Children

• Downloadable children's birthday games are available online.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  You can keep a young child's party inexpensive and less stressful by limiting the number of guests. Invite only as many children as the number of years your child is celebrating. Five-year-old partygoers will tire after a few hours, but five children will feel like a houseful if you don't offer sufficient activities to keep them entertained for that length of time. Some websites, like PBS Parents, offer downloadable birthday games along with invitations, banners and much more. You can turn gift giving into a party game too by playing a variation of "Duck, Duck, Goose." Children take turns being the Goose and presenting the birthday child with their gifts.
  
  A variety of options outside the home provide a setting for parties. Your child may enjoy celebrating at a local ice cream parlor that has a private event room, joining party guests at the zoo or touring a local fire station. A skating rink or bowling alley offer birthday fun for older, active kids.
  
  

Teens

• Teen girls might enjoy a makeover birthday party.Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
  
  Teens may want to choose from various do-it-yourself themes for their party. Teenaged girls may enjoy a birthday party featuring makeup, hair and clothing makeovers -- provided by friends, siblings or parents acting as stylists -- followed by pizza and a movie.
  
  Videogame and movie marathons can turn the living room or den into an arcade or theater for teens of either gender. Depending on the season, teens' parents can plan group snowboarding, swimming or horseback riding activities for a birthday outing. Adult chaperones are necessary to ensure greater safety during these outdoor celebrations.
  
  

Adults

• Birthday parties are a time to toast friendship.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  A wide range of themed birthday party ideas for adults are available online. Put a new twist on an old favorite. For example, partygoers can participate in a birthday crawl (similar to a pub or art gallery crawl), traveling to hosts' houses in a pre-planned order where they will enjoy appetizers, a variety of main courses and finally, dessert. If alcohol is served, hire a limo service to ferry guests or provide designated drivers.
  
  

Seniors

• Preserve memories of birthday celebrations for future generations.George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Make a senior birthday party a family event. Create a slideshow of an older relative's favorite photos to share with family members. Keep it upbeat by including the senior's favorite hobby, sports or vacation pictures from throughout the years. Interview family and friends to create funny or thoughtful captions to accompany the pictures. Download hard copies and make a photo album as a keepsake. Because a variety of age groups are present at family gatherings, a potluck can cater to different tastes.