Birthday Party Games Lady Blog

Pre-teens, and teenagers too, still have wonderful imaginations that they truly enjoy using. Any birthday party game that gives them a structure within which to exercise those brain cells is a guaranteed hit. And they end up entertaining themselves!

Sharon from New Zealand wrote me a note that certainly shows how that creativity flowed during her Medieval Party. Now this was a 16th birthday party, “and most of the guests were 15 and 16, with my son being the youngest at 12, and ‘King Stephen’ and Queen Hedwig’ being the oldest (apart from me!), they are in their late 20’s. It definitely wasn’t ‘too young’ for them, and even the shyest guest took full part- the detailed parts really helped.”

Here’s the rest of what Sharon had to say:

“The party was an all round success. To entertain a bunch of teenagers for that long, with no trouble, was fantastic. They all really got into their parts, they all dressed up fantastically (as you can see from the photos![*]) and it was all so easy to run!

I did have one “group” plan their own murder, and they came to me just before the dinner to ask when they should carry out the murder! The friend who played King Steven did a well rehearsed 10 minute death scene!! And the court session took on a life of it’s own, with someone suggesting the King committed suicide, Princess Sarah claiming she was pregnant to Prime Minister Kinsha and Queen Mathilda claiming that was impossible, as he was having an affair with her! (Much more involved than with 11 year olds!!) And the next day when I was cleaning up, I found a note that said “Kill the king tonight, poison his wine. Signed Princess Celine” but it was in Princess Sarah’s handwriting! At one point in the Court session, they seemed to be ganging up on Prince John, and he “made a run for the door”, but in the end, the “guilty” vote went to Princess Celine. And Sarah got the vote for the crown! (Although the executioner got one vote as well!)

After that we had dessert, and then the kids all sat round talking, laughing, singing, and we even had some almost medieval music! When the parents came to pick the kids up, none of them moved - no one wanted to go home!! It was definitely worth the money, and we will no doubt be back in touch for the next party!! Many, many thanks for setting this up, and making it so easy!”

[*] As I don’t have releases for publishing photos of all or any of the kids in the photos, I’m afraid I can’t share them with you here.

Now kids of this age certainly dig deeper and take things farther than the younger crowd, but there have been reports of bigamy and trigamy (probably not a word- but you know what I’m getting at), additional murders, and even a kidnapping at parties for 11 and 12 year olds. So don’t think that younger kids (but in middle school, not elementary school) can’t handle this Medieval party! They just improvise at a different, simpler level, PROVIDED the group is one that enjoys a challenge.

If you’re looking to entertain your pre-teen or teenage group for several hours at your next birthday party, and looking to preserve your sanity as well, do take a look at the Birthday Party Games Lady Medieval Madness Party.

Popularity: 69% [?]

Birthdays mark the progression through life, and for kids it’s a very rapid progression through the magical years of childhood. They change so fast and learn so much. I’m not really that much different this year than I was last year, but your 6 or 8 or 11 year old is VERY different this year. As parents, we need to stamp these years into our memory because you’ll never have the child you have today tomorrow- he or she will be quite different. The birthday and the birthday party mark all these transitions. And it’s the perfect opportunity to create lasting memories of a time that will be gone forever.

Enough philosophy, but an email I received from a customer got me thinking along these lines. Renee wrote to say:

“I wanted to let you know that we haven’t had the [Medieval Madness] party yet. It is scheduled for October27th and my daughter and her sister have had a blast planning it. My 12 year old is sewing her own medieval dress and her friends are as excited about the upcoming event as she is…one parent has already asked if they can come too. I don’t remember when we have had so much fun planning a birthday party.

Of course I will send an email after the party to let you know how it went but I know it will be fantastic.”

I’m delighted when I hear that parents have done the preparation for one of my party packages WITH their birthday child. Doing things together is another of the childhood joys that slips away as they get older. Getting things ready together makes it a family affair, not just MY birthday party. And it’s yet another memory of a time soon gone by.

All of the birthday party games packages from the Birthday Party Games Lady (except for the Detective Party as it would ruin the ‘mystery’) can involve the birthday child in the preparation, so go for it!! And your party will then really be a Celebration instead of another chore to get through.

Popularity: 47% [?]

Aside from the obvious issue of the appropriateness of the content, many parents are concerned that their pre-teen party kids won’t be able to handle the complexity of the ’set-up’ of a murder mystery party. To make the game interesting and fun, a lot has to go on. Parents are rightfully concerned about overwhelm and non-participation because of confusion.

The Medieval Party Game feedback I received from Mary in Ontario addresses just this issue (and I’ve highlighted her very relevant comments):

I’d love to give feedback. I have a twin boy and girl who turned 11. We have always had their party together except for last year she wanted to do girl things but they both still joined in each others party anyways…this year we were in search of a joint party once again. I also seem to be in the pattern of one year doing a party outside the home and the alternate year at home. Of all the fun and inventive ideas we have for outside the home the kids seem to talk most about the parties we plan at home (sort of a novel idea these days I think!)

I had an adult play King Stephen and they said after 5 minutes that 45 minutes would be too long for this age group. I said let me put the food in the oven and I’ll be back out (we did the reception in the back yard). Well, I could not get them to stop the reception! Once they got into it and the kids who were a little confused began playing, it was hilarious. During the wedding feast Queen Lisle, who had promised to marry 3 different people, kept wondering when her weddings would take place…

Some of the kids did not want to go along with their ‘secrets’ and I just let it flow. Some chose the murderer based on their interpretation of what they saw, and others chose because someone refused to make a deal or marry them. So at whatever level the child was at, they made it work and all had fun, both the shy and the outgoing children.

The feedback from parents was they were overwhelmed at first with the invitation package but so excited, and now a week later the kids are still telling details of the party to friends and family. The kids just make it work, so there was no need to stress if they would understand or get involved.

It is important to be working with a group of kids that enjoys a challenge- what I’ll call fairly high achievers. The outgoing ones will carry the shy ones along into the fun once they start to click.

If this isn’t your group, take a look at my 4 other birthday party games.

Popularity: 23% [?]