Speaking of Birthday Parties

[waverly]

I've been pretty lazy about planning DS's party because it is at the house and sort of just a spin off of the basketball team party we had this summer.  It's in 3 weeks, and I should probably get myself together. 

I did invite the guests- total of 5 boys and all have said yes.  Today, I bought a few presents for him because I haven't done that yet.

The party is from 2-6pm, and fingers crossed it will be nice outside.  It is a sports party, so being outside would be good.  They can do nerf gun wars, basketball, and go to the park for soccer, tag, flag football and whatever else.  I asked guests to bring sports balls if they want to. I know one has a flag football set.  They will most likely still play outside even if it is chilly or drizzly but just not intense rain or thunderstorm. 

Do I need to buy more nerf gun bullets?  How does that work if I have a variety of guns, is there a standard bullet?  I am assuming there is...

So far on the menu, all I have is pizza delivered around 5pm because I know they will want to play first.  Probably chips, cookies, Gatorade and water.  Anything else food wise? Does he need a birthday cake if he had that already with family?  

I plan to clean the basement in case it rains.

I can put corn hole out or maybe set it up in the basement since that is where it is located, and they has switch games.  It will be hands off since DS is turning 13, so no cruise director here. 

What else do I need to do?  Oh I think I might need to check the paper plate, etc. inventory.  I need to buy a bouncy ball for 4 square.  

If it rains, do I need to provide more entertainment in the basement?  And if so, what? 

[sdlaura]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Yes, there are pretty standard Nerf darts for cheap on Amazon.

I assume you'll have a cake or cupcakes or something sweet?

[icedcoffee]

Yes--cake. Birthday parties without cake are sad.

Maybe an indoor basketball hoop if it rains?

[Deleted]

Agreed you still need a birthday cake or cupcakes or something like that. The kids will expect a dessert with a candle and a happy birthday song, even at 13 and even if he already did it with family.

[nicolewi]

Yes, cake for sure! Are the boys bringing gifts? I"m assuming the family gifts will be given at a different time, right?

I also think you need some kind of snacks avail for 2 to 5 time slot--that's a long time. Or a snack break around 3:30 and tell them pizza coming around 5? Not sure.

[mcppalmbeach]

Yes to cake and I would start pizza earlier than 5. Probably 4 or 4:30. I would keep chips out starting when they get there and a cooler with water and Gatorade.

[meanie]

At that age I would just set up whatever sports activities you have, make the basement available, and put out food/drinks. Maybe cupcakes instead of cake to make things even easier.

If they can't be outside then bring in what you can (cornhole, darts, etc) and set up a video game. Is your son in to sports cards? Maybe they could break a box together?

[gerberdaisy]

Agree with PP that 5 seems too late for pizza. Would push that back to 4? Have snacks available before. And yes, you need some sort of dessert/chance to sing happy birthday.

Otherwise sounds like a good plan!

[beerlover]

Yes to cake or something sweet. I would get more Nerf bullets if you are going to have Nerf wars, they are pretty standard size from what I've seen (my DS actually just attended a Nerf party), you can buy at Walmart or on Amazon. I agree with snacks and the pizza maybe a little earlier.

[jeaniebueller]

Suggestion—2-6 is a looong party for kids that age—even with activities and you’ll be surprised how fast they cycle through them. I would serve pizza at 3, in case they all don’t stay until 6. 2-3 hours is the norm around here.

[wanderingback]

Sept 27, 2023 5:58:46 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Suggestion—2-6 is a looong party for kids that age—even with activities and you’ll be surprised how fast they cycle through them. I would serve pizza at 3, in case they all don’t stay until 6. 2-3 hours is the norm around here.

Kids don’t play together for hours these days? I’m really out of touch lol. I knew social media changed things but didn’t realize that in middle school hanging out all afternoon wasn’t something kids could/want to do these days

[waverly]

Sept 27, 2023 5:58:46 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Suggestion—2-6 is a looong party for kids that age—even with activities and you’ll be surprised how fast they cycle through them. I would serve pizza at 3, in case they all don’t stay until 6. 2-3 hours is the norm around here.

Age 13?  If they are bored they will just entertain themselves with You Tube.  Last party they were at was 3 hours and they asked to stay longer.  I would totally agree with you if they were 11 or younger, but this age entertains themselves now.

[waverly]

Sept 27, 2023 8:40:39 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 27, 2023 5:58:46 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Suggestion—2-6 is a looong party for kids that age—even with activities and you’ll be surprised how fast they cycle through them. I would serve pizza at 3, in case they all don’t stay until 6. 2-3 hours is the norm around here.

Kids don’t play together for hours these days? I’m really out of touch lol. I knew social media changed things but didn’t realize that in middle school hanging out all afternoon wasn’t something kids could/want to do these days

I got the impression she is thinking of little kid parties which can be very intense for the host.  4 hours is a bit on the longer side, but if they want to leave by 5 or 5:30 they are welcome to do so.  Last year we had a sleepover party so 15 hours long maybe ha ha.  The basketball party we had was 3 hours, but the last hour was dark so they just hung out in the basement watching TV.  

[wanderingback]

Sept 27, 2023 9:08:58 GMT -5 waverly said:

Sept 27, 2023 8:40:39 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Kids don’t play together for hours these days? I’m really out of touch lol. I knew social media changed things but didn’t realize that in middle school hanging out all afternoon wasn’t something kids could/want to do these days

I got the impression she is thinking of little kid parties which can be very intense for the host.  4 hours is a bit on the longer side, but if they want to leave by 5 or 5:30 they are welcome to do so.  Last year we had a sleepover party so 15 hours long maybe ha ha.  The basketball party we had was 3 hours, but the last hour was dark so they just hung out in the basement watching TV.  

Well she said "for kids that age" and you clearly put that your kid is 13, so I assumed she meant 13 year olds.
Like everything, I’m sure it’s "regional." Happy to know that some middle schoolers are still playing together/entertaining themselves for many hours

[waverly]

wanderingback, yeah that threw me too, but this group of boys anyway can certainly entertain themselves with very little effort from me. In fact, me interfering too much at this age would be frowned upon.

[pandorica]

Sept 27, 2023 9:12:18 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 27, 2023 9:08:58 GMT -5 waverly said:

I got the impression she is thinking of little kid parties which can be very intense for the host.  4 hours is a bit on the longer side, but if they want to leave by 5 or 5:30 they are welcome to do so.  Last year we had a sleepover party so 15 hours long maybe ha ha.  The basketball party we had was 3 hours, but the last hour was dark so they just hung out in the basement watching TV.  

Well she said "for kids that age" and you clearly put that your kid is 13, so I assumed she meant 13 year olds.
Like everything, I’m sure it’s "regional." Happy to know that some middle schoolers are still playing together/entertaining themselves for many hours

We were just at a 4yo birthday party and I had to force my kid to leave at 3 hours! So I would think older kids could definitely manage a long party too especially with lots of options on what to do. I would hope so!

[abs]

Sept 27, 2023 8:40:39 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 27, 2023 5:58:46 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Suggestion—2-6 is a looong party for kids that age—even with activities and you’ll be surprised how fast they cycle through them. I would serve pizza at 3, in case they all don’t stay until 6. 2-3 hours is the norm around here.

Kids don’t play together for hours these days? I’m really out of touch lol. I knew social media changed things but didn’t realize that in middle school hanging out all afternoon wasn’t something kids could/want to do these days

DD turns 13 very soon and regularly hangs out with her friends for hours and hours. Generally parents are the ones breaking up the fun and not the kids! Having people over at this age is so easy, too.

[wanderingback]

Sept 27, 2023 9:31:25 GMT -5 abs said:

Sept 27, 2023 8:40:39 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Kids don’t play together for hours these days? I’m really out of touch lol. I knew social media changed things but didn’t realize that in middle school hanging out all afternoon wasn’t something kids could/want to do these days

DD turns 13 very soon and regularly hangs out with her friends for hours and hours. Generally parents are the ones breaking up the fun and not the kids! Having people over at this age is so easy, too.

Ok good, that makes me happy lol. I know so much is different about kids these days but hanging out with friends unstructured in middle and high school is such a fun memory for me (even elementary school too). Listening to tapes, making up dances, playing tag outside, etc…so fun

[abs]

Sept 27, 2023 9:44:38 GMT -5 wanderingback said:

Sept 27, 2023 9:31:25 GMT -5 abs said:

DD turns 13 very soon and regularly hangs out with her friends for hours and hours. Generally parents are the ones breaking up the fun and not the kids! Having people over at this age is so easy, too.

Ok good, that makes me happy lol. I know so much is different about kids these days but hanging out with friends unstructured in middle and high school is such a fun memory for me (even elementary school too). Listening to tapes, making up dances, playing tag outside, etc…so fun

And they still do all the same things! I mean it’s playlists rather than tapes but otherwise hanging out in 2023 looks a lot like it did in 1993. Music, snacks, dancing, karaoke, video games. Less movies. Media makes you think it’s all different now but not necessarily. I agree with the great memories and love it for DD, too.

[fancynewbeesly]

waverly,

My 12 year old is invited to a birthday party this weekend---same time frame for a boy on the block-from 1 to 4. It is an outdoor only bike party. So pretty much everyone brings their bikes/scooters/skateboards and just rides around and hangs out in the neighborhood. We have a quiet neighborhood. My daughter goes EVERY year-she loves it. The mom orders pizza and has cake but it is is SO low key.

Literally all the kids hang out and just have fun.

[expectantsteelerfan]

waverly, my dd recently had her 12th bday party and it was from 1-8 pm. We were at a pottery painting place for a few hours, but the rest was at our house. She also wanted it to be a sleepover, but we couldn't fit it in our schedule this year.

The one thing I agree with pp's on a lot with is to have a ton of snacks/drinks available if you can. I let dd pick the snacks for her party. When we got to our house from the the pottery place, I put out a huge thing of cheese balls, flavored pretzels, fruit roll ups, cheese and crackers, watermelon, hot pretzel mini bites with cheese dip, and carrots and ranch, and a bunch of drinks. And there were only 6 girls. And when I went back to clean up the table to make room to put out dinner, almost all the food was GONE. I was amazed. And then they ate a ton of food for dinner, and then dessert and then a ton of candy after dessert too. Luckily after dinner all they did was go outside and run around lol.

[waverly]

Update:

The party went well. I don't think it went as well as the basketball party because it had a different vibe, but also I've been in a funk all weekend, so it could just be my general funk.  I keep waking up at 4:30 and 5 am for no reason.  

I basically didn't see the boys much at all. They went to the park and played flag football for an hour, back to eat snacks, then did a tour of the house where I had to tell them to stop throwing objects down the laundry chute, then nerf guns, then pizza, then back to the park to explore a ravine. DS was very tired. I don't know honestly how well it went, but he said it was "fun".

I almost like the kids better from the basketball team.  They seem more respectful and chill.  His crew is a bit more judgmental.  One of the kids is getting into trouble a lot, and I wonder if he is going to transition out of the group into one that is more rebellious.  But I am supporting DS's friendships even if I do like the other group better.