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Fri 23 Oct, 2009 12:26 pm
So I got lots of good ideas for the grown-up party/ event I talked about recently. (We will be discussing them at the next meeting, no decisions yet.) I'm currently stumped about another party, so giving it another shot.
Sozlet's birthday is coming up. Not right away, but soon enough that I have to get cracking. I mentioned some possibilities and she wasn't enthusiastic. "Mom," she said, "we have a reputation. Well, YOU have a reputation. My birthday parties are FAMOUS."
Um.
Two elements to this.
1.) I'd like to do something interesting, but
2.) I don't want to do some big over-the-top extravaganza, just on principle.
Stuff we've done before has been way more to the big-idea side of things than the big-bucks side. Last year I spent maybe $50, if that, on a party for 10 kids. It was a mystery party, where kids all had their roles and specific lines to read, and clues were revealed as they went along. The kids had a blast and so I thought we were set -- do other versions of the same idea for subsequent parties -- but sozlet has her heart set on something new. Note, she won't necessarily get what she wants -- if I can't come up with anything that both meets her approval for novelty/ originality/ interest and my requirements for not being too ostentatious, we'll just do whatever. Pool party, that kind of thing. I'm just interested in seeing what you wise people can come up with before I declare defeat.
I'm going to brainstorm further with her, too.
One thing that's new this year -- she's always had male friends that she's wanted to invite to her birthday parties in previous years, and so we've always had to work extra hard to do something that's not too girly so they would be interested. This year she wants to have a small informal get-together with like cake and then running around having a Nerf gun war with her guy friends, and then separately have the "main" party be just her gal friends. So it can be girly. (Though she and her best gal friends aren't particularly girly...)
So. Any ideas? I'm happy to provide further info as needed, will start there.
Thank you!
@sozobe,
Funny I was going to suggest the mystery party - I'm doing one this year - oh well there goes my great idea.
an English tea party.
in Ohio, of course.
@sozobe,
If she were into American Girl - you could do such a party.
We are doing an American Girl mystery party - bought the game on ebay for $10 which includes the invitations.
Other thoughts for a girly type - a tea party, dress up, spa (do nails and hair kind of stuff), karoke - they can dress up like rock stars and sing and dance - make a fake stage with curtain.
@sozobe,
How about a dress up party where everyone makes their own dress out of grocery bags, toilet paper, newspaper, etc?
@engineer,
Creative!
Her very first big party was a dress-up tea party... went great, but they fancy themselves "too old" for that now. (It will be her 9th birthday party.)
(She was just reading over my shoulder and said "no, not too old, just <weird shruggy ambivalent expression>" I said, How do I write that? She said: /;\ [She typed it.] Evidently the slash/ backslash represents her arms.)
Anyway.
As I was typing the original post I realized there was an angle I hadn't explored re: the mystery party -- there were packages we saw last year when we were looking that she thought sounded fun but there were no male "roles" so we had to pass. I went and found some of those (girly ones) back and showed her when she got home. She likes! So perhaps this has been solved already. I haven't bought it yet (the one she likes best is $35, including invitations, 8-16 players), so there's still time if you have a brilliant idea.
Linkat, these are super-fun, I bet your daughter + friends will love it.
@sozobe,
Hello everyone. Just happened to stumble upon this thread. So sozobe, how did the party go? What theme did you (or your daughter) decide on? You could always rely on fun games and activities to be the cohesive force between the girls and the boys in a party.
@plglaserna,
Hi plglaserna,
This party went OK but not great. The kids who had gone to the mystery party way oversold it to the new kids. ("This will be SO FUN!! I can't wait!!! Last year was awesome!! Etc.") (There were about 10 kids -- boys and girls -- at the mystery party, and about a dozen -- girls only -- at this one.) Also the original crew were all hammy/ dramatic, the new crew had a few wallflowers who made it less fun for everyone.
There wasn't enough novelty (new story/ characters but same format) and too many kids.
Last year (10th birthday) she celebrated with only three of her best-best friends.
@sozobe,
My sister's party for her son also had a few wallflowers. What she did was planned activities that didn't require a lot of talking, such as crafts or watching a movie.
@sozobe,
That's the danger of giving a great party
this year. They expect the same next year. At least with a grand wedding, they don't have similar expectations.
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