What Can We Do Instead of Having a "Regular" Party with All the Fixings?

My sister when my nephew was about that age, she rented a Hummer and took he and a couple of his friends to the movie in it and drove around town.

A fun party game that I loved when I was a kid: my mom would tie balloons around our ankles on a short length of string, and we had to try to stomp everyone else's balloon while keeping our own from getting stomped.

To this day that is probably my favorite birthday party memory.

My son is turning 10 this year and he has not been into toys for about 2 yrs. now. But he does still like knex, and scientific toys (toysrus carries a whole line of scientific toys). We have a trampoline and that is the best thing we could have ever gotten for the kids, all ages love it. The only thing he likes right now are outdoor items- anything sports. If his birthday is in the summer take him and a friend on a weekend trip to Schlitterbahn. But maybe thats not so lowkey but he would remember it forever! Check and see if there are any events going on close to you like monster truck show, car show, wrestling etc. Or just a simple event like mini golf with 1 friend, Austin Park, or something similar.

Lazar tag was awesome!!! We just did a paintball party.....with both of these parties we ordered pizza! so easy!!!

We like going out to dinner or lunch with the best buddies, just a few. Bowling or movies with same are good too. No boys though, so someone else is going to have to answer the second half of your question!

M.

When my son turned 10 we took him and one of his friends to Medieval Times, and his friend spent the night. I didn't like it much, but he LOVED it, and it was great seeing the excitement on his face. We ended up getting him a set of Medieval characters (knights, horses, etc.) that we got there for his gift. He loved it at the time. Now at 12 years old he has outgrown the toys, but he would still enjoy Medieval Times. There is one in Dallas off of I35.

ETA: I don't know where Cedar Park is, so this may not even be an option for you. Sorry. :-)

My son's b-day is the week before Christmas- always challenging, and he NEVER wants to do a 'half-year' party in summer. He loves the movie 'Nightmare Before Christmas' and for his 10th b-day this year, that was the party we had!

We already had all the Christmas stuff and the tree up, so we also got out all our Halloween decorations and put them up, along with black crepe paper everywhere and Halloween plates and napkins, etc, that I got for almost nothing on sale at a card and party store. (Buying off season is great for that!)

I made a big round cake and we put a Jack Sklellington face on it. We played a cd with the songs from the movie.

My son's friends all came dressed in their Halloween costumes and we played 2 games: Wrap the Mummy ( with toiletpaper) and 'Eat the GraveYard Dirt' (pudding and crushed cookies with gummy worms- they had to eat with hands behind their backs) then we had presents and pizza and cake.

All the boys LOVED it- especially when the 2 dads there ate the leftover pudding, lol. and we just had a really fun time. Boys of ten seem to love anything gross or 'scary' (even though this really wasn't). It didn't cost much and it was a totally original idea. What does your son REALLY like? Is there some way you can make a game or party tie into a 'theme'?

For us, playing the wrap the mummy game was good, because although you don't run around, it was very active. The 'dirt' game was good because of the 'gross' factor of shoving your face in the plate. (one little boy just didn't want to do that one, no biggie)

One other party my son went to and LOVED was this: they strung a MAZE of colored yarn all over the back yard, with a different colored string for each kid. At the end was a clue to a puzzle- they had to put all the clues together to solve the puzzle. Lol, this must have taken a LOT of work ( I know the mom got friends to come over the night before to help set it up) but the kids had a ball and it was totally unique- and again, pretty cheap to do!

the other thing we ALWAYS do for my son's b-day since he turned 6 is make a mix-CD of all his favorite songs as a party favor. Again, the cost is minimal- a box of blank CDs. My son's stepdad is a graphic designer and makes a 'cover' and he helps my son choose the songs and burn the cd. We usually make a few extras so we have one and we give one to my son's aunt and uncle, etc. It's just a cool record of what my son likes and is 'into' any given year. It is always a super-popular favor.

Take a couple buddies to a cool sporting event. How about fishing equipment for a gift and take him fishing? Just a thought.

most boys like paint ball. might not be low key. you could have water gun fight, water ballon fight.i have seen DIY home movie. a projector, white sheet/white wall/, some blankets and pop corn!! he could ask for a gift certificate to the movies, skating, skateboard place, lazor tag, book store, zoo, clothing store. good luck.

Take a few kids camping or have a backyard campout. Hotdogs and S'Mores, flashlight for each child.
At that age, my boys loved lazer tag, putt-putt golf, paintball, and go carts. Most of those places have party packages. A simple favorite is a water balloon/ super soaker party- boys love that kind of thing.
Gift ideas: bicycle, scooter, skateboard, gift certificate for a summer class, one of my grown sons started his tool collection at this age-REAL Craftsman tools w/ lifetime warranty
There's another party idea- if you have a handyman in the family, have each boy make a wooden project as their party activity and party favor. You can get simple kits from a craft store, hardware store, or the scout store (even if you're not a scout).

My son just turned 9. We did very low key this year. The theme was Ben10 cuz that's what I found at Walmart. Did minimal decorations: birthday banner, Ben10 balloon bouquet (5 balloons), masks instead of party hats. We invited 3 friends over and did pizza and cake at our house. Then I sent cupcakes to his daycare provider for afternoon snack.

For gifts he got:
- Diary of a Wimpy kid poster (he already has all the books and loved them)
- New soccer ball
- New bakugan toys
- New Hardy Boys book (comic book edition)

There are a few kid friendly movies coming out. You could have him invite 2 - 3 friends to the movies, or putt-putt golf. Make and afternoon of it: movie/ pizza/home.

Good luck
M.

My son just had his 8th birthday, and we invited his three best friends over for a sleepover. We had pizza and a homemade lego cake (bettycrocker.com); the boys played on the Wii and watched a Star Wars movie. I also let my son pick what we would have for breakfast the next morning (he chose french toast). It was a fun night and a nice party, despite the fact that the four boys kept my two younger girls up until midnight!

I have the same problem with my son asking for DS and Wii games, but we got him a scooter, a Star Wars Heroes/Villains book, and the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie and sing-along.

As a Mommy of 3 kids ages-4, 6, and 8 it is very hard to have an "over the top" party every year. This past year we explained to my 8 year old that she would be allowed to pick ANY place of her choice to eat and would be allowed to invite no more than 2 friends to join us. Then she would receive a $100 gift card at the store of her choice to purchase what she wanted.
She chose the Rain Forest Cafe on the Riverwalk, only invited one friend and we had an amazing time there. We were able to take her a small cake, sing her happy birthday and it was just great. She chose her gift card from Target, and even took a small calculator and spent her $100 in things she wanted. After the weekend of Birthday Events, she stated that this was definitely more fun than a party:) As kids get older, I think we stress about the whole birthday thing more than them. It is a day in which to remind them of how special they are, and what a blessing they are to us and of course to have a great time. Hope this helps.

Lazer tag. bowling, etc are great activities. My son is into Legos big time. Dominos are good and so are board games. If you have the yard and the space, I'm sure he'd love a trampoline. My son is 11 and last year we started getting him some scientific toys. He couldn't wait to build his catapult.
http://scientificsonline.com
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/science/bbe8