12 Year Old Boy Birthday Party

I think there is a paintball field. That is fun for young boys. They have all the rental stuff and the guys are really nice to the kids, and help them.
I think you have to talk to the sports store in milton.

I have a 12 year-old son and at this age, we have found that the boys are pretty happy just to "hang out." My son went to a party last weekend with about 20 kids. They set up a volley ball net in the back and the kids spent most of the time tossing different things across the net - volley balls, water balloons, beach balls, etc. There was also a basketball hoop and the kids would randomly shoot hoops then drift off with other kids. When I stopped by, a large number of the kids were just sitting around in a circle talking, drinking soda and listening to music. Scavenger hunts are always good - especially if there are "goodies" along the way.

My son's b-day is in December so we have to get a little creative inside so that they don't just play video games the whole time (they wind up doing that regardless, but we didn't want it to be the focus of the party). It was cold out, but not snowing and they STILL wound up outside just running around the house - tag of sorts, etc. We did a "pool" party for him last year - they all wore Hawaiian shirts and we decorated for a luau but the "pool" was the pool table rather than a swimming pool.

They're 12 and they're boys....music, food, drinks and room to run and they seem to be able to keep busy.

Good luck!

When my sons were that age, we would have a birthday sleepover party with a few of their current closest friends.
I purchased a package of plain 6" frozen pizzas from a local grocery store along with a variety of traditional pizza toppings (green pepper, onion, mushroom, pineapple, extra cheese, etc.). Each boy got to decorate his own pizza for dinner. I added a salad to the meal, for those that were interested in eating salad and some fresh cut up fruit, whatever was in season. After dinner we sang "happy birthday", had cake & ice cream and he opened his presents. I allowed my son to pick out a few age appropriate rental movies before the party, and between that and a few video games, they were happy. The next morning, my husband and I made homemade pancakes or waffles for breakfast, and would hand out a small "goody" bag (e.g.:penny candy, fruit snacks, pencils, pens, notepads, baseball cards, etc.) to each boy as he left. It always seemed to be a hit and my sons had their own special time with their friends in our home. The expense wasn't near what you would pay for doing something outside the home.

when my son was about that age we had a sports themed party and had a lg football pinata. Also I think we hired a magician. he was a teenager and so he was inexpensive, but very good and kids enjoyed it!
H.

Go to an appliance store and get refrigerator boxes for each kid(or per 2-3) depending on if you can go outside or inside and how many kids. Give them markers and kitchen scissors and let them make two forts rockets/castles/cars etc. It would help if your son and daughter did part of one already so they can get ideas. Duct tape helps for periscopes(paper towel holders etc.) Skyscrapers are good. If it's outside the two forts can follow with a water balloon battle.

Bat-a-Rama in Westville, NJ. There batting cage is nice and fun. We were there recently with my daughters baseball team and we paid $45.00 for an hour with 18 kids. They may have party packages I am not sure, but to save money you can book it for an hour then have cake at your house. Good Luck.

Hi T.!

My kids are younger but we went to a party of a friend that was turning 11 that was soooo much fun! They had a pirate party with a treasure hunt. They made their own maps out of copy papy and burned each corner to make it look neat. They hid stuff all over the inside and outside of the house and each kid broke off into 2 teams to find each hidden item leading to the treasure. They supplied eye patches and 2 different color head bands for each team. It kept the kids busy for at least an hour. They had so much fun looking for the treasure and supplied low cost inexpensive prizes for the winner. All of the kids got a prize though! Hope you have fun! Take Care! L.

Pool party with pizza delivery!!!

Well, since he is about to be 12, my guess he is starting to want some independence? Why not ask him for some ideas? I'm sure music will be one, maybe limited adult supervision? Biggest thing I would think though is ask him, and come up with some ideas together and see what would make you both happy.

I like the website birthdaypartyideas.com

If you have ever watched the show Survivor, thats a great and inexpensive party theme. I"ve done a Survivor type party for both of my sons. They both really love the show. If you don't watch it, you could do it more like a scavenger hunt. We had two teams, set up challenges, after each challenge there was a clue that led them to the next challenge. they went to neighbors houses to get clues. It was alot of fun. I got alot of the ideas from the website. And all the stuff we needed for the challenges I got at the dollar store. It was very fun and the boys all loved it.

When I was short on cash for parties for my older boys I'd just do a sleep over and invite 2 or 3 boys over. They could hang out, play videos, play outside, watch movies and eat popcorn, etc. Then have cake and ice cream and they'd go back to playing, lol. It's that age of doing their own thing. They loved those parties the best! If you want other friends and family over they can come during cake and ice cream time and open some gifts.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat

Hi. Not sure if you have access to a pool, but that can be a lot of fun and use of a lot of the bundles of energy that 12 year olds have. I've taken my son's friends to the local YMCA to swim for an hour or two(not part of their party package, just as guests to swim). We then went back to my house and made pizza bagels -- everyone make their own -- cake, music. By then most of them just wanted to eat and hang around.

Have fun!

Movie night at a local theater or at your house. By age 12 for a boy, the themed birthday parties may be a bit much. Just hanging out with friends is the big thing, don't you think? The baseball idea is nice...playing it at a park and then pizza. A lot of the 12 year old boys my daughter knows had/have movie or laser tag or bowling parties, but that can start adding on the bucks. There's also minor league baseball, tickets are cheaper, etc. I would guess that he wants a smallish party at this point, so the cost may not be prohibitive, if you stay away from a birthday package and just get tickets.

Is he into pirates at all? I'd think a pirate-themed party would be fairly easy to work with.

Hi! my son just turned 11 last month and we did a painball party . my brothers took them. they are hunters and such so my son has been in the woods a lot an wanted an all boy thing. well they had the time of their life it was 40 bucks from 11:30-4:40pm and then when all the guys/kids came home we had a pool party and pizza. i was worried at first he'd get hurt,but he ended up kicking everyones but and winning the game 4 times. i never seen him so excited and know wants to do it every year.the place was very safe and none of the other parents had any concerns.

Hi T.,
Does he like sports? How about a baseball themed party at a local park? Tell the kids to bring their mitts, bats, baseballs, etc. You provide all-american baseball style meal: hot dogs, nachos, Gatorade, etc. and have a baseball-decorated cake? For favors, you can provide something from your nearewst city's baseball team (mug filled with peanuts, etc.). Just O. idea I had. Good luck.

I lead the jr. high youth group at my church and the boys there love it when we take them to a rock climbing gym. There is one in Downingtown called Vertical Extreme and I know that they do parties. I'm not sure what the cost would be though.

Dear T.,
I always found pizza/pool parties a lot of fun. All the children get to enjoy a swimming
day. You can arrange with the community pool that you will be having children there, and also cake or whatever else you want to bring. I did it twice with our son when we lived in
Long Island, and it was a hit! I never had to pay the community pool at all for the service.
I would check into it.

Have a water balloon party. On invitations tell all the kids to bring a towel and water guns. Fill up a ton of water balloons and purchase some water guns and let them have a blast.