Kids now days, starting in elementary are hard to impress. Starting with a few years back this generation has been exposed to lavish birthday parties, endless celebrations and an all out putting on of the dog in the name of one year older. This can make coming up with ideas a little tough because by the time the child has celebrated their 7th or 8th birthday party they have seen all the most common. No mom wants to disappoint the birthday boy or girl, so here are a few unique ideas that work for elementary school age children!

Wanna face some fear, stare worms in the eyes and eat slop? Well, that is not surprising, but elementary age kids sure do. The more real the better, dirty is great and it will likely be the talk of the school halls for months. Since fear factor is a huge success on television, how about setting up some “safe & clean fun” challenges for the group? It may be eating dog food (mashed up Vienna sausage), challenge city (obstacle course in the backyard) or some other slimy (food product) that you can think of! Really popular parties and there are a ton of ideas on the net to help you out.
Scavenger hunt birthday parties are not unique, but they can be made that way. There are so many things that can be changed with the hunt, which can really make a difference. For the older kids it may be a longer area, harder clues or a bigger prize at the end. They can be held at the mall, parks, museums, city wide or anywhere. Granted the idea is not unique, but being creative for the clues, developing traps or fooling them makes it a lot of fun!
What about a birthday party modeled after the all too awesome Amazing Race? The guests can work in teams or separately, but they travel around the park or neighborhood asking questions, looking for clues and participating in competitions. It could be jump rope, skipping, water balloons or whatever else you can think of.
Costume parties can be very popular for kids at elementary age. They are still young enough to fantasize about characters and most like to dress up, so give them the opportunity. They can either bring their own costume or can make one after arriving at the party. Having them make a costume could be part of the birthday celebration, but costs might be a factor. Again creativity sets the precedence here.
If your birthday boy or girl is the inquisitive type a game show theme birthday party may just be what thrills them. Picking one of the popular shows, such as Millionaire, Deal or No Deal or Family Feud might be a great way to get them engaged for that special day. Most of these games can be purchased and the only thing that mom would need to worry with is the matching decorations. This party is easy, but hugely successful.
See, there are still many ideas that will make that big birthday party the talk of the school house. It is not as much the money that is spent as the creativity and time that is placed into the planning process, believe me though, they will be most gracious for all that hard work.