With back to school photos all over your timeline, you know it won’t be too long before it is birthday party season and the invites start flooding in. That seems to be the thing with primary school aged children; parties happening often, especially if you have more than one child. But what about when your child starts to get a little older and still wants to have a big party for their birthday; how can you keep up to thirty tweens entertained? Read on for ideas and inspiration:
The tricky things with ‘tweens’ is that they don’t want to be treated like kids, so something like a bouncy castle might not be seen as cool enough. But they are still of an age where some structure is needed. They will want to have lots of fun, but it can be fun to get them to try new things, give them choice, as well as explore and nurture the passions that they have. So when you think about it that way, there can be a lot of organise and plan. With that in mind, here are some fun-filled party ideas for tweens, so that all you have to do is put it into motion and get the birthday cake.
Pool Party
I find once kids are over 8 and able to enter the pool without an adult, pool parties are easier to organise (before that it depends on how enthusiastic the parents are about water!). A pool party can be lots of fun. Unless you are lucky enough to have a pool in your home, then you can hire the pool at a leisure centre or hotel, and often the former will have special birthday packages for this kind of thing. It can be a fun theme to run with, though, and make party bags fun to make up with pool and water related items.
Pizza & Movie Party
If a smaller gathering is what you are looking for, then a pizza party at home could be what you need. It can be pretty inexpensive, as you just need flour and water to make the dough (or buy ready made dough). Then they can make and cook their own pizzas to enjoy while watching a movie. It can give a feeling of independence as you can leave them to it for most of the time.
Sleepover
You could plan a sleepover for your tween with a few friends, as it can be a fun party and definitely make them feel less like children. You could plan movies to watch or treats to make, or even get things like a photo booth set up or get a personalised Instagram frame so they can take selfies with in the PJs. Follow it up with a tasty pancake breakfast and you will earn some major parent points with your tween.
Garden Party
If you’re throwing a party at the time of year that will allow you to be outside, then you can get pretty creative. It could be a picnic followed by some games, or even turn it into a water fight. You could even make s’mores or have a small fire going if it is running into the evening. Just remember to list the essentials- such as coats and wellies- on the birthday invite!
Tweens know their own mind so you will plan their party according to their tastes and hobbies and depending on what is available locally to you.
What party would the tween in your life love?
Great ideas my son will be 15 on sept 4th and he would love a sleep over with movie night, Ive also been thinking of doing go ape as well although I dont know if his friends would like the heights xx