Low-cost Guide to Great, Stress-free Kids’ Parties – Older Children (8-12)
Planning a low-cost birthday party for tweens can be a challenging task. They know what they want and are difficult to reason with. But with these great party planning tips for older kids, you’ll be able to give them an exciting party and they’ll love you for it.
Guests: Invite as many children as your child’s age, plus one. So if your tween is turning nine, invite ten guests. This is a good way of keeping things under control.
Duration: Anything from two to three hours is perfect for older children.
When to host: After school or weekend afternoons work best.
Party Themes: Go for colourful and fun party themes like polka dots, the 70s or 80s, butterflies, fashion shows, luaus, pool party, sports, celebrities, movie characters, book characters, beauty/hairstyles and so on.
Party Games: At this age, kids can appreciate many different types of birthday party activities. Hire a clown, animals, and even outdoor equipment like trampolines and inflatable pools. Let them indulge in face painting, baking, dancing and singing. You can even set up a big batch of biscuit dough and have bowls with decorations like Jelly Tots and Smarties. Treasure hunts, Pass the parcel, mini obstacle course, Truth or Dare, and Mummy Wrap are also fun.
Party Food: No-mess options are always popular for kids’ birthday parties, but you can arrange for meals like hot dogs or 
mini burgers/pizzas followed by ice cream cones. If that seems too much, crackers, sweets, donuts, cupcakes, cookies, popcorn and juice are always acceptable. Make the birthday cake theme-based; consider an ice cream cake; or simply go for a white cake with whacky decorations.
Party bags: A fun and inexpensive way of making sure everyone leaves the party with a cool gift is to have a lucky dip. Pack a hamper with inexpensive gifts (chocolates, t-shirts, magnifying glass, sunglasses, stationery, deck of cards, hula hoops, water bottles, glow-in-the dark bracelets, body glitter, nail polish and flip-flops).Let guests reach inside the hamper and pick something at random.