Birthday Parties..

[SmallMoments]

Luke's a winter baby too. Last year we did a party at an indoor water park. This next year we are thinking of maybe just having him pick a friend or two and going instead of a full 12 or whatever kids it was. Do you have anything like that around? Where you could take him and a friend for an afternoon?

What about setting up some kind of scavenger hunt where he has to figure out clues to where ever you're going next? That could just be the three of you or he could bring a friend.

[jessica31876]

Oh I thought of something else. Do you have a go-kart place near you? Or laser tag? Both are tons of fun for little boys and not to expensive. My son went paintballing when he was just a tad older but it is probably still a little advanced for 8y/o. (and causes a little bruising which I did not know til after). He absolutely loved it though.

[mummytothree]

My oldest DS has a Nov 23 birthday and we always hit the streak where it falls the day before Thanksgiving, on Thanksgiving or the day after Thanksgiving. It makes for some pretty crappy birthdays....so what I do is I have his party usually the first weekend in December...I find that parents are willing to and actually anxious to get rid of their kids....hey 2 hours of kid free Christmas shopping....who wouldn't wan that!?!?!

So maybe you could have him a little friend party 2 weekends before his actually birthday and you might find people more willing to attend...and it doesn't have to be his whole class....what about just the boys (our school still let's kids pass out invites as long as it one of the following: the whole class, just the boys or just the girls) or if you want it smaller just a friend or two and call to invite them or mail the invites!!!

This year I am doing a Hot Chocolate Bar for his party...not lunch involved...it will be from 1 to 3 PM and only the boys from his class. We hare going to have hot chocolate with every known mix in you can thing of and hot chocolate flavored cupcakes and we are going to make a hot chocolate mix thing as a "party favor" (instead of a goodie bag).

[julifish]

What about him and a few friends going to Laser Tag? Ours has an arcade in it too and it wouldn't be too pricey for only 3 kids.

Trampoline/jumping place? Ours is called Airheads and they have groupons for $10 for a 1 hour jump. For Ce, 1-2 friends it would be cheap! Get McD's on the way home.


We just did a 9th b-day party and my DD invited 3 friends and it was perfect and really cheap. We did a camping theme and I made the kids cook their own hotdogs for dinner. I hired my older DD to be the camp counselor, but you could hire a local teen you know to do the same $10 for the whole night and she played games, watched the movie with them...etc.

Does it snow where you live before Christmas? What about a sledding party with just a few kids and their families? Serve hot cocoa and cookies and you're done!

My DD has her birthday in Dec (the 9th). We always have her parties before Thanksgiving or the first Friday night in Dec because otherwise people are always busy. However, if you are only doing 2 friends maybe you can call the moms early and take them on a day when the parents could then do some Christmas shopping while you have their kid.

Is there something really cool that he wants to do that would be a huge treat? If you want no kids you could take him to do something special then have dinner out and do the cake there (take it with you if you want). That way he's not all cooped up in the house.

It's hard when they don't have a lot of friends but you have to try to cultivate those relationships when they find someone they click with...it's the only way they learn how the whole friend thing works (my yougest DD is this way!!!) Good luck.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Chuck E Cheese does allow you to bring in your own birthday cake

We usually don't do a big party, but invite 1-3 close friends and do something fun. Aiden will get that next year as he was due one this year and we couldn't swing it.

Bowling alleys really can be fun for 8 yo - they're still using the gutter guards, and if you only have a few friends, they cycle through pretty quickly. All of our friends' kids love it still.

Some place that has an indoor pool park would be great fun in the cold months.

If you have a place that does indoor laser tag/video arcade/bowling, etc. With only one or two friends, it's not hugely expensive. I know I used coupons and stuff and got away with around $50 for 4 kids to do everything.

[rach3975]

My oldest DS is turning 8 in Oct. He's also the type who usually just has a few close friends. I think he'd be better off inviting his 2 close friends to do something special, but he's not ready to give up the big birthday party (or maybe the birthday presents from the big party, LOL).

If I could convince him, we'd take his 2 best friends out for a treat (probably ice cream, but anything would work) and then either to a movie or to free play at someplace like pump it up (a bounce house). You could also do an indoor swimming pool, bowling, or paint your own pottery.

Good luck! Lauren's birthday is the day after Christmas, and this is the first year we're going to have a real party. I think we're going to wait until Jan and let her actual birthday just be a family day.

[Tracyfish]

I don't know what his allergies are, but are there are chocolate shops, bakeries or donut places that would let you bring in a him and a friend or two to decorate their own goodies?

[MamaBee]

Oh - I hear you... I really dislike other people's kids unless I like their parents..

How about swimming? I've seen birthday parties at the YMCA... I remember when I was that age, a girl had her birthday party at the Y and then go for pizza? Do you have a Happy Joe's? Shoot - I just looked, it must be a midwest thing... maybe you have something similar... pizza place that has a small arcade. Not as crazy (or germ-laden) as the Chuck.

Does he have any other likes... planetarium? natural history museum? Children's Museum?