50 Fun 13 Year Old Birthday Party Ideas They’ll Actually Enjoy

Wondering how to celebrate your child becoming a teen? Make it special with these 13-year-old birthday party ideas. Fun ways to celebrate starting their teenage years with party games, unique birthday activities & birthday themes they’ll actually want to do.

Look through this list of 50 birthday party ideas for 13 year olds to find the perfect way to celebrate your new teenager. Then invite close friends or family members to an awesome birthday party to make the day feel special because let’s be honest it’s a big deal.

You’ll find great ways to entertain both girls and boys at birthday parties at home or at a local event center. Make this a birthday party they’ll remember or at least have a blast hanging out with their friends. Your tricky teen may even say thank you (;

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Best Birthday Party Ideas for 13-Year-Olds

Finding birthday activites that 13-year-old kids like can be really hard. This is a super picky age group!

But don’t worry it can be done. You’ll love all these fun ideas that will keep both boys and girls having a blast celebrating your child’s 13th birthday.

Look through the list below of 13 year old birthday party ideas and find one that fits your child’s personality. You want to make sure they’ll have an awesome time at the birthday celebrations.

So let’s get started with some great ideas and make it easy for you to plan this birthday!

Need Birthday Gift Ideas? Check out our list of the Hottest Gifts for Girls and the Coolest gifts for Boys.

Make planning easier with a free printable birthday party checklist. It will help you remember everything you need to get done.

1. Escape Room Parties

Escape Rooms are hugely popular right now for both boys’ and girls’ birthday parties. They’re exciting to play and keep the kids really engaged.

In the printable escape room games, kids will have to use clues and their detective skills to solve a case before the time runs out.

Make it easy to plan with printable escape room games you can easily do in your own home. No need to go to an expensive escape room event center.

You can break the kids up into teams to compete or have all the kids work together to beat the clock.

Find out how to throw the Ultimate Escape Room Birthday Party.

2. Scavenger Hunt

Get the kids up and moving during the party with a scavenger hunt. To keep teens and tweens interested make it a selfie scavenger hunt.

You can send them around the neighborhood with a scavenger hunt list and their cell phones to take pictures of each item they find.

Break the kids up into teams and see which team returns with the most items checked off their scavenger hunt list. Make sure to set a time limit so they know when to be back at the house.

Use this Free Printable Photos Scavenger Hunt (above) or create an indoor hunt with our 20 Treasure Hunt clues (below) to do inside the house.

3. Video Games

Are your kids into gaming? Have a gaming tournament using your Xbox or Playstation.

Pick your child’s favorite game and have the kids switch off playing. See who can score the most points or get the furthest into the game. Then give a prize to the winner.

Are they Fortnite Fans? – Learn how to plan an awesome Fortnite Party.

Then find the perfect gift for gamers to top off the party.

4. Game Truck

Another idea is to have a game truck pull up to your house to host the gaming party for you.

You’ll be able to have lots of kids play video games at one time which makes it really fun. Then have a pizza party and birthday cake in your house or garage.

Call your local gaming truck and see if they have birthday packages.

5. Dance Party

Put on the hottest music and get the kids up and show off their dance moves. Let your child help create a playlist of songs that will have them all dancing. Or doing the latest Tic Tok dance.

6. Movie Night

Head to your local movie theater to see the newest movie that is out. Many movie theaters have a group birthday package where you can have the whole theatre to yourselves.

Or just spread out in your living room with popcorn and a new Netflix movie.

7. Outdoor Movie Theatre

If your teen has a summer birthday host an outdoor movie in your backyard.

Get a movie screen and projector to use to show the movie. Once the party is over keep using the screen all summer with your family and friends.

Here’s a movie projector that uses Bluetooth off your phone and comes with a screen.

8. Popcorn Bar

Set up a popcorn bar for the kids to eat while watching the movie.

What to add to your Popcorn Bar – Plain Popcorn, Carmel Popcorn, Cheddar Popcorn, M&Ms, Junior Mints, Pretzels, Gummy Bears, Reeses Pieces, Peanuts, Skittles

Really any candy your kids like to eat will work with your popcorn bar. Don’t forget to set out some drinks too.

9. Slumber Party

Host a sleepover party for the birthday kid. Invite a few friends to stay over and hang out.

Kids can play games, watch movies, paint their nails, or play video games. There are tons of ways to entertain them at a slumber party. Don’t forget to tell them to bring their sleeping bags.

Make planning easier with the Best Things to Do at a Sleepover list. It will give you tons of fun ideas.

Treasure Hunt

Teens will love to go on an Epic Treasure Hunt through your house or backyard. You can create customizable treasure hunts in minutes with Riddle Me that they’ll have a blast doing.

It’s so easy just enter the type of event (ie: birthday), location of indoors or outdoors, age group, hiding spots in your house you want to use, and the number of riddles. The system will quickly generate all the fun riddles you need for the treasure hunt.

Next, print out the clues and hide them around your house. At the end of the treasure hunt leave a small prize for each kid. It could be as simple as bags of candy for the kids.

The system can also generate an activity the kids need to do before they go on to the next clue. This will help extend the game if you want it to be your main activity at the party.

Bonus you can also create birthday invitations and thank you cards when you set up the Riddles. Which is awesome!

Use this cool Riddle Me program for their birthday party and then the rest of the year as a fun activity to entertain your teens & their friends. There are thousands of Riddle options to try.

Riddle Me works as a great last-minute game you can print out before the party too!

Learn more in Best Treasure Hunt Clues & Riddles for Kids

10. Glow Sticks Hide & Seek

Make the game of hide and seek more exciting for teenagers by playing it at night.

Give all the kids a glow stick and tell them to go hide. Then have the birthday kid start by being the first person to find his/her friends in the dark.

Another game idea is to play a version of Capture the Flag. Have the kids break up into two teams. Each team hides a different color glow stick the other team needs to find. See which team can find the glow stick first.

This is a great game for sleepover parties as they will still be at your house when it’s dark.

Tip: Give kids mini flashlights to use so they don’t fall while running around. They can turn it off once they get to their hiding spot so the only thing glowing is the glow stick.

11. Waffle Bar

Make a huge waffle bar for either breakfast after a sleepover or dessert at your party. It’s fun and different so the kids will love it.

What to add to your Waffle Bar – Chocolate Chips, Nutella, Blueberries, Strawberries, Bananas, Whip Cream, Chopped Nuts, Ice Cream, Syrup, Carmel Sauce, Chocolate Sauce.

Tip: Keep the waffles warm by putting them in the oven at 200 degrees after you make them.

12. Minute to Win It Games

Play a bunch of hilarious Minute to Win it Games. You can make it a contest by giving points to whoever wins each game. At the end see who has the most points and give out a fun prize. Or just play for laughs and don’t track the winners.

Minute to Win It Game Ideas:

20 Easy Minute-to-Win-It Games for Kids

Best Minute to Win It Games for Teens & Tweens

Christmas Party Minute to Win It Games (great for Winter Birthday)

13. Charades Games

Have a great time playing a game of Charades with the teens. This is a super easy game to play all you need is a list of Charades words and you’re ready to play.

This could also be a backup game if you need something last minute to entertain the kids too. Just make sure to have a list of Charades Words ready in case you need it.

Use these free printable Charades Word Lists.

14. Board Games

Have a more relaxed birthday party with some teen board games. There are tons of fun games to choose from that the kids can all play together.

Talk to your child and find a board game or card game they really love. Or try a new game you think the kids will enjoy.

Board Game Ideas:

32 Board Games for Teens They’ll Be Excited to Play – Great games for older kids

Best Cooperative Board Games – Kids need to work together as a team to solve these

21 Festive Christmas Board Games – Great for Holiday birthdays

15. Hotel Room Party

Let your child pick a few friends to have a sleepover at a hotel.

Kids can go swimming in the pool, order room service, and watch a movie. The fun is really just being somewhere new. If you live near a waterpark hotel that’s always a fun option too.

Tip: Bring a skip ball or this cool pool basketball (dribbles underwater) to keep them entertained while in the hotel pool.

16. Pool Party

Host a pool party at your local pool or someone’s house. You can plan some competitive pool races and pool games to play or just let them relax and hang out.

A fun pool game is floating volleyball and basketball. Great games for a group of boys or girls.

17. Beach Party

Head to a local beach and let the kids hang out for the day swimming, sunbathing, and playing in the sand.

Pack a huge picnic with food and drinks for all the kids. Then bring some beach games like limbo, beach volleyball, sandcastle competition, paddle ball, yard pong, portable corn hole, or spike ball.

It’s a great way to spend an afternoon with friends.

18. Amusement Park

If your child is a thrill seeker take a few of their friends to a local amusement park. Let them ride the roller coasters, and eat hot dogs, ice cream, and other fun amusement park food.

Tip: Check if any of the kids already have a membership pass to the amusement park. This will help save money.

19. Laser Tag

Kids will love a competitive game of laser tag. Search your area for a local place that has a birthday package. Or purchase your own laser gun set the kids can trade off using.

20. Arcade Games

Let the kids challenge each other to arcade games at a place like Dave and Busters. It’s an older version of Chuckie Cheese that teens will enjoy.

21. Ice Skating

Rent out some ice time or head to your local ice rink for their open ice time and let the kids skate around. If you live somewhere cold try an outdoor ice rink.

22. Karaoke Party

Let the kids sing their favorite songs with a Karaoke machine at home. If they want they can get dressed up as their favorite signer and belt out their best songs.

23. Spa Party

A 13-year-old girl will love a fun spa party. Kids can do face masks, manicures, and pedicures together.

This footbath would add some fun to DIY pedicures.

These sheet mask sets make doing facials at the party really easy.

When you’re done put out spa food with finger foods of sandwiches and small desserts. Serve cucumber water or other fruit-infused water to drink.

Make sure to turn on some fun music for the girls to listen to at their spa.

24. Red Carpet Party

After their spa time let the girls get dressed up and strut their stuff down a fake red carpet.

At the end of the carpet have a cute selfie station and pretend to be the paparazzi. Put out selfie props like cool sunglasses, feather boas, glamorous hats, and prop signs. Hang a gold background for the pictures too.

Hang a gold background for the pictures at the end of the red carpet.

25. Mocktails Bar

Create a cool mocktail bar with different fruit-flavored drinks for the kids to try. Add a slice of the fruit on the side of the glass to give it a more sophisticated feel.

These would be fun at the spa party or Red carpet party too.

26. Go Bowling

Take the kids to the local bowling alley to bowl a few frames. Then grab some pizza for the kids when their done bowling.

27. Go Carts

If your kids like speed take them go-karting. They’ll have a blast racing each other around the track on go-carts.

28. WaterPark

Take the kids to the local water park to run around for the day. Now that their older they’ll be brave enough for the big water slides and huge wave pool.

29. Sports Outing

Take the kids to a local baseball game, hockey game, basketball, or soccer game. Whatever sport your kids love.

It doesn’t need to be a professional game could be a local college or another high school that is really good at the sport.

30. Paintball Adventure

Teens love the challenge of a paintball game. They’ll have a blast teaming up against a group of their best friends. Maybe get a prize for the winning team.

31. Camping in the Backyard

Set up some tents in the backyard and have the kids bring sleeping bags. You can watch a movie in the backyard, play yard games or go on a scavenger hunt.

32. Camp Fire & Smores

Have a campfire in the backyard and roast marshmallows for smores.

This would be fun for a sleepover indoors too. Just bake the smores in the oven.

33. Tell Ghost Stories

If your kids like to be scared have them tell ghost stories around the campfire or at night at a sleepover.

34. Baking / Cookie Contest

Let the kids make cookies and decorate them with frosting, sprinkles, and candy. You can bake the cookies from scratch or cut up premade cookie dough from the grocery store.

Have the birthday kid be the judge and let him/her pick out the best cookie decorations.

35. Jewelry Making

Let the kids make necklaces, bracelets, and earrings together. They’ll love sitting around a table making jewelry and chatting.

36. Crafting

If your child likes to craft pick out a fun craft project the kids can all do together. Get tons of ideas on Pinterest.

37. Tik Tok Contest

Have the kids learn the newest Tik Tok dance craze and record themselves doing it.

If you have a bigger party break the kids up into smaller groups and let them pick different dances to show off to each other. Pick the best dance group to win a prize.

38. Tie Dye Party

Buy some white t-shirts for each kid and let them tie-dye them. When you’re done the kids can take home the shirts as party favors.

Learn how to Tie-Dye on Pinterest.

39. Pinata

I know they seem older but kids will still love whacking a Pinata to get candy out of it. You could even add a few $5 gift cards to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. That will for sure get them excited.

40. Candy Bar or Sundae Bar

Create a cool Candy Bar or Sundae Bar for desserts. Kids will like going through and picking out their favorite candy or creating an extreme sundae.

41. Ugly Sweater Party

Have the kids dress up in the ugliest craziest clothes they can find. They’ll love seeing the bizarre outfits their friends pick out and showing off what their wearing.

42. Water Balloon Fight

13-year-old boys will still love a good water balloon fight in the backyard. Perfect for a summer birthday.

43. White Elephant Party

I know a white elephant party is usually a Christmas time party but teens love getting new things. Plus they’ll have a blast guessing what’s inside.

Have each kid bring a wrapped $5-10 gift to exchange. Make sure to let them know if you want it to be a funny or useful gift. Then pick numbers from a hat to see who picks the gifts first and keep going from there.

Learn how to throw a White Elephant party & Hilarious Gift Ideas

44. Volunteer

Let your child pick a great nonprofit they’d like to help and take the kids to volunteer for an afternoon. They’ll feel good about helping others and have fun hanging out together.

You can take them all for ice cream or some type of treat afterward.

45. Hiking Adventure

If your child loves the outdoors take a group of kids hiking at a local park. Use a free printable Nature scavenger hunt to keep the kids interested as they hike.

They’ll love the great background for their selfies too!

46. See a Local Play

Does your child love the theatre? Take the kids to a local play in your area.

47. Golfing

Do your kids like golf? Take the party to a local driving range or Top Golf.

Even if the kids don’t golf they’ll have so much fun trying it out at the driving range. They may even enjoy going miniature golfing.

48. Fondu Party

Break out your fondu set and let the kids try different foods dipped in cheese or chocolate. They can compare which combination they like best.

49. Donut Bar

Buy plain donuts and tons of toppings for the kids to add on top. This would be great for the morning after a sleepover or for a dessert bar.

What to Add to your Donut Bar – Start with plain donuts without any topping, then on the side add bowls of frosting, maple glaze, peanut butter, sprinkles, small chocolate chips, crushed M&Ms, crushed nuts, small marshmallows, crushed Oreos, diced fresh fruit.

50. Selfie Station

Create a fun selfie station for the kids to take pictures. First, put up a cool background on a wall.

Then lay out tons of different props to use in the pictures. They can use their phones to take pictures.

Are you ready now to plan an awesome birthday party for your kid? I hope you found some great 13-year-old birthday party ideas you’ll want to use. I know this age can be really tricky but deep down they’ll be so happy you created this special moment for them.

Here are a few more ideas to help your party planning:

Cheap Party Favors & Small Prizes

Kids love to get small prizes for the winning team and cool party favors at the end of the party.

My secret to saving money on these is shopping at Dollar Tree. Yep, you’d be shocked at how many great birthday party items you can find there like birthday plates, napkins, table clothes, balloons & more.

Grab cheap goody bags and candy to throw inside it too.

Get tons of ideas on what birthday items you should be shopping for in my Favorite Cheap Birthday Party Supplies at Dollar Tree.

Birthday Party Checklist

Get organized with a birthday party checklist. A list of everything you need to remember to do before the party.

The checklist starts at 8 weeks before the party and ends with what to do after the party. Use it to make party planning so much easier!

Grab your Free Printable Birthday Party Checklist and get organized!

More Birthday Party Ideas

Need more party ideas? Visit our Birthday Party Ideas & Party Games pages.

Best Things to Do at a Sleepover – Fun Slumber party games, ideas & activities for a party

20 Meaningful Birthday Traditions Kids will love better than parties

30 Birthday Party Games for Kids – Best Indoor & Outdoor Games

Fun Outdoor Birthday Party Games for Kids – These will get kids outdoors playing

15 Awesome Balloon Games for Kids at Parties & Home – Simple & cheap games kids love.

Free Printable Birthday Interview Questions for Kids & Teens

Birthday by Age Group

Boys’ Birthday Party Ideas for Ages 7-12

9 Year Old Birthday Party Ideas to Celebrate & Make the Day Special

10-Year-Old Birthday Party Ideas That Rock!

11-Year-Old Birthday Party Ideas for Girls & Boy

12-Year-Old Birthday Party Ideas to Wow Tweens

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