The Big 1-0 (update post #29)

[Deleted]

You do so much fun stuff all the time!   Will it be just with the family? Or friends? How much were you hoping to spend?

[geenamercile]

Congrats,  56% of the way to 18.  No idea what to do however.    

[Deleted]

Well then, it should probably be geared ecifically to him.. How about giving him the choices for the day... Where to go, eat, etc... Maybe even a choice overnight somewhere if you can swing it...

[milee]

Messy Olympics.

We did that for one of my son's birthdays and it was awesome! Inexpensive, too. Here are some of what we did, but be creative and do whatever:

Came up with several messy events - like having to run an obstacle course while wearing rubber boots filled with spaghetti and sauce. "Bobbing" for lifesavers in a pie pan filled with powdered sugar.  Team up and one partner lays on the ground with his/her mouth open directing the other partner (who is blindfolded) how to guide a piece of donut on a long string (soaked in chocolate syrup and dripping) into the person on the ground's mouth...

Made homemade "medals" that looked like the Olympic rings but had splatters on them.

Had background theme music with cheesy inspirational songs like the Olympic theme and the Rocky song, etc.

Had it at a park with a splash area, so when we were done, we hosed the kids off and they could play in the splash area.  Plus all that mess was outdoors at the park - which we did clean up - instead of at our house.

BTW, not only did the kids love it, but most of the adults joined in as well.  It was seriously one of the most fun kid's parties we ever had. 

[MarleyKeezy78]

Do you have a Skyzone near you? That place is seriously fun! Trampolines everywhere

[grits]

Wrongsideof30, I am glad you are doing something special for him. My brother was born 4 days before my first birthday. The gifts started bad, and went downhill from then on. haha

Actually, my mother would have my party combined with his out of easiness for herself. My birthday grew to mean nothing to me. In fact, by age 12 I stopped celebrating it altogether. She just couldn't understand why.

Make it about him. Let him know he is treasured, super special, and it is his day, and only his day. It will do him good.  

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

A couple of things I've done to mark special birthdays:

1.  Make a slideshow to music of pictures from his life this far.  

2.  Make a video of him talking about his life so far.  Then, invite family and friends to share their favorite memories of him over the ten years.

3.  Make a timeline of his life so far.

4.  We went to a couple of professional sports events (my kids LOVE sports) and had their special birthdays announced on the Jumbotron and took pix of the announcement.

5.  Place an ad in your local paper announcing that he is turning "The Big 1-0".  Use a baby pic and his first name only to maintain some privacy.

6.  Get copies of the front page of a major newspaper for the past 9 years and current year -- it's a neat way to look at how the world has changed in just 10 years.  

Several of these ideas are common for much older folks (i.e., turning 80+), but I personally think they work just as well for younger people.  


Happy 10th Wrongside's DS!!!!!!

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I love the limo/Dave&Buster's idea.  Let D&B know ahead of time that it's DS's birthday.  IIRC from a friend's party, they will reserve a special table for you and make a big deal out of it.  

[grits]

www.BedBugRegistry.com can help you out with heads up on bed bugs. I use it every single time I stay in a hotel.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

Is there some place he has always wanted to visit (within reason, of course, he is only 10, LOL).

What about a weekend in NYC or D.C. or L.A. or Montreal or some other such place?

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

I'm on a roll,  :

Open a Sharebuilder account and let him start investing in the stock market.

Change family routines up a bit: for example, if you have set bed times for your kids, bump his up but make sure younger kids adhere to their's.

[GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl]

ODS will turn 18 in 3 weeks.  I'm fully-engaged in the same thought process, LOL.

But, damn, yesterday he was a baby.  How the hell did he reach 18 in one night and where the hell was I while it was happening?  

[grits]

This won't help you with his bday now but how about making plans for the DC trip, and start working on it now. Contact your Congressman. It is a shame that all this terrorist stuff has really cramped our freedoms. Used to be, tours were given on a regular basis.

Is there some really cool museum near where you live? The Houston Museum of Natural Science is an amazing place for kids. There is a section just for them with all kinds of wild experiments, and gadgets.

[MarleyKeezy78]

That stinks you had a bad experience   You could do a camping party for the kids. I plan on that theme for DS next month although no sleepovers yet, he's only turning 5. Are you on Pinterest? I have gotten a bunch of great ideas for parties there

[grits]

Maybe, there is a historic house that does a mystery dinner. We have that around here certain times of the year. What about taking him horseback riding?  Part of the problem is we don't know your weather.

Today would be a great horseback riding day here.  A little chilly but sunny.

[Deleted]

For the actually birthday you could just give him the 'trip planning kit' ... Letting him help plan the cd thing, booking hotel, writing the congressman, Etc for a later date...

[Tennesseer]

I have no suggestions what to do for your son's birthday, nor do I remember what I did on mine, 52 years ago, but I do remember thinking I was now all grown up reaching 'double digits' age.

And don't get me started about finally having 'teen' as part of my verbal and written age.

[drivingaround]

I vote for the limo idea especially if you know it is something your son is into.  I'd never been in a limo until our wedding and other than seeing DW at the alter I was most excited about the limo!  We paid for the limo to just drive us around for an extra hour because it was fun to see people's reactions.  DW loves Dairy Queen so we took the limo through DQ drive-thru for Blizzards!  Some limos allow you to bring your own snacks and beverages so you could do fun, special kid drinks in the limo since they usually have the whole bar set-up.  You know, like a whiskey sour but without whiskey.  Or cream soda bottles that look like beer.

Also, if your son is into cars you can rent a muscle car like a Dodge Charger or even a Hummer limo.

[cronewitch]

My brother gave his daughter a day at an amusement park without adults. They paid for her and three friends to spend the day. They were treated like responsible people not babies. Rules like they had to stay together but no adult supervision. I think that is perfect to celebrate the end of babyhood. We were 12-13-14 when allowed to go the the World's fair without adults, took the bus.

It would be hard to see your baby boy as a responsible child able to handle a day without adults but he would be so proud if you haven't done it before.

[thyme4change]

I was also going to say amusement park.  We have a super-lame one here is town and when both of my kids got straight A's, that was what they wanted to do.  We ended up having a lot of fun.