11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi all,

DD's 12th birthday is coming up in July, and we are stumped as to what to do for it. We are having a "sharing" party (2 other pupils in her class share her birthday) so more expensive ideas welcome.

We were thinking about Chessington or a Water Park, but not sure about the practicality.

Thanks in advance,
LQ

DD had lots of different themed birthdays along the way in primary, including hiring a swimming pool, a bouncy castle, a disco etc. Her last one, and the one most enjoyed by all, was paintballing. I searched high and low for a company 'up north' who did low impact paintballing for ages 8 and upwards, which differs from other paintballing in as much as it doesn't hurt anywhere near as much.

The kids had a great day out and they all wanted to have the same for their birthday!

I am the world's grumpiest person when it comes to parties - hate them, whether they are my own kids'; other people's; or even (or especially) grown up ones. In fact, one of my first thoughts on discovering I was expecting DC3 was 'oh no, more parties'. So my one recommendation is a very considered one: a climbing party at a climbing centre. Very much enjoyed by all the participants, and we could take our own party food too so there was none of the greasefest which normally accompanies these occasions. Happily, my kids have inherited my dislike of parties so nowadays we tend to favour the special friend out for a treat approach.

snowdrops, can you let me know where that was?..... just planning a party now!

How about camping?!!! they love it , parents not so keen
Mine loved Laser Quest, or if like my pony mad DD, local riding stables often cater for groups, you can take your own food or head for a pizza after.
My DD's 11 in July, she wants her party at the local organic pig farm! They get to hug a piggy or two, build dens in the woods, and have sausages for tea! Luckily none of her friends are vegetarian

The latest craze is my DD's school are Limousine parties and yes she is only 10. They fit 8 people apparently so they do all the dressing up and make up first then go for a joy ride for an hour or so and then go to some restaurant like pizza express. I dont know the last time I heard of a leisure centre party or those bouncy castle one Another things thats going are glitz parties, they hire a hall, get this make up woman and they get all made up with fake tatoos and all.

I get a bit paranoid about taking other people's kids out and I wouldnt even dare think of taking them to Chessington, camping or somewhere I have to drive them and look after them for a few hours. I could do with one or two but thats just my phobia about things going wrong

Are you any where near a Lush shop?

DD went to a Lush party where they could all try the Lush products. They were given a demonstration of using cleansers and got to try them on each other. It cost the host's parents a certain sum each but then the girls were given a voucher to that value which they could spend in the shop on whatever they liked. And it all smelt wonderful!

We took a group for my son's 11th birthday to Chessington last year, we preferred it to Thorpe Park, although some of the year 6s can be a little small for the big rides. It was a really good day out, we managed to go on a cool cloudy day so the queues were low, and they got on loads of rides. The animals are there too, so it's not just rides
I believe they do organised parties there, but I would imagine they would work out to be very expensive. I used Tesco vouchers for our tickets, so what everyone else thought was a really expensive party turned out to be free, as I hoard those things and forget to use them We also managed to find in there an all you can eat buffet thing which was quite reasonably priced Yes it was a greasefest (pizza, I think), but that's ok once in a while. I also detest parties, and am grateful to have kind of come to the end although we did have a 16th birthday party at home last year, and that was quite a different kettle of fish, I have to say

You can use loyalty vouchers from a certain large supermarket to buy cinema tickets, theme park outings etc. I've done this on several occasions for birthday parties, always goes down well and doesn't break the bank especially if you take your own sweets (I refuse point blank to pay the overinflated prices charged by cinemas ). As for food, if the numbers aren't too big you can take a picnic to a theme park and we've always come back here for pizzas after cinema trips. On the subject of pizzas, I find the kids love to make their own - just buy the bases and provide them with a selection of toppings. And it wasn't nearly as messy as I was expecting

Haha LFH - just seen your post....looks as though we are on the same wavelength!

Marylou wrote: Haha LFH - just seen your post....looks as though we are on the same wavelength!

Cheapskates , the pair of us

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