Is 11 too Old for a Chuck E Cheese Birthday Party?

If you are a regular reader here, you know that Kids Activities Blog is working with Chuck E. Cheese’s.  I had a really fun time at CEC Headquarters and was surprised by some of the new things they are doing including incredibly yummy pizza.  During that visit, I kept thinking to myself how much my boys would love it.

Wait!  My boys are 11, 13 & 15.

Aren’t they too old for Chuck E. Cheese’s?

I asked my youngest if we could celebrate his birthday with a few friends at Chuck E. Cheese’s and I was met with a little resistance.  In his head, Chuck E. Cheese’s meant a long table with everyone wearing party hats and Chuck E. dancing and singing.  I assured him that no one has to wear hats and we would request that Chuck E. not sing and dance for his party.  And then I said two magical words that convinced him immediately…unlimited tokens.

We invited friends and I invited the parents to stay and have dinner.

That is where I was met with more resistance…willingly eat at Chuck E. Cheese’s?

Oh yes, my friends.  You will thank me later.

I started my reservations for the party online for 10 kids and 6 adults.  For the kids, I chose the Mega Super Star package that included:

• ALL YOU PLAY Play Pass {unlimited game tokens}*
• Ticket Blaster for the Birthday Star
• 2 slices of pizza and free refills per child
• 1000 tickets for the Birthday Star
• A birthday party theme:  I chose “Sports, Sports, Sports”
• Chuck E. Cheese’s goody bag for each participant, collectible cup and Dippin’ Dots
• Pull-string Pinata for the party
• I added a cake for Rhett’s birthday celebration

For the adults, I added on:

• 1 Cali Alfredo pizza
• 1 Thin & Crispy cheese pizza
• 6 free refill drinks

I had a few questions so I called the Birthday Hotline and had the party booked at a convenient Chuck E. Cheese’s close to our home.

Getting a group of 11-13 year olds with parents together during the week is a challenge, but after some investigation into sport schedules and homework assignments, I decided to host the party on a Thursday night from 5-7 pm.  That may sound like a weird time, but it worked incredibly well for everyone with the bonus that is a relatively quiet at our Chuck E. Cheese’s location.

A huge benefit to “hosting” a Chuck E. Cheese’s birthday party is that once I ordered everything and told everyone when to show up, my work was done.  I just showed up too!  I absolutely adore that about Chuck E. Cheese.

When I arrived a few minutes before the party, everything was already set up.  The CEC Party hostess had our Play Passes ready.  As the families came in, all I did was hand a Play Pass to the kid and pointed the adults to a table with drinks.

The kids “disappeared” immediately.  <–a very good thing for a group of 10 11-13 year olds.  They played and played and played.  They definitely got their money’s worth out of the unlimited token Play Pass!

The adults sat comfortably chatting and catching up.  We haven’t all been in the same place at the same time without volunteer or work commitments for a LONG time.  And then the pizza came for us.  My skeptical friends dove into the Cali Alfredo pizza with enthusiasm.

They loved it as much as I knew they would.  I even got a message the next day from one friend who dreamed about eating more Chuck E. Cheese’s pizza!

The kids were wrangled back to the table for pizza, cake, Dippin’ Dots and an abbreviated party of pinata and Ticket Blaster.

I was surprised at how interested our group of kids was in the goody bag.  Once the pizza was gone, they were back to playing games.

Playing games and amassing tickets.  Lots and lots of tickets.

Decisions were made and ticket “purchases” confirmed.  The birthday boy had a haul like no other…

As families were leaving the party that night, I asked each if they had a good time.  Without exception, each family confirmed that even though the kids were older now, they would soon be returning to Chuck E. Cheese’s.

EVERYONE had fun.

Birthday Parties for Older Kids

Chuck E. Cheese’s has launched a new party package that proves no one is “too old” for Chuck E. Cheese’s.  It is the Eat More, Play More party package that has kids over the age of 8 in mind.  It is priced the same as the Super Star Package and includes the following:

• 55 tokens per party guest*
• 4 slices of pizza and drinks {that is double the pizza}
• 2 hours reserved table space
• Ticket Blaster
• 1000 tickets for the Birthday Star
• Party Server

Our party at Chuck E. Cheese’s confirmed to me that older kids WANT to be involved in all the fun, but are hesitant sometimes because of what their friends might think.

*Some locations have different token systems, so check with your location as to exact details.

Guess what?  Their friends had a great time.

If it has been awhile since your family has been to Chuck E. Cheese’s, I encourage you to go. You can get updates on all things CEC by following on Twitter @ChuckECheeses, Instagram @ChuckECheeses and on FB.

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