Son Turning 11 Year Old

I know when I was that age, a special weekend trip was great. It wouldn't have to be someplace far, but a camping trip or a special weekend maybe to the beach, the mountains, Washington DC, or something like that would be memorable.

Hi D.,

I enjoy having themed parties and usually get good ideas from www.birthdaypartyideas.com. Off the top of my head (not knowing your sons interests) I would say, since May should be nice weather maybe you want to have a sports party at a local park. Grill and have him and his friends along with a few dads play sports like soccer, football, baseball etc. Throw in a few relay races and that should make it a blast! Good Luck!

Good Luck

There are a couple of good laser tag places around. Try ShadowLand in Columbia. You can do a "party" or have just a few friends.

You can also have a video game day (my teen stepson has done this and he and his friends love it) where you hook up multiple TVs and game systems so they can play against extra friends.

What is he into? Would a trip to Dave and Busters or another arcade be good? Or ice skating? Or indoor soccer? A pool party?

It can sometimes be a bit tricky to plan a birthday party for boys this age -- but fortunately your son was born in a month that offers plenty of outside party opportunities, effectively doubling the possibilities!
Here are a few ideas for you:

My top recommendation for you, based on convenience and your Glen Allen location, would be a party at THE COMEDY SPORTZ CLUB on Staples Mill Road.
If you haven't been to this club, it's not what you're probably thinking....Forget standard stand-up comedy clubs which would be totally inappropriate for a group of boys this age! This is an interactive show, so the boys would become part of the show, joining comedy teams to compete against each other or other audience members. The owners are really nice, and might even be willing to stage a private party, but early evening shows at this club are family-friendly, without raunchy humor, and would be a fun place for a group of boys.
A party here would offer you the certainty of taking place despite the weather, temperature or other concerns of an outdoor venue, and would likely be something that the boys haven't done a hundred times before. As boys reach the ages of 9, 10 and 11, birthday party possibilities start to narrow and the "Been There, Done That" syndrome starts to set in!

Here are a few other sports-related ideas:

BASEBALL -- Does your son like baseball? How about a group trip to the Diamond for a game, followed by a meal at your home or at a restaurant.

GOLF -- The golf pro at a local family recreational park would probably love to give an hour-long group golf lesson to your son and his friends -- and most of these sites offer party rooms, too. Most boys this age would love to have some time with a pro.

RACING -- It's a bit of a drive across the river and over to Midlothian, but Friday nights are busy places at Southside Speedway and I've always wondered whether that wouldn't be a fun outing for a group of boys fascinated by racing.

G0-CARTS -- Windy Hill Sports Complex on the Midlo Turnpike (very, very near 288, so it would be convenient to you) offers go-carts. It's a rare 10 or 11-year-old boy who doesn't want to get behind the wheel of a go-cart! I am pretty sure there is another place here in Richmond that offers indoor go-carts, but I am not sure where it is.

I hope some of these ideas work for you... I have a web site at www.askthepartyfairy.com designed to help moms plannng birthday parties with free advice and tips, but frankly most of the content added so far is for moms of little girls. :) I plan to expand it with more ideas and tips for both genders and more ages, but I am running so many parties right now that my time to do this is limited.
I take questions from moms at this site and answer them (no cost, just for fun!) so feel free to make use of it if you have specific questions.

It was NOT cheap, but we took our 11 yr old to LaserQuest, a laser tag place in Virginia Beach. It ended up being around $400 after food (& I did Subway sandwiches - a bunch of foot-long subs cut in 3 pcs - & I made the cupcakes) -- but it was SO worth it after seeing how much fun they call had!!
Good luck - and remember that you are supposed to have fun, too! :o)

My son just turned 11 and we did lazer-quest. It was a blast.

I have all girls but my sisters have the boys and my nephews love laser tag and going to Dave and Busters. Bowling is even a fun thing to do for a birthday.

The Andrews Air Force Base Air Show is in mid-May and is great fun, the kids can climb on tanks, in airplanes and helicopter, etc. HOWEVER, think of some games they can play in line because it now takes an hour or more to get through security (maybe less if you go later in the day, but then can't see as much?). It's free. If the weather is right parachutists jump out of planes, etc. You park at FedEx Field and are bused to the base airfield.

Lazer Tag is a blast, my children of various ages love it

Lunch at McDonald's or Pizza Hut, and a kid appropriate movie.

Does he like video games and have them? What we do is allow my son to have about 5 friends over and we set up a few televisions with games at each and they play. We also had a pinata, pizza and cake. They had a blast. Another year we took them bowling - bowling parties for that age group are fun and many alleys offer to set up the parties for you and provide cake, drinks and pizza and sometimes bagged goodies, at a cost of course. Hope this helps! - K.

I'm not sure what he is in to, but my son is in to video games and when he turned 11 we had a party at video game store called Game On in VA Beach. They get two hours, with pizza and drinks included, you bring the cake. The have 10 video game stations and they get to pick whatever game they want to play, they can also have it where they are all can play against each other in the same game. My son and his friends had a ball! Or if he's not into video games you can do the movie thing at Cinema Cafe in Kemspville. You get movie, pizza, popcorn, drinks and ice cream. There were seven boys and we only paid $90. Hope you find something!

Indoor sports party at RISE, laser quest, movie or bowling and then a sleepover for a few friends, ice skating or an indoor pool party.

D.,
We are doing a bowling party for my 12 year old. He is really excited. If you look at their off times, you can do it really resonably. We are then going to come home and have "guy" food - hot wings, pizza, chips. I don't really care for their food at the bowling alley. My kids don't either. In doing this, I do not invite the parents, only kids since I cannot afford to pay for everyone to bowl except just the kids. Hope you have a great b-day party. I have found that boys are not too picky! A.