Anonymous wrote:You're in luck as we're hosting our DS's 13th this weekend.

No frills, no decorations, nothing. Cake to do a cake flip- because teenage boys. Taking them for pizza, will drop off and pick back up. New Nintendo switch controllers so they can all play smash bros.

Got some cool snacks from Hmart for when they're up all night.

Blow up mattresses and blankets stacked in the basement for when they crash.

Done.

Yes, this was DS's 12th and 13th birthday though ordered pizza at home. 14th will be the same. I don't think we have had balloons at a home birthday for DS since he was in preschool. DD, maybe more like 8.

You're in luck as we're hosting our DS's 13th this weekend.

No frills, no decorations, nothing. Cake to do a cake flip- because teenage boys. Taking them for pizza, will drop off and pick back up. New Nintendo switch controllers so they can all play smash bros.

Got some cool snacks from Hmart for when they're up all night.

Blow up mattresses and blankets stacked in the basement for when they crash.

Done.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On behalf of your son, God, please no.

No favors. No skittles. No balloons. No pictures.

Have you ever actually met a 13 year old boy?

Op here. I feel this is the last time I will be able to do this. He has attended a few parties recently where they had the fancy backdrops (Dastar Bandhi, Bar Mitzvah) and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I totally know that the decorations are for me and not DS. We live in an affluent area where those parties were definitely planned with a party planner. Ours would be a normal party where I just pick up some stuff from party city.

When my kids were younger, I used to have themed parties and play dates for Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc. He always liked these. Sigh. I realize my kid is no longer little.

Please don’t. We live in an affluent area too. Our teens wants the basement Cheeto soda party by that age. We’ve seen the parties decorated like you describe and it’s different if it’s an event like a Bar Mitzvah. No 13 yo boy or girl wants mom planning this. It is not the last time you can do it. That time has passed. Let your son have friends over (if that’s what he wants)and ask him what food to buy. Then you stay away from them. They may want to stare at their phones and laugh while they show each other tik toks and YouTube videos while they eat junk food.

Even my 13 yo daughter wouldn’t want the decorations. It would be cringy or whatever they are saying now.

OP, don't do it. That's way too old for a party like that. Most of the kids I know aren't even having parties. My kid just took a couple of friends to Dave and Busters, and another just took a few bowling. It's very low-key. No balloons, no backdrop, no party favors. Maybe - maybe, a cake. Definitely pizza.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On behalf of your son, God, please no.

No favors. No skittles. No balloons. No pictures.

Have you ever actually met a 13 year old boy?

Op here. I feel this is the last time I will be able to do this. He has attended a few parties recently where they had the fancy backdrops (Dastar Bandhi, Bar Mitzvah) and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I totally know that the decorations are for me and not DS. We live in an affluent area where those parties were definitely planned with a party planner. Ours would be a normal party where I just pick up some stuff from party city.

When my kids were younger, I used to have themed parties and play dates for Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc. He always liked these. Sigh. I realize my kid is no longer little.

OP, my son had a photo booth at his Bar Mitzvah. There were backdrops and costumes and it was an activity they enjoyed throughout the night especially because it gave them printed photos right there. He had a separate, much smaller 13th party at our home. A photo backdrop would have been weird and out of place.

If you want a big event, plan a big event. Then you can decorate and have a photobooth and whatever. You could even wait and do it when he is 16 or as a pre-prom party or something. But adding these things to a casual home party for a teen boy is a bit much, especially since you are admitting that they are for you and not something he wants.

Anonymous wrote:At 13, I guess it also depends on your kid.

At 12, my DS still wanted a Nerf party with cupcakes and we did favors (just bags of candy)

At 13, we took him to a bowling place and let him and his 4 buddies order apps and sodas and bowl for a few hours, while we hung back.

So, your DS might not be there yet, and want a more "kiddy" party. But I guess the imporant thing is to ask him what he wants?

He is in between. He absolutely would still want a bag of candy. I’m pretty sure his friends all still like and want candy too.

We had balloons and a themed party last year for his 12th birthday.

At 13, I guess it also depends on your kid.

At 12, my DS still wanted a Nerf party with cupcakes and we did favors (just bags of candy)

At 13, we took him to a bowling place and let him and his 4 buddies order apps and sodas and bowl for a few hours, while we hung back.

So, your DS might not be there yet, and want a more "kiddy" party. But I guess the imporant thing is to ask him what he wants?

Fancy water bottles
Bombas socks
Novelty candy
Popcorn

Yea, no to the balloons. If you want a group photo, you can get a group photo. I had them line up in front of the TV where they would be gaming (the idea that the faster we got the photo that was blocking the big screen done, the faster they could get back to the Switch games).

For "favors" I got several boxes of candy and individual snacks from Sams. Each kid got a brown lunch bag and they could fill it with whatever they wanted. My twins picked out the items that we up for grabs. And contrary to what one poster said, a number of our 12ish aged kids wanted Skittles. But my kids had an idea what their friends and they wanted so they picked accordingly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:On behalf of your son, God, please no.

No favors. No skittles. No balloons. No pictures.

Have you ever actually met a 13 year old boy?

Op here. I feel this is the last time I will be able to do this. He has attended a few parties recently where they had the fancy backdrops (Dastar Bandhi, Bar Mitzvah) and the kids seemed to enjoy it. I totally know that the decorations are for me and not DS. We live in an affluent area where those parties were definitely planned with a party planner. Ours would be a normal party where I just pick up some stuff from party city.

When my kids were younger, I used to have themed parties and play dates for Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc. He always liked these. Sigh. I realize my kid is no longer little.

Those events are not equivalent to a 13 year old boy's birthday party. In NoVa they're outlandish events and very expensive, but the most expensive bday party my 13 year old has been to was at Bowlero.