Anyone have any good any ideas for an at home b-day party for about ten 8 year old boys (nothing too complex or expensive)?

Also, how long do you think the party has to be? I was hoping to get by with only an hour and 15 minutes...like 11:45-1:00. Does that sound too short? We'll probably have pizza and cake.

Sorry that's as creative as i can get this early in the morning :-)

We had one here a couple years ago. It was in the middle of April but it was almost 100 and very humid...no one wanted to be outside so I had to make due with being inside. We had a cakewalk-present game, played pin the tail, guess how many jellybeans, and a few other games. We grilled hot dogs and had mac and cheese (which they ate in about 5 minutes). I drew out the present opening by playing music while passing gifts and whatever gift my son had at the end of the song, he opened.

The party was an hour and a half (which seems like the norm around here), but it seemed like 5 hours since they were inside. Everyone wanted to do something different and 85% of the things were big no-no's. I'm just dreading it will rain (which it very well may) and we'll all have to be inside again. There's just not much to do in the house. We don't have a playroom or usable basement. So it's 11 crazy boys (plus my toddler!) in our living room (If they stay there). I have thought of having a friend come over to do magic, but still, it seems like that just takes 10 minutes or so. Any other time consuming indoor games?

The tiedye shirt idea sounds good, but not sure I could do it inside (or do it at all--not very crafty!). If it's a nice day they would probably just all play soccer outside. Which would be great...guess I'll just pray for no rain.

I picked the middle time because a lot of the kids play on sports teams that seem to play either early morning or later afternoon. In fact, I'll have to wait to get their new baseball schedule before I set a time but I wanted to keep it around lunch time so we can eat Pizza (my son's favorite). Plus, that would eat up at least 5 minutes!

Thanks for your ideas. Any other ideas are welcomed too!

How about a treasure hunt around the neighborhood? The boys could go as pairs to be safe if you feel good about your neighbors and neighborhood. Or if you will have some parents staying they can follow along to make sure the kids stay safe.

Face painting is a favorite. I used to do this. Boys come up with the darndest things they want to have painted! If you do face painting, it's easiest to have a sheet of images they can choose from or they get REALLY complex and creative in their requests.

I googled "birthday party ideas" and came up with lots. This link is a good start. The "Fear Factor Party" sounded like it might have a lot of potential for a bunch of squirrely 8 year old boys!

Do I need any artistic talent to face paint? I'm not really sure how it works. Do you just buy like stencils and special paint and go at it or what? Would tatoos be easier and just as fun? Thanks.

You can use stencils. That will make your life easier. I use acrylic paint with a teensy bit of lotion soap mixed in. There are recipes for homemade face paints with cold cream and food coloring and other things. These sound potentially messy and smeary to me. I found that the acrylic paints worked fine and no one ever had any trouble with them irritating the skin or staining clothing. I didn't let kids leave until their art was dry.

If you use stencils, use a small bit of sponge for each color and dab lightly without a lot of paint on your sponge. gAnother thin I often did instead of faces were hands or arms. Much easier to work on and they could admire their own design. Find thin mylar stencils that will lay flat on the skin.