As our kids get older, birthday party needs change. With a handful of our staffers already having planned birthday parties beyond age 10, we’ve got some ideas to share for East Bay parents. Whether your child wants one splurgy activity with a friend or two or a gaggle of friends for a marathon bonding session, we think you’ll find inspiration here: Instagrammable museums | Special Events & Outings | Art & Maker Parties | Jumping and climbing | Arcades | Hecka Creative At-home Parties | Hotel Pool Party | Tons more birthday ideas!
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East Bay Birthday Party Ideas for Teens and Tweens
Instagram-focused “museums”
The Selfie Market (San Francisco) With a rotating exhibit model, the Selfie Market offers 30+ different scenes (music-themed, especially hip-hop, as of this writing.) Check the website to see if the current experience would be of interest to your child. Bonus: Located in SF’s Westfield Shopping Center, add lunch or dessert in the food court or a ride on the cable cars across the street.
The 90s Experience (Oakland) References include The Fresh Prince, the clunky technology of the 90s, the Simpsons, sugar cereals, and more. Located near Jack London Square, tickets are on sale for weekends through the end of January.
Warning: My teens have already deemed a space curated for Instagram as decidedly uncool, but they are in high school now. It’s quite possible the 11-year old set will love this idea. Website.
Art and Maker parties for teens and tweens
Paint-your-own-pottery: Brushstrokes (Berkeley) This pretty studio space enables kids to select an item to paint– or choose a mosaic project. Plenty of indoor and outdoor space for food and cake, and an optional soft-serve truck add-on. Learn more > or Color Me Mine (Alameda) Located in an outdoor shopping center, these paint-your-own-pottery parties are convenient and fun. Learn more >
Jewelry-making: Blue Door Beads (Piedmont Avenue) and Beadazzled on Solano Avenue (Berkeley) offer parties for kids 8-14.
Play-Well Teknologies has designed a project for kids over 7: creating a battle track for competitive jousting — out of LEGOs. If this is your child’s passion, learn more >
Special event outings for a small group
Depending on the time of year, tickets are not hard to come by for these local teams:
- Oakland A’s or SF Giants game
- Harlem Globetrotters (for January birthdays only, these guys put on a great show in Oakland one weekend per year)
- San Jose Sharks
- Oakland Roots
Amusement Park Outings
- Six Flags
- Great America
Water Parks and Swimming Pools
- See our list of places to swim in the East Bay
- A guide to all East Bay water parks
Whether your child is into bonfires, boba, or thrifting, here are 44 great teen-approved places they might like to bring a few friends. Find a discount for current shows and events >
Arcade and Entertainment Centers for tween parties
Plank (Oakland)
Restaurant, hip bowling alley, and modern arcade all in one. No special party room is needed. Learn more >
Victory Point Cafe (Berkeley)
All the board games your crew can play along with pizza and drinks. Learn more >
Round1 Entertainment (Concord and Hayward)
Large arcade center with an on-site bowling alley, karaoke rooms, and concessions. Learn more >
Jumping and climbing parties for older kids
Sqvadron (Concord)
This serious parkour gym has impressive obstacles and technical equipment for kids turning at least 8. Fans of American Ninja Warrior will love it. Learn more >
Bridges Rock Gym (El Cerrito)
Kids’ parties include an hour of rock climbing and slackline instruction followed by access to a table and chairs for snacks and cake. Learn more >
Rockin Jump (Fremont, Concord, Dublin, and Brentwood)
Trampoline park with party packages. Learn more >
Athletic Playground (Emeryville)
Parkour activities in a safe environment with great instructors. No dedicated party space is included in these packages. Learn more >
Quarry Park (Rocklin, CA)
Better as a “bring one or two best friends” kind of day, we loved this ropes course for teens with big energy.
At-home party concepts & services
Cupcake Wars – DIY this party by baking, but not frosting, two cupcakes per guest in advance. Provide lots of cupcake decoration choices. Offer various rounds of judging and funny awards. At my daughter’s party, my son awarded one of the cupcakes “Looks Most Like a Litter Box”.
East Bay Vivarium has a great reptile show that enables kids to touch and hold lizards, snakes, and tarantulas! Great for little kids too, but it never gets old.
Backyard camping – Pitch a tent and let them bring comfort items from the house into it. Provide mini-flashlights as a party favor (here’s a multi-pack) and friendship bracelet supplies as an activity.
Make-and-take party with Pew Pew kits – Order in advance a set of names and extra icons – hearts, donuts, instagram icons, that the kids will paint and assemble. Contact Lizz, the shop owner, for a discount on a party-size order. Learn more > (Save 10% with code 510FAMZ, get free shipping when you order 2 or more)
Order a crazy photo drop background to make any party memorable >
2 thoughts on “Birthday Party Ideas for Teens and Tweens”
Traverse Fitness in Richmond is a great option for teenagers. https://www.traversefit.com/parties
The Nurtured Seedling in Oakland can host private workshops for teens and tweens- a popular one would be botanical/plant fabric dying where participants can make their own top. We can also host cookie decorating, succulent workshops (bracelets, crowns), terrarium workshops, and more . Parties can be catered and personalized.