As a parent, you want to always celebrate your children like the sweet babies they are to you. When they get older though, kids don’t want to be treated like kids anymore. That includes birthday parties. So you might start to wonder how to throw older kids’ birthday parties. When your kids become young adults they definitely aren’t looking for a circus-themed birthday party complete with a clown (or maybe they are!) No matter the situation, you can’t not celebrate your kid’s birthday! If you’re having thoughts about not being sure how to celebrate your kid’s birthday once they are no longer your little one, check out these ideas for a great celebration that your older kids will enjoy.
Celebrating Birthdays with Older Kids
When your kids start to reach their preteen and teenage years, it starts to get hard to decide whether or not you should celebrate their birthday, at least in the traditional sense. When kids are little most people don’t hesitate to throw a birthday party complete with a cute theme, decorations, a great big cake, and all their friends. As they get older though, throwing kids’ birthday parties like that doesn’t seem like the thing to do because it’s too “little kid” for your cool tween or teenager.
Throwing a traditional party isn’t the only way to celebrate your kid’s birthday though. You certainly can’t let a birthday go by without some sort of celebration, especially when it comes to your kids. A small celebration or a low-key celebration is still a celebration. There are all kinds of ways you can plan for older kids’ birthday celebrations – from simple and low-key to more extravagant – no matter their age.
READ MORE: 15 GENDER NEUTRAL KIDS PARTY THEMES TO INSPIRE YOUR NEXT BIRTHDAY PARTY
5 Older Kids Birthday Ideas
The quintessential older kid’s birthday party is a sleepover. There is nothing wrong with a sleepover. But if you want to mix it up, there are some other cool ideas that even the coolest older kid will be interested in.
A Night on the Town
If your older kid is into theater, consider a night at the theater to celebrate an older kid’s birthday. Check out plays that are coming to the theaters in your area. Better larger theaters that have touring shows to smaller local theaters, there are so many good options for a fun night out to celebrate. If there isn’t much live theater near you, think about making an overnight trip to the closest big city that has a theater and do it up big.
If watching a play is not something that your tween, teen, or young adult child would enjoy, consider another live performance like a comedy or improv show or a musical performance of some kind if that would be something they would enjoy.
Get dressed up, go out for dinner at the guest of honor’s favorite restaurant, and then end the night watching an awesome live performance. Maybe even let your tween or teen bring a friend or two to share the celebration with them. This birthday idea is great for a kid who is any age – tween to young adult.
Spa Day
How about some pampering for your kid’s birthday? Go to a local nail salon or spa and get manicures, pedicures, or facials. Or maybe treat yourselves to all three. Now that is a celebration! Pair it with a nice lunch or even a fancy tea room or something else special if you’d like. This is an activity that you can do with just you and your awesome kid, or you can let them bring a few friends because the more the merrier!
READ MORE: HOW TO CREATE A UNIQUE SPA DAY AT HOME
Seeing (Movie) Stars
If live theater doesn’t sound like the right fit for your older kid’s birthday celebration, maybe an afternoon or night at the movies is a better fit. Let them bring a few of their friends and go to one of those fancy movie theaters with reclining chairs where you can order drinks, popcorn, and even chicken wings right from your seat. (The bonus is that you can usually order a beer or glass of wine for yourself at these movie bistro-style places.) This is the perfect kid’s birthday celebration for middle and high school kids who love movies.
If you have a kid who enjoys movies but maybe doesn’t enjoy movie theaters for one reason or another, do a movie night at home. Consider projecting your movie of choice on the wall if you can (but your living room tv works just as well too). Load up on movie theater-style candy, pop lots of popcorn, pour out some extra large sodas, and enjoy the movies right at home.
Game Time
Depending on the time of year, celebrate your kid’s birthday at a sporting event. Go to a local game if you can or think about going all out and traveling somewhere else to enjoy a baseball, basketball, football, soccer, or hockey game. You could go to a stadium they have always wanted to visit or go watch their favorite team at their home stadium, which is especially awesome if you don’t often get to or have never had the chance to visit.
Some stadiums do stadium tours where you get to visit parts of the stadium most people don’t get to see and hear all about the cool history of the place and the team. It is a must if you have a big sports fan on your hands. Honestly, this is an awesome experience for adult sports fans so even the coolest teen would love this.
READ MORE: 4 CREATIVE WAYS TO THROW A GALAXY PARTY SO YOUR KIDS HAVE A BLAST
Fancy Dinner
If you have a foodie on your hands, celebrate your kid’s birthday with a fancy dinner. We’re not talking about any old “fancy” restaurant. Think super fancy. Try somewhere you have never been. Maybe like a once-in-a-lifetime type of situation. Go to a celebrity chef’s restaurant or consider a Michelin star or somewhere on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Yes Day
The concept gained popularity after the movie of the same title came out in 2021, so you have likely heard of the idea of a Yes Day. It is simple. A Yes Day as your kid’s birthday celebration is when you say “yes” to everything your kid wants to do during that day. You can put a few caveats in place – activities have to be completed on that day so no flying to Italy or getting a dog. You can set a budget. They can’t choose anything dangerous or illegal. From there, you do everything they want all day long for their birthday.
This is a great idea for tweens’ and teenage kids’ birthdays because they can decide what happens for their celebration. You might end up being surprised at some of the things they choose to do.
With all of these great older kids birthday ideas, add in a cake that your kid will love and sprinkle in some birthday presents for the perfect birthday celebration. Just because you aren’t decorating the house with pirate or princess decorations doesn’t mean your kid’s birthday can’t be just as special. As they get older you actually have the opportunity to do some really cool things with your kids for their birthday. The celebrations change and that might feel a little bittersweet but that’s okay. That’s what happens when the kids grow up.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out 6 Things That Will Make Life Easier When Parenting Teens for more advice, tips, and tricks.
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