Indoor 11th Birthday Party Ideas

My son turns 11 in January, and we're searching for indoor birthday party ideas. In the past couple of years we've done small-scale sleepovers, so we feel he's overdue for a big, fun party. He really enjoyed playing laser tag down at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Does anyone know of a laser tag facility within 45-minutes' drive of Berkeley? Any other ideas for a fun party place that can handle pre-teen boy energy (other than the over-used Albany Bowl)? Maria

another idea -- take amtrak down to san jose, and visit the tech museum of innovation. the kids love the train ride, especially once they find the snack bar! it is fine for them to wander around, and there are seats with tables so they can play games etc. on the way. and the tech museum has lots of very cool things to offer. it's maybe a 1/2 mile walk from the train station. the whole trip makes for a long and satisfying day.

or, berkeley iceland is a good place for energetic kids, even if they don't yet know how to skate -- most can get the gist of it pretty quickly! and most kids who have skated before also fall. add some hot chocolate from the vending machine, and a good time had by all.

but albany bowl is also wonderful, especially if you get adults involved -- the kids can look pretty good next to some of us, you know?

kathy

Recipe for 11-year-old's Birthday Party

6 boys (aged 11-13 years)

Food:

• 4 sixpacks of sodas
• 2 quarts orange juice
• 2 gallons milk
• 1 cup coffee (this kid was weird)
• 1 package pretzels
• 2 packages chips
• 1 dozen apples
• 4 peaches
• 1 large bag of carrots
• 1 med size jar peanut butter
• 2 large pizzas
• 1 large birthday cake
• 1 dozen fudgesicles
• 2 dozen pancakes
• 4 frozen waffles
• 1 dozen bagels
• 1 large pot of leftover spaghetti
• any other leftovers on hand

Entertainment:

• 3 packages of water balloons
• 8 squirt guns (preferably supersoaker variety - have kids bring them)
• 2 garden hoses with faucet connections
• 8 towels
• 1 gory movie (rent)
• 2 Japanese animation videos (rent)
• computer and games - at least one
• video game system and games (borrow)
• birthday presents (kids will bring)

Party will run itself! Just do the following:

• Leave food out where they can find it.
• Make sure outdoor entertainment doesn't come inside, and vice versa
• Place food, entertainment, and sleeping bags as far away as possible from where you plan to sleep.
• Next morning, withhold all food and entertainment for 30 minutes before departure time (for clean-up).

More Suggestions

Re: Birthday parties for 11 year old: one thing you didn't mention is a pool party. I think you can arrange for one at the Berkeley YMCA for about $75. If the weather is nice on the weekend you want to have the party (and you are right that you can't count on this), a kite flying party at the Berkeley Marina is a very cheap option. It might be possible to have a pool party at the Albany pool; you'd have to contact them about this.

I've noticed before that there is a real dearth of parks with covered areas around here. I guess they are more common in areas with hotter summers. You might try calling Live Oak park and see if you can reserve one of their rooms for a party.

Good luck,
Diana

Last year for my daughter's 11th birthday we held an overnight, with the main attraction being a trip to the 10 pm Laserium show in SF (the particular one was LaserRage, but I don't think they show that any more). We provided the usual cake, ice cream etc (and had a contest to see who could eat their cake most neatly with NO HANDS), as well as breakfast for the kids. We asked the parents to pay for the show itself ($5 each for the kids; $7 for any adults who wanted to go). The kids agreed that this was one of the best birthday parties they'd ever been to.

Editor Note: Laserium closed in the early 2000's. See this page