Boy’s Twelfth Birthday Party Ideas

Twelve.  Did I really just say twelve??  But I was just rocking my first little baby boy to sleep last night.  And just last week I had to keep removing his tiny fisted fingers from the dirt of my planter.  Little bugger.  And clean the dirt out of his mouth.  And it seems like only a month ago he went off on first day of kindergarten.  Sigh.  Twelve… Look how he’s grown!

What does a mom do to make a boy’s twelfth birthday special?  Especially when it comes in the middle of the week?

For starters, you can make the morning special. 

• Have a special breakfast.  Make Donuts, Danish, French toast, or whatever he likes. 
• Set a card on his placemat. 
• Tuck a note in his sock drawer (provided he ever wears clean socks in the morning…Lol! 
• Give him a hug first thing.  (Or twelve of them throughout the morning.)

Pack some special treats for his lunch.  Something he loves… 

• I picked up a box of the pizza Lunchables to send along with his lunch.  We don’t normally splurge on these little things.  But I figured he would have fun hamming it up at lunch with his friends. 
• BIG fudge rounds. 
• Honey Buns. 
• Brownies with sprinkles. 
• Chocolate pudding. 
• A Reece’s Whips bar. 
• Twelve Hershey’s Kisses.

Tell his friends that it’s his birthday.  He may be getting older, but he still likes a little fuss. 

Do some decorating while he is at school.  I used a bunch of colored electrical tape to create a fun place to come home to for my middle son in May.  You can check out those ideas here.

Go pick up some balloons and be waiting at the bus stop with a big bouquet.  I might do that if I have time.

Cook his favorite meal for dinner.  We’re having tacos tonight.  And chocolate milk.  :)

Make or buy a special cake.  Don’t be boxed into the traditional cake, though.  If your child prefers ice cream, make sundaes and plant a candle in the top.  If he likes Key Lime Pie, I recommend Edward’s brand.  There is nothing like it on earth!  But don’t be afraid to be creative.  We’re having red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. His choice.  YUM!!

Make the evening fun.  You could…

• Go out to eat. 
• Go out for ice cream. 
• Watch a movie. 
• Have a family board game night. 
• Make popcorn.
• Go for a family bike ride. 
• Have a soccer scrimmage in the yard, kids vs. parents. 
• Play around the world in basket ball. 
• Spend time looking through his baby pictures and family albums.

The important thing is to slow down the normal schedule, and spend time focusing on him and all the ways he is growing up.

Make gift time special.  Our son got a bike as his early birthday present.  So I only have a few remaining small things to give him tonight.  Most of them accessories for his bike.  But I plan to wrap them in comics, stash them around the yard, and make a treasure hunt out of it.  I’ll make up clues to put on index cards.  (Don’t forget to make a master list of the stashes so nothing gets left out there!)  We’ll probably invite the neighborhood gang to join the hunt, and then have cake afterwards.

Another idea if you do a treasure hunt which just came to me…  I’m thinking of calling a few neighbors (who we know well :)) and asking if they would be available to be a stashing place.  It would be fun to have him have to go over and knock on their doors to get his presents.  We’ll see!   

If your extended family lives too far away to come, gather their cards as they come in the mail and save them for his actual birthday. Make calls to the grandparents to give them the opportunity to wish him well.

Go ahead and plan a big party for a non-school night when he can have a sleep over, camp out, late movie night, or whatever he wants.  We’re planning to have some of his friends from school over Friday night. 

And finally.  Don’t forget to hug him and let him know how glad you are that God entrusted him to you.  I know, at least at our house, that doesn’t get said nearly enough.  

Now I must hurry to get the gifts wrapped and hidden for the hunt!

If you have some more ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.  I’m always trying to think of new ways to make birthdays special!