Recipe(tried): 13th birthday party ideas

Dear Ellen,

When my youngest stepdaughter was in middle school, we lived in an area where she was invited to lots of bat mitzvahs and bar mitzvahs. The most fun she had was at a bat mitzvah where they had a henna-tattoo artist (the henna washes off in a week or so) and all the kids got henna tattoos. There were also various stations where they could go to get hair braids and beads or have their fortunes told (yes they had a goofy fortune teller). Of course, there was wonderful food and good music too.

Another idea that I saw on our block might be interesting to you. I don't know if you have this sort of thing in Great Britain, but here in California we have catering trucks that drive to business parks and construction sites to provide lunches for the workers. One neighbor found the best Mexican catering truck in our area, had them come to the house and park in the front. The parents rented trampolines, slides and tents (and had the usual attractions -- fortune tellers, hair braiding, etc. in the tents) and the kids could just go back and forth to the catering truck for food and treats as they wished. This freed up the parents from having to cook and clean up. And here in California all teenagers love tacos, burritos, chips and guacamole! They all said that they had a blast.

Have a very happy birthday.