11 Birthday Ideas For Your 13 Year Old (Going on 30)

Make a sleepover party feel a little more exciting by taking the pre-teens to a hotel. Make sure it has a pool! You will need to keep the party small in order to avoid any noise complaints, and definitely get adjoining rooms to accommodate everyone.

If there's an amusement park nearby, invite everyone to the park for the day. They're old enough now to wander around without you, but there's no problem if you want to hang out and claim some tables for lunchtime.

You have at least two fun options here, aside from turning on Netflix and slowly walking out of your TV room.

Round up the kids and take them out to the movies; be sure to buy popcorn for the bunch. Follow up with a trip to an ice cream parlor or your favourite pizza joint.
If your backyard can handle it, string up a white sheet for a movie screen and rent a projector to show your tween or teen's favourite movie. Have your guests bring sleeping bags so they can get comfy on the grass while watching the film. Provide some homemade popcorn and snacks to keep it festive

If you have access to a pool, have a pool party. The activity is easy — swimming and splashing. Win cool points by adding some festive floats to the mix — like a unicorn or slice of pizza. Hand out unicorn glitter snot sunscreen to keep the sun protection festive. You can always end the party with a barbecue or pizza feast.

Teen girls dig spa parties. It makes them feel so adult and pampered — hello, sheet masks and pedicures. Step it up a notch and provide cucumber slices for their eyes while they lounge about. You can hand out slippers or nail polishes as party favours. Why not dedicate some time to a DIY and make a sugar scrub or bath bombs?

Have friends roll out the dough and finish off each pizza with an assortment of toppings before popping their creations in the oven.

There's something special about catching a game with the whole brood in tow. And no one says it has to be super expensive! To cut costs, try heading to your local college or minor league stadium since the tickets are usually much more affordable.

Bring back the scavenger hunt you did for your kids when they were younger, but blow it out and make the boundaries bigger — this is great for teens used to getting themselves places on their own. Divide the guests into teams and start the party with the teams decorating tee shirts — make sure to have a robust supply of fabric markers and sharpies. Hand out lists of clues, have the kids use their smartphones to snap the items on the list, and meet up after an hour or so. Don't limit the clues to simply finding places or historical markers; include some silly acts that teenagers secretly love to do like singing a hit song from their early years or doing cartwheels in the park. This is great for a coed party too.