping, animation and fishing. We will probably have about 40 people (entire families, not just the kids) over, and the kids will range in age from 1-10. It seems like if I don't have things for them to do, they end up "battling" each other one way or the other, and eventually end up taking it to far. I'd like to keep the kids all interacting in a pretty positive way, but not micro-manage them. I thought about taking the party to a park, but we live in the Pacific Northwest and the rains can start at any time, so we don't have assurance of decent weather. There are local parks, but it might be hard to feed everyone and the decent weather is a concern. Any thoughts for activities to pass the time for a really active bunch of boys? Please, please help a gal out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 We have done paper airplane contests, foil boats to hold the most pennies, made homemade slime and elephant toothpaste (outside). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 So inside activities? Not for this time, obviously, but if he likes camping, I'd do a backyard campout with 3-4 friends in a heartbeat. Sorry not helpful for this year! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftymama Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 Tie-dye shirts. Explode a watermelon. Balloon rockets across the yard. Scavenger hunt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted September 30, 2015 Author Share Posted September 30, 2015 Oh, I'm liking these ideas! I wonder if there's enough time to order tie-dye supplies? I'll look into it now. DS9 is a little obsessed with the mentos/coke thing, so that seems like an option along with aluminium foil boats (I'll have to keep the dads out of that somehow... sigh). Any more ideas... love to hear from those with more creativity than me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 All the boys around here would be fine with Nerf battles in the rain. Blowing things up in the rain would be cool too, with the added bonus of Nature's clean up assistance. Don't overthink it. :) 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acorn Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 The first time we did aluminum boats was for a 9th bday. I bought clear plastic storage boxes to fill with water. I envisioned a competion thing to see whose boat would hold the most pennies. I had a wipe off board to record totals. The boys however thought it was more fun to make foil balls and bomb each others boats to see who could sink the most. My youngest somehow ended up completely wet, so good thing we were at our house for dry clothes. I just went with the flow of it, because at least it wasn't full tackle tag. The following year, the birthday boy wanted to do foil boats again. It was exactly how I had envisioned it the previous year, the boys counted how much their boats could hold. We've also had campfire parties, and I found many campfire games or story starters online. A popular one, which could be done inside was "What's in your Milk?" ETA: I couldn't find the link quickly. Basically, person A is "it". Someone asks A, "what's in your milk?" Whatever the answer, A has to keep answering the same response to any question. As soon as A smiles or laughs, A is done and then asks another person "what's in your milk?" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Pottery Barn Kids has some cute themes http://www.potterybarnkids.com/design-studio/celebration/vintage_airplane_party.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plink Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 What about hosting a spy party? Secret missions. Code breaking. Target practice. So much fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Maybe a crazy idea that requires too much planning, but here goes... Our science museum just had this kid's day. For $5 you were given a set of 4 wheels with axles and 4 heavy metal washers, and pieces of drinking straw to put the axles through so you could glue the straw and not the axle to the car body. They had a table with different size wooden blocks cut very roughly into car shapes, like pine racers but cheap versions. They had the table set up with markers for decorating, hot glue guns for assembly, etc. Next to it the had two side-by-side tracks, about 20 feet long, that started up high on a slope (a play slide would work really well with pool noodles for bumpers and to divide it into two tracks!) and the kids spent literally hours racing them. Didn't win? Back to the table to redistribute washer weight. Still no luck, hhm, move the axles. I cannot stress how much fun every child (and their parents!) was having. Truly! And so cheap. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OK Family Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Decorate cupcakes, design a t-shirt ( get Hanes white t-shirts and fabric markers). We just did those for my sons 12th birthday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamiof5 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 No tie die for a crowd that big!! You'll lose your mind. It will get too hectic. But, we have done tie dye with sharpie markers and alcohol, and the kids looove it! Or, how about a bunch of "a minute to win it" games? Most of those games can be inside or outside (in case it runs), and they also appeal to different ages. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Capture the flag or a variation (can take hours), or a favorite here. Cheeto Head! http://parentingteens.about.com/od/birthdays/qt/partygames35.htm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommymonster Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Thanks so much, everyone, for the ideas! I think we're going to go with a "Mini-Siege" Theme. All the kiddos will be on the same team, and they will be working to "attack" a fortified city. They can make aluminum foil boats, mini-weapons, and maybe vehicles/carts to try to attack a medieval city. I think the dads will be responsible for the "defenses" -- all the dads are engineers, so it might be fun. Starr: Cheeto Head sounds **hilarious**! We're doing that so I can take photos, if for no other reason. Kerileanne99 Can you attach a link or photo of the materials they had? By any chance did you take photos? I'd love to do something like that, but I think I will need more guidance... Thanks again for the awesome ideas! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Kerileanne99 Can you attach a link or photo of the materials they had? By any chance did you take photos? I'd love to do something like that, but I think I will need more guidance... Thanks again for the awesome ideas! I did take photos with my phone, and we brought the racers home with us so I can take pictures of the parts as well:) Let me go through my pics and I will update! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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