T.F.
We just finished a huge 13th birthday blowout for our daughter just after Christmas. It was a high budget party but there are some things we did that maybe you could incorporate to yours.
I was concerned about RSVP's because daughter was inviting a LOT of friends from school (co-ed) and I had to give a number count to the club. With the suggestion from another mamsource mom, we came up with a raffle to encourage kiddos to rsvp. I had 5 prizes....4 $10 gift cards from starbucks, best buy, blockbuster and a grand prize IPOD shuffle. All invitations stated that the raffle would be held for all who rsvp'd to the party. WOW, that was a hit and worked like a charm. I had locked in my number at 50 and I had about 45 show up. The prizes were a hit as well.. I did no other party favors.
We had a DJ, chicken fingers, mini pizzas, and ravoli (I would minimize these next time), chocolate fondue with fruits, pretzels, marshmallows (BIG HIT) and make your own ice cream sundaes (BIG HIT) and the birthday cake.
At the end of the night, I had a total of 8 girls sleeping over.
TO lower the budget on this..........play cd's, karoke, let the kids socialize. I did not dictate or organize games etc. The dance floor was always full with them doing some new dances and/or just having fun on the dance floor. If you have a Wii (or borrow one) it is a lot of fun and up to 4 at a time can play on some games. I do think our party went on too long. Next time, I would keep it at no longer than 3 hrs., probably closer to 2 -2 1/2. Do your own cake.
Keep it highly supervised yet let the kids do their thing. We had an off duty officer to keep kids from leaving the party. I had a rule....if you leave the party....you go home. The parents knew that when they dropped them off. That was to avoid any potential trouble they could bring in. The kids at our party were all 12-13 yrs old.
I hope those ideas help some
Have fun. Our little darlings are growing up too fast!! I too, have a good daughter and I can't believe she just turned 13.
Susan