Hi there everyone. As my kids have gotten older, finding fun things to do for their birthdays has proved more challenging. The small home party with a movie and pizza has become a tougher sale. Meanwhile, the bigger class-wide party at a bowling alley or nearby soccer school has come to seem “babyish.”

When my kids were in their early years of grade school, I tried to include their entire class in parties. So we held low-budget parties at places that could accommodate larger groups. Think your local kids gym, soccer school, bakery or crafts studio. You name in and — amongst my five — we tried it.

During my boys’ Middle School years, we have held parties with groups of around 4-6 boys. We either took the boys to the park for basketball or soccer and then to our local Chinese restaurant, or to our local movie theater and then to dinner nearby. Our neighborhood theatre offers cushioned, reclining seats so you can imagine that after a long week, settling into one of these seats in a nice cool environment with popcorn and a box of candy was an attractive prospect!

As my kids have approached the end of Middle School, and my oldest hits High School near year, we have tried to reduce the party size even more and come up new, more exciting plans suited to our boys’ interests.

This year, Hedley and Lachlan each invited three friends and we went to a NYCFC soccer game! It was a blast for all. Marc found the tickets online for about $40/each and look how great these seats were. Soccer in the US still lags in popularity behind baseball and basketball so the tickets tend to be more affordable. Take this into account when planing sports outings with your boys.

How to Celebrate a Teenager’s Birthday

Whether it be soccer, basketball, another sport or any other sort of activity, I think the main idea when it comes to parties for kids aged 13 and up is that the activity in question gets them excited, taps into a passion of theirs, and allows them to bond with friends.

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The younger brother, Beckett was thrilled to tag along.

Marc and I enjoyed our burghers and beer while a happy group of nine boys yelled, cheered and jumped up and down. We took the subway home and all was good.

Let me know what you all do for birthday parties (no matter what age) and thanks so much for reading.

Melissa

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