[Aliantha]

We've only once done a 'venue' party for our boys, and that was for Aden's 13th, he wanted to go to a place that is like an adventure park where you go along in harnesses, and travel through a course with rope swings, abseiling, flying foxes etc. He took half a dozen friends including his brother, and that cost us about $400 in the end, which was a lot more than we wanted to spend, and we would never do it again, but he had a great time. His uncle went through the course with them too, which was really nice.

I generally dislike venue parties though. Mostly because the kids are forced to do what they're told to do for the whole time. I much prefer to have a party for the kids at home and plan a few activities, but mostly leave them to their own devices. It always worked out well for us (although they only ever had one or two actual planned parties).

As for sleep overs? Mine started going to them and hosting them when they were about 7 or 8 and they just don't seem to have stopped. Part of that is because we live a little way away from a lot of their friends, so often they just come down for the weekend, but mostly it's just because they behave themselves and just muck about watching dvd's and playing xbox, so it doesn't bother us. In fact, during the summer holidays, the local boys hang around in a group of 6 to 10 boys down at the skate park at the end of our street, and they seem to spend the holidays going from house to house as a group and just crashing out all over loungeroom floors. Who am I to change a local tradition? lol If it's only once a week, it's no big deal anyway.

I'm much more concerned about the types of parties the big boys get invited to these days though. They mostly don't bother going though which suits me just fine.