I'm trying to decide what to do for my 6 year old's birthday. He does struggle a little with social anxiety - so for multiple reasons I don't want to do something big. We've actually always done family parties...and he's loved it. Just having it be 'his day'...is his favorite part. He also just had his tonsils out...his birthday is in 2 weeks...I'm assuming he'll be fairly recovered by then...but I have heard mixed stories. I know that if I had a well thought out family party with all his uncles and aunts here...he'd love it...and they're all pretty good sports about playing 'kiddie' games, etc. Or we could have a couple kids over - that would work too. I'd really like to have fun with the theme. I don't have a ton of money to spend on it...but I never have and that's never stopped us from being creative and going all out that way :). He likes typical boy stuff...we don't do much TV...so he's not really into any 'characters'. He likes helicopters...for Christmas he wanted a wallet and some hot wheels. He's really not hard to please. Any suggestions?
Why not burgers & dogs on the grill for the family and invite a few buds over for cake and a piñata & pin the tail on the donkey after dinner?
Who needs a "theme"? It's a birthday party! Get some balloons, stremers, cake & ice cream, chips and pretzels!
Why don't you have the family over and invite two or three friends and their families? Google "Helicopter birthday" and see what pops up -or look at Oriental Trading, Amazon, Birthday Express and Party City. I know they have Hot Wheels plates and stuff as well.
I have a son who will be 6 in March, and he's already mentioned his birthday. We've always had big parties with a combination of family and friends, but as my sons age, I want to pare it down a little -except for the "biggie" years. You may want to check and see what's in your budget, but ask him if he would like to pick a few friends and go ride go-carts or roller skate (or ice skate), go to an arcade or a movie -that sort of thing. Just ask him what he would like to do! My son wants a sleep over with a few friends, so that's what we'll do (and at least that should be very inexpensive!).
My youngest son also prefers parties at home with family and a few friends. One of his favorite parties so far (he's 7 now) was when he turned 5.
We had family and a couple friends over. There were 6 kids altogether. I bought plain, white Hanes t-shirts and fabric paint and let the kids paint their own shirts. My kids love art, so this was perfect for them. I bought the shirts a little big so that they could be sleep shirts, and that way I didn't have to worry about getting the sizes just right. It was really fun seeing what designs they all came up with. There were cousins there (boys and girls), and my boys are 6.5 years apart, so there was a big age range, and everyone had a great time! It was cheap, too.
Whatever you decide, I hope your son has a wonderful birthday! :)
Most young boys are enthralled with dinosaurs. Perhaps that could be your theme. In our area, we have many "Dollar" stores. These places have all kinds of inexpensive birthday supplies (plates, napkins, decorations, invitations, etc) especially in a universal theme like that. The Betty Crocker website ( bettycrocker.com/menus-holidays-parties/birthdays) has a whole section on Bday party ideas featuring, of course, a homemade cake in some theme or another. They provide the complete how-to on cake design and tips to make it easier for amateurs like me! LOL! My grandson and I made his "dino cake" several years in a row. It was very special for him. Maybe you modify the "pin the tail on the donkey" to "pin the arms on the T-Rex". You can make a pinata by wrapping paper mache around an inflated balloon. Takes some advanced planning so your design is fully hardened before the big day, but it can be done. You can purchase the treats to fill the pinata at the Dollar store. Best of luck to you and Happy Birhday to your son!
Okay so since it sounds like he would be anxious w/too much going on, how about inviting the just family over?
You could always include 1 or 2 of his friends if you think he would feel
comfortable.
Serve his fave foods: (hot dogs, chips, cake & ice cream, pizza, candy, burgers etc. Whatever HE likes).
Have a pinata (or not if he would not be into it).
Show a movie he loves?
Themes?: the people from Whoville, pj party, dress up like baseball players, soccer players?
Make the entire day all about him: make his fave breakfast, decorate the kitchen w/streamers & ballons before he wakes up, make up a pretend helicopter cockpit inside a huge cardboard box complete w/guages, seats, etc., get little mini helicopers to decorate the table (Target $1 bins), make the living room a helicopter airport waiting room: chairs, magazines, make a fake coffee dispenser machine from cardboard box etc, get creative, have a pay phone in there, tables w/magazines. Call it "Your (enter your son's name here) airport) w/a big sign that says that, have popcorn in those little plastic white w/red stripes containers (@ Target) etc.
It will be so cute and fun.
Happy birthday to your son.
I know you said he wasn't into a particular character, but my nephew had a super hero party and the boys came dressed as their favorite one. It was really cute and really easy. If he has one he likes to dress up as, it could be a good idea.
We just did a Medieval "knights" theme for my son's 5th bday - he and his cousins *loved* it. He wanted a bow and arrow for his birthday (which we gave him) and set up targets in our garage. I had a large piece of raincoat fabric sitting around, so I cut out archery tunics (rectangle with hole for the head and tie to cinch the waist) for the kids and used the rest for table cloths for the adult and kids tables. We also had a big knight poster (found at a discount party store), knight napkins and a string of flags with knightly crests. Throw in some balloons and gather up a bucket of dress up toys (plastic swords etc) for the kids to run around with and you're set. Oh, and I found a dragon cake design on the Instructables.com website, made by cutting up and icing two round cakes. Good luck with your party!
