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Big kid party themes?

ppantsppants member
in School-Aged Children

My b/g twins will turn 9 in January.  So far, we've always had joint bday parties and invited a few friends.  I will split up the parties if kids want to or can't agree on a birthday activity/party together. 

When they turned 6, we painted pottery at a studio.  At 7, we had an indoor swim party.  For 8, we had a game themed party with board and video games.  What are some other themes or activities for bigger kid parties?  I thought about a mystery party (like murder mysterday, but without the murder part).  The kids were ok with the idea, but not really excited.  What kinds of activites have your kids enjoyed at school age parties?

I know it's way in advance, but the fall seems to go by so fast so I like to start getting ideas sooner rather than later. :)

Wendy Twins 1/27/06. DS and DD
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Re: Big kid party themes?

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    skategirl128skategirl128 member
    My good friend has a DS that is turning 10 so the ideas I have from him are:

    Party at a fro-yo place. This was super fun for all ages there

    Lego party (I also did this for my DS at 6)

    Bowling

    Ice-skating

    We also went to a kids kitchen type party where the kids made their own pizzas, decorated cupcakes and had trail mix as a favor (that they made).
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    littlemermaidlittlemermaid member
    edited August 2014
    The popular place for older kids here are those indoor trampoline places. Here they are called Airtime Trampoline or Skyzone.
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    sunnydays99sunnydays99 member
    edited August 2014
    Mini golf? Michaels does parties if either of your kids are into crafts.
    Eta: our local university does science themed parties. I'm looking forward to doing one if those when my kids are older. 
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    ppantsppants member
    sunnydays99 said:
    Mini golf? Michaels does parties if either of your kids are into crafts.
    Eta: our local university does science themed parties. I'm looking forward to doing one if those when my kids are older. 

    A science themed party is a great idea and DS would LOVE it. 
    Wendy Twins 1/27/06. DS and DD
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    MirandaHobbesMirandaHobbes member
    ppants said:
    sunnydays99 said:
    Mini golf? Michaels does parties if either of your kids are into crafts.
    Eta: our local university does science themed parties. I'm looking forward to doing one if those when my kids are older. 

    A science themed party is a great idea and DS would LOVE it. 
    We just went to a "Mad Scientist" party and all the kids loved it (varying ages). It was a guy who came with a table full of experiments and then all the kids got to make slime. I was super impressed and even though his presentation was over an hour long, he was able to hold the kids attention the whole time!
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    Spin313Spin313 member
    DS isn't turning seven until next year, but he's already asked to have his party at CPK because the kids get to make their own pizzas and the birthday child gets a chef coat.

    Bowling alleys, roller skating rinks, and laser tag / paintball yards are great options.
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    shopgirl78shopgirl78 member
    My soon to be 9 year old will have a lunar golf party.

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    ppantsppants member
    Thank you all for the ideas! 
    Wendy Twins 1/27/06. DS and DD
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    neverblushedneverblushed member
    I think at that age, it's cool to go with whatever the birthday kid wants.  I've done some pretty fun "themed" parties when my kids were younger.

    My son will be 10 at the end of this month, and this year he wanted to do a "baseball" party, by which he means: take his two best buddies to a baseball game and then have them sleep over.  So, the party will be baseball themed, but I'm not doing a baseball cake or getting baseball decorations.  Because, really, what he wants is to go to a baseball game and play video games and stay up late with his two best friends.  He doesn't care about themed decorations and a themed cake anymore.  
    :(
    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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    ppantsppants member
    neverblushed said:
    I think at that age, it's cool to go with whatever the birthday kid wants.  I've done some pretty fun "themed" parties when my kids were younger.

    My son will be 10 at the end of this month, and this year he wanted to do a "baseball" party, by which he means: take his two best buddies to a baseball game and then have them sleep over.  So, the party will be baseball themed, but I'm not doing a baseball cake or getting baseball decorations.  Because, really, what he wants is to go to a baseball game and play video games and stay up late with his two best friends.  He doesn't care about themed decorations and a themed cake anymore.  
    :(
    I completely get that it doesn't have to be "themed" per se and activities are great too.  I'll do what they want and would be open to separate sleep overs. 
    Wendy Twins 1/27/06. DS and DD
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    ppantsppants member
    I wish outdoor parties were an option, but their bday being in January keeps us indoors.
    Wendy Twins 1/27/06. DS and DD
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    neverblushedneverblushed member
    ppants said:
    I wish outdoor parties were an option, but their bday being in January keeps us indoors.
    My own birthday is in January.  Although as a kid I didn't really think of it this way, in retrospect, it did sort of suck that I could never do fun, outdoor stuff.  And more than once, my birthday plans were ruined by snow.

    My most memorable birthday parties were sleepovers I had during elementary school.  No real theme -- just a bunch of giggling girls.  That might be hard to do with boy/girl twins.  But if they really want to have a party together, you could have a "late over" party with a movie, popcorn, and pizza -- something like that. 
    High School English teacher and mom of 2 kids:

    DD, born 9/06/00 -- 12th grade
    DS, born 8/25/04 -- 7th grade
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    junebugrbigjunebugrbig member
    We did SkyZone for DS party last month...that is very hot right now.   We have a place called Monster Golf...indoor mini golf with a monster theme.  Bowling would be fun.  Maybe a place like Dave and Buster's if that is nearby.  My DS loves laser tag.  Some sort of theme party at home...make your own pizza, movie night, scavenger hunt, game night.
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    MesmrEweMesmrEwe member

    There are outdoor activities to do in January - Ice Skating... Skiing... Hockey... Snow tubing...

    Chuckie Cheeses is where DD is leaning for her birthday this year but we have done the jump house type thing and it was a hit..

    I have to say I LOVE the PP's idea of a Lego party - DD is 9 and loves them. 

    A pool party at a local hotel or indoor pool/water park.  I know hotels around here offer these with the rental of their "party room" for up to a number of guests. 

    On the "murder mystery" type idea - I'd hold on to that idea for say 11th or 12th b-day and do it "Who stole the Birthday Cake" (leave the box but no cake) and run it like a Detective would where the kids have to search for clues (fingerprints, surveillance camera, etc.,), develop a list of suspects, etc. 

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