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Original poster

Birthday ideas for 13 year old?

29 replies

27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 08:54

I'd love some fresh ideas.

Trying to think of a nice way to celebrate my soon to be 13 year old's birthday.

basic perameters are;

  • He has autism and does not want a party or any friends to be involved 'Just family' which means his parents and him only
  • He is not sporty and does not enjoy trying new things that are sports related
  • he likes ten pin bowling but we have resorted to that every year
  • budget around £300
  • He is afraid of the cinema
  • He does like little trips away, but they have to feature alot of chill time in locations where there is wifi so he can game
  • not keen on museums or art galleries
  • has no idea of what he would like to do so says when I ask him 'I don't know'
  • he possibly might have the tolerance to sit through half of a live show of some sort- we are used to leaving things at interval as he can't cope any more so that would be okay
  • loves Zendaya; Ariana Grande; and the series Wednesday
  • very limited tolerance of food so a fancy restaurant probably out...... although could within reason consider this if we preapre him very carefully in advance

If it were left to me I would take him on a weekend city break abroad but for various reasons we will be abroad twice this year (all family obligations so not really 'holidays' and I realise we are very lucky) and DH is already panicking about the costs of those trips on our budget.

I'd just love MN hive mind ideas really!

TIA!

OP posts:
risefromyourgrave · 03/03/2023 08:59

Is he ok with animals? If so then something like llama/alpaca walking? Or a zookeeper day?

Yopy · 03/03/2023 09:01

My 11 year old loves fishing. Maybe a lesson in fishing?

WandaWonder · 03/03/2023 09:03

Miniature golf? Laser tag? Escape room?

Not saying suitable just my first thoughts

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Events & celebrations
emmathedilemma · 03/03/2023 09:03

do you have to do something? It sounds like his idea of a good day might be a day at home with his favourite foods rather than being pushed out of his comfort zone.

Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:04

risefromyourgrave · 03/03/2023 08:59

Is he ok with animals? If so then something like llama/alpaca walking? Or a zookeeper day?

aaah sadly not- unless they are cats.

I'd love to get him a kitten of his own actually, but it would put his current beloved cat's nose out of joint!

I might give an animal idea some deeper thought though over the longer term.... he's oddly afraid of animals and there are some great experiences around us- a meercat experience might be a good little intro for him. Something small and cute. He's utterly terrified of fish as well so a visit to an aquarium would be out as well, although I would love it!

He's a very timid soul all round.

OP posts:
Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:07

Oh cross post with @yoppy!

he might well just prefer to stay at home- although he does say he wants to do 'something'. He has no idea what that something might be though. Perhaps it might be as simple as popcorn, netflix and 3 varieties of birthday cake which would be fine by me too!

But I will make a list of every single idea here and give them to him for him to think about. If not specifically for his birthday I'd love for him to try out some new things over the next year or so.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to post, I really appreciate it. Thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:08

@Yopy I meant- sorry, mis-spelled.

OP posts:
GoodChat · 03/03/2023 09:09

When's his birthday and where are you based?

insomniagamingfestival.com

This might tick all your boxes.

GoodChat · 03/03/2023 09:10

Although he might struggle as it does get busy and loud.

Toddlerteaplease · 03/03/2023 09:11

Lunch at a cat cafe?

Myyearmytime · 03/03/2023 09:12

Cat cafe?

Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:12

GoodChat · 03/03/2023 09:09

When's his birthday and where are you based?

insomniagamingfestival.com

This might tick all your boxes.

Ooooh!!!!

Birthday in June.

We could get to Birmingham. That looks fabulous!!

Thank you!!!

OP posts:
Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:13

Cat cafes!!

LOVE it!!

OP posts:
Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:13

Oh my goodness thank you all so much!! Things I have never thought of, and such lovely ideas!!!

OP posts:
GoodChat · 03/03/2023 09:20

There's one in August too @27Mankinis if you wanted to give him the tickets for his birthday.

And there's a cat cafe in Birmingham city centre Wink

Bettiespaghetti · 03/03/2023 09:25

Another vote for Cat Cafe!

Also, my little ND family loves a home Karaoke party! We get dressed up, have one of those little led disco lights on, and search for karaoke songs on YouTube. None of us can sing a jot and I do fear for our neighbourly relations 😆 but it's great fun and easy to have a time out when needed Grin

Bettiespaghetti · 03/03/2023 09:30

Other ND birthday wins have been:
. watching a film (or several) in a living room tent camp
. ordering the extra large Family Pizza from the takeaway
. having a family Halo gaming evening
. eating a roast potato sandwich

😆

WhenDoISleep · 03/03/2023 09:31

If a cat café might be too much, maybe a small local rescue would be amenable to a short visit? The lovely lady who runs our local cat rescue runs some open afternoons that are for small groups of people.

lilsupersparks · 03/03/2023 09:37

I see you have loads of good ideas.

how about an at-home escape room - I’m sure you could find an EXIT one with a theme he would like.

or, you could do your own escape room type thing as a treasure hunt ( we did this for all lockdown birthdays :-) )

Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:38

Thanks @GoodChat . I was just googling how to get to Birmingham and realised that one of our trips away coincides- August should be about perfect!

I am loving all these ideas and some will be brilliant to shake up our regular (currently fairly dull) weekends as well.

OP posts:
Original poster
27Mankinis · 03/03/2023 09:39

(Althoguh I suspect eating a roast potato sandwich is good for just about any day. !)

OP posts:
BunsenBurnerBaby · 03/03/2023 09:42

My DS is/was like this. A boat trip worked for us. But we went for quiet weekends for the most part b/c that is what he needed. He’s 15 now and actively wants to go places. Growing up has made him less timid.

reluctantbrit · 03/03/2023 10:44

Another vote for a cat cafe.

If there is a rescue around (only cats), maybe ask if he can come and spend a hour or two on a regular basis. Lots of them like volunteers to help with getting cats used to people and general socialsing. That may bring him a bit out of his shell.

cocksstrideintheevening · 03/03/2023 11:03

Oh my I want a roast potato sandwich!

Was also going to say cat cafe or I don't know if it's a thing but could he maybe spend a couple of hours at a cat rescue helping out?

BigusBumus1 · 03/03/2023 11:29

This is really boring, but my 3 sons all loved this on their 13th. I bought them a nice wallet with a cheque in for whatever amount and the forms already printed off to open their own bank account. Then later that day we went to Barclays and opened the account with the cheque and they got the App put on their phone. Don't know about other banks, but with Barclays, through the App you can customise your debit card with a photo of your choice, so my sons has various shots of our dogs or themselves scoring a try at rugby or whatever. Debit card came through later that week and my boys all felt very grown up being able to manage their own (limited) amount of money as a new teenager.