No Big Deal
Teen Boys can be hard to party plan for. They don’t tend to plan ahead, or have even friends’ contacts always available to pull off a successful party. But they still like to do something for their birthday. So I found that planning an activity instead of a party. This gets friends on board and they all get to do something fun together. Here are some of the fun celebrations that were a hit!
Bowling
Bowling can be an economical activity for guests of all ages! We were able to have family and his friends all at the same time. My bowling alley allowed for us to bring our own food, so pizza, cupcakes and a few snacks and the party was set. Check your local bowling alley for party packages, but also see when they have discount days. It was a cheaper to go on a Sunday at 11:00 am with cheap lane and shoe rentals per person.
A couple fun things I purchased to make the day feel more like a party than just a day bowling:
Fun bowling hats, the number 16 with his favorite candy, some bowling-themed candy, a bowling shirt so he looked the part. And I made these “striking” cupcakes with soda bottle gummies and a chocolate “bowling ball” (whoppers or chocolate covered peanuts). I used a simple chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting, but any recipe or even store bought would do!
Video Game Bus
This was the easiest party I ever planned for. I barely even needed to clean my house! (And let’s face it, teenage boys wouldn’t have cared either way). I saw an add for a video game bus that came to my house, set up on the street and let the boys play for a couple hours. I had some drinks, pizza rolls and candy set out, but I barely saw the boys outside of the bus. Also– talk about an easy job– the guys that owned the bus, spent the whole time playing video games!
Get Outdoors
We are lucky to live near a cute little town that has gold panning. My son loved this place so much, we actually did his birthday here twice. We took a picnic lunch, invited friends and family and paid for a gold panning lesson. All the kids came home with their tiny vial of gold. They also ran around the rocks and got their energy out.
I did make a special cake decorated to look like a gold panning stream. I used sparkle frosting and chocolate rocks and this kit for the gold panner. I used ice cream cones, frosting and graham crackers to create the tents and tress and the rolled cookies for the logs. It turned out cute!
Other ideas
A few other fun birthdays have been Laser Tag, Mini-golf, Go Carts, Snowboarding or Mountain Biking. Basically, anything your son is into, turn it into an outing, bring some snacks and maybe some cupcakes and you’ve got yourself a happy teen!
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