Birthday Parties Ideas for twins

[Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 12:36
Last edited 30/06/2019 - 12:38

Hello :)

We're a bit stuck for birthday ideas and was hoping someone could help. We have soon-to-be 12 year old twins ( a boy and a girl) and this is the first time they've requested separate parties. This is more due to peer pressure where it is seen as "not cool" to hang out with your sibling than them not getting along.

We also have a 3rd child who would like to attend both parties as he is the self-appointed candle-blower in the family. He will attend the parties in his spider-man costume which he has already insisted that I wash and iron for the big day!

Birthday-boy's interests are:

  • soccer
  • music ( he plays the guitar, piano, flute and harmonica)
  • japanese culture and food
  • building things with his dad.
  • baking ( although he won't admit this to his friends. I get all the credit for the yummy things he's baked over the years.)

Of note, he's "allergic" to peas, especially of the minty variety and doesn't have a sweet tooth. He prefers cheese to chocolate.

Birthday-Girl's interests are:

  • AFL ( the sport, which she plays, more than any allegiance to any actual team)
  • dance ( gifted ballet dancer according to her dance teacher but she personally prefers hip-hop)
  • cooking ( and is into veganism )
  • pretty dresses and getting her hair done when she's in the mood . Otherwise will live in her brother's clothes.
  • she loves bike rides with her dad.
  • Favourite food is anything with paneer and minty peas in it.

Of note, she will gag if offered raw fish. She also doesn't get along with one of her brother's close mate, who told her that she was "too pretty to play footy". Perhaps a misjudged compliment of sorts but she ( and her friends!) took offence to it and don't want him anywhere near her party.

They are each allowed to invite 10 of their friends. No budget: just want everyone to have a good time (including JJB and I , if possible).

Our family tradition is that the birthday-person gets served pancakes in bed for breakie and everyone has to be extra nice to them on the day.

Any (good) ideas would be welcomed :)

Thank you.

Toys & Kids

Comments

  • qwerty on 30/06/2019 - 13:00
    +2

    I would find a venue that can run 2 parties back to back or at the same time - saving you a logistics headache

    Something like bowling would be perfect - gender neutral , food is provided , perfect for the age and now they have laser tag added at some venues and you probably could haggle some sort of discount for the amount of people attending

  • 87percent on 30/06/2019 - 14:07
    +2

    Give peas a chance

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 15:44

      All of the boys at my place are "allergic" to peas, including the dog. According to them, when they swallow it, their throat constricts and they feel like they're choking. The dog will delicately fish out all the peas in his dinner and leave them around the bowl then chomp down on whatever's left.

      • 87percent on 30/06/2019 - 17:26
        +2

        It's from the Simpsons..

        • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 17:32
          +1

          Ah! of course. The peas/peace pun?

  • outlander on 30/06/2019 - 14:09
    +2

    Ah, Wiki, you're back! These appearances of yours are starting to become a trend. If things keep going this way, you might have to brush the dust off your old account and jack yourself back in to the matrix ^_^

    Onto the question at hand.. I don't know if things are the same anymore, but back in my day sleep overs were the thing to do. That's what I did, what James Monroe did, and each time he had a blast.

    12 is a special age, right between childhood and teen years, which the media always makes out to be a very scary and in-your-face transition period. I think for most kids, they feel too old to do the 'baby' stuff like a day full of pass the parcel and lollybags, but anything too adult scares them (even if they won't admit it). A sleepover is good because it gives them the freedom they want, but there's also the familiar structure. Knowing there's parents there in case something goes wrong means nothing can ever get too bad.

    Everyone arrives, entertains themselves with video games or whatever kids do, have pizza or something for dinner, watch a movie, go to sleep, 2 hours later actually fall asleep, wake up, have breakfast and then the parents pick the kids up. It's a longer job for you than a bowling party, but it's more personal and leaves more of a 'breakfast club' style impression on the kids that they can talk about when they go back to school.

    ..And then in the middle of that you can throw in a little of the baby stuff, which you know they still like but are too cool to admit. Your kids can roll their eyes and say 'I TOLD her not to but she just won't listen' while everyone gets excited and has a good time. Plausible deniability - a gift in itself.

    more due to peer pressure where it is seen as "not cool" to hang out with your sibling than them not getting along.

    Could be due to them not getting their own presents. People are cheap, and one present shared between two people strangely does not equal twice the fun.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 15:12

      Ah, Wiki, you're back!

      Only filling in for JJB, who is indisposed with the 'flu' ( read: playing the long game to get out of organising the double-trouble parties!) :)

      A sleepover is a great idea but the thought of hosting 20 pre-teens overnight at my place, is making me break into cold sweats.Perhaps if we could spread it over 2 nights with a pre-party sleepover for my daughter's friends where we could have a mini-spa and nails session to get them looking on point for the party, and a post-party sleepover for my son's mates, where they could watch superhero movies or play minecraft…That could work đŸ€”

      Our backyard is too small to let 20 kids , the twins and a toddler loose in . So the real question is , am I game to take 10 girls + my own kids by public transport to ZONE bowling and return with 10 boys+ my own kids by the same means?

      • wizzy on 30/06/2019 - 16:03
        +1

        We do sleep overs for our kids once they reach that age. They are only allowed to invite 2-3 friends. Kids arrive in the afternoon, and we buy a sponge cake plus pre-made icing and stuff to decorate and they all decorate their own birthday cake (they always love this). We order pizza for dinner and they eat the cake for dessert. They all sleep together on blow up mattresses on the floor from k-mart in kid's room, and they stay up all night talking. Parents pick them up first thing in the morning. Kid has to clean their own room.

        It is usually pretty stress free and easy, but I would definitely not do it on a school night because kid will be very tired next day.

        • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 16:05

          Thank you :)

      • outlander on 30/06/2019 - 17:22
        +1

        The flu huh? Poor guy. Probably picked that up from helping feed a homeless crippled man while running late to work.
        What a saint of a man

        Re:cold sweats
        Yep, they are the thing of adult nightmares. Not to worry though, a few drinks can fix that ;)

        The way I would do it is to have one birthday party on the first weekend, and have the other one on the next. Having them back to back will be a little bit of a strain. As to yards.. yes you do need something with some space, as they will need some room to spazz out. Do you have any parks close by? You could take everyone down there with torches, and play flash tiggy (my favorite game as a kid)

        Alternatively you could rent a scout hall, I don't think they cost that much. Then there'd be plenty of space to stretch out, and even enough to play a game of indoor soccer or something. Paired with a projector and a laptop for movies and games, and you have pretty much everything you need. For the boys at least. For the girls, I'm lost

        • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 20:27

          Probably picked that up from helping feed a homeless crippled man while running late to work.

          I'm not getting the reference… As far as I know, he only feeds the homeless on mchappy days as he's personally more of a kfc-kinda guy.

          As for the flu, which is more likely a cold than anything else, he caught it either while playing Sherlock in the pouring rain , trying to catch the sex fiend in the tent in flagrante delicto, or more mundanely , after one of my toddler's friends sneezed on him at daycare.

          Whichever way he caught those pesky germs, there's no need to worry about him. He's everyone's favourite , after me obvs â˜ș, and has been spoiled rotten today. Our daughter made him his favourite chicken soup, our eldest made a caramel flan , the toddler read him a bedtime story and I waited on him hand on foot .He'll survive :)

          Regarding the topic at hand, I don't know if I could live through 2 weekends of kid's parties in a rowđŸ˜« If throwing kids parties is anything like childbirths, the apprehension and the waiting is worse than the actual event.The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. So much worse.Nope, the 2 parties have to be in the same weekend!

          Also, the look on JJB's face when he realises that he'll have to help me tackle 23 kids + their parents on the day…priceless! Annoying my darling husband relaxes me faster than any glass of wine ever could😋 It's the slight glimpse of panic in his eyes and the way his chin wobbles ever so slightly - it's the cutest thing. Of course, I'm sure the kids will have a blast too.They always do .

          p.s: I've taken note of all your suggestions. Thank you :)

        • [Deactivated] on 01/07/2019 - 09:09
          +2

          The scoutmaster is a friend and he's happy to let us use their hall and grounds for the party.

          Thanks for the suggestion. I wouldn't have thought of it :)

          • outlander on 02/07/2019 - 10:47
            +2

            @[Deactivated]: Thats perfect! I actually had that in my head when I suggested it (my mum was a scout leader for a while so we got to use the Victory park hall when we needed). Its going to be give your kids some major street cred. They'll be the talk of the town when school gets back.

            2 parties on the same weekend… I guess you're more of a 'go hard or go home' type of gal. I guess its a good thing you can't choose how many kids you can have at once, otherwise those twins might have been triplets :P

            I think it will be fun. So many things you can do. So many possibilities.. You could even have make a fake camp fire inside, and have everyone sit around it and tell spooky ghost stories. JJB can wait outside a window and make oooh wohooo ghost sounds at the right point in the story.

            Be sure to get lots of pictures. You can bring them out at the 21st

            I'm not getting the reference

            Its kind of a running joke that JJB tries overly hard to do nice things, and then ends up getting punished for it. But he keeps trying because he's a stubbornly good person.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 15:47

      Could be due to them not getting their own presents. People are cheap, and one present shared between two people strangely does not equal twice the fun.

      True!

  • spackbace on 30/06/2019 - 14:56
    +2

    What did they say they wanted? Surely at 12yo it's their choice, not random internet forum peoples choice?

    I ask my toddlers what theme they want, and they tell me, and we go with that

    1 party on Saturday, 1 on Sunday, they pick the places and themes

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 15:33

      They're not really fussed about the theme so long as this year they get, and I'm quoting them, " treated as the individuals that we are. We don't want to hang out with each other's friends like we do every year." and "I'm my own person and I've my own friends. No one else in this house spend their special day with strangers or people they don't like. Why should I?" Which is fair enough.

      As for ,

      Surely at 12yo it's their choice, not random internet forum peoples choice

      They are conscious of the costs of organising 2 parties versus a joint one, which is why they wanted to have an ozb account and created a post to ask if they could.

      I doubt there'll be that much of a difference in cost . It's more a matter of the complexity of organising ( and supervising!) 2 parties. JJB and I have been slacked over the years and were happy that we could get away with just one. It would never have been the case if we had known how bothered they were about not being treated as "individuals."

    • ronnknee on 30/06/2019 - 21:34
      +1

      I heard they wanted an OzBargain account.

      • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 21:40

        Yes did but they don't anymore. They've already moved on.

        • Zachary on 01/07/2019 - 15:36

          well that was quick….

  • Fier2 on 30/06/2019 - 15:04
    +1

    Pick 2 different days then the little can attend both. At 12 they know what they want so wwhy not ask them to plan it themselves ?! My 4 years old had Lot of fun picking the cake and the venue and preparing gift bag for each friends that was invited. So might be great for your kids to have their say . And the little one can even help. While one the twin might be happy to bake his own cake . I m sure you will have a lot of fun with them !

  • elgrande on 30/06/2019 - 16:41
    +1

    Good thing you provided such detail as I was going to suggest a pea and raw fish party! Oh well.. back to the drawing board.

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 16:54

      You'd be surprised :) For our housewarming party, we had a friend who brought a shushi platter and another one, who brought homemade matar (?) paneer with peas in it. My daughter was so disgusted by the sight of the raw tuna that she wouldn't go anywhere near the table where the food was set out.

  • djones145 on 30/06/2019 - 22:15
    +2

    like the Mexicans say, why not have both
    football party
    covers arl and soccer lolz

    • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 22:21

      We had bubble football last year.

  • [Deactivated] on 30/06/2019 - 23:26
    +2

    I'm still figuring out what to do for my daughter's 13th birthday later this year.

    How about a trampoline or large scale adventure play centre for the boys and a pamper party for the girls. Or perhaps two parties at the one play centre. Maybe indoor rock climbing. Do they have to be the same day or can one be on a Saturday and the other on a Sunday? The activity centre might give you a bulk discount if you run 2 parties in 2 days. I don't know what centres you have in your part of Melbourne but look up "Bounce" and similar style centres. Hard Rock is a rock climbing place in Nunawading but there is also one in the city. A place called Latitude in Heidelberg has Rock Climbing and Trampoline activities but I don't know if any other company runs these types of centres.

    • OZB Al on 01/07/2019 - 08:17
      +1

      We've had three kids parties at Hard Rock Nunawading, boy 7, girl 9 and boy 11, all very successful.

    • [Deactivated] on 01/07/2019 - 09:05

      Hi Pointscrazy :) I've discussed it with the twins and they're thrilled at the idea of a sleepover so long as its on different nights. If I can make that happen , then they're happy to have a shared birthday party. All of your suggestions sounds really good but we might have left it a bit too late to book :( We were originally planning to go away for their birthdays.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/07/2019 - 10:07
    +1

    Movie night/sleepover. If your setting up a space maybe try one of the Friday night and the other on the Saturday, it would definitely make catering for it more simple - just make the similar food (DIY sushi/sushi bowls, top your own pizza, icecream with mix in’s etc).

    Although it’s not ‘cool’ I’m a high school teacher, as each child to plan one or two activities to keep everyone occupied - soccer game, baking, dance off etc and prep that so it’s easy if they get bored. Definitely recommend making a list everyone’s parents phone number (in case they don’t pick up on time) and any medical issues just in case.

    Don’t expect them to sleep either.

  • [Deactivated] on 09/07/2019 - 22:48
    +2

    Thank you for all your suggestionsâ˜ș The party and sleepovers were a success! The kids ( and their 21 friends!) had a blast. So did my wife and I. So much so, that I'm wondering if we shouldn't add to our brood. I mean, we still have all the baby stuff that my toddler no longer uses…

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