My son will be turning 4 soon. I will be in my 3rd trimester and don't really want to have a bunch of people messing up my house after I just cleaned it for the party. I need suggestions on what to do for his b-day that will be stress free, fairly simple and that both adults and kids will like. We don't have alot of friends and family with small children so it's generally more adults than kids. I looked into Let's Jump but my niece who is 7 would not be allowed in the same play area because my son would still be classified as a toddler. I looked into Chuck E Cheese as well but I don't know. Any other ideas? I am lost...His b-day is in April but I know you have to book these things early now a days.
How about a bowling party? Even the little ones can bowl with the use of a ramp that they can bring out so the little ones don't have to "throw" the ball...
Our local children's museum will rent their "party room" for a pretty basic fee- you provide the food and the cake. Most will also give a discount on museum admitance. This is what we plan to do for our son this year.
Paradise pond in Grapevine would be perfect! http://www.fbcgrapevine.com/groups/children/paradise-pond/ We just went there a few weeks ago and the entire time we were there we talked about how it would be the perfect place for a party. It's designed for six months to 12y.o. The only issue is when I talked to them about birthday parties, they said that Saturdays and Sundays were booked for the next six months unless there was a cancellation, but they said there were lots of Thursday and Friday availabilities.
if you are in kansas they have a new Little monkey business on shawnee mission pkwy that looks like a lot of fun, bowling or powerplay is for both kids and adults
alot of theatres have been doing birthday parties. they have certain rooms that are set up for parties with birthday stuff on the wall and they look really neat. thats also from around where i am, but i imagine they are everywhere. and i was actually considering doing that for my son. i guess it depends on if he enjoys movies really well or not. i suppose they just give popcorn and candy and soda and watch a movie of their choice, but sry i am not totally sure on the details, but i'd imagine thats like what it would be. sounds fun to me though! good luck, have fun!
Oh momma I feel your pain. My son turns 5 at the end of February (darn cold weather babies, guess you know what we were all doing during the summer LOL) and I'm due with baby number two in the beginning of March. This is supposed to big his BIG birthday, and I'm so not into it this year. ;( I'm with you on that it just seems easier in this situation to have a party outside the house (plus, it will assure that the guests will LEAVE at a certain time so that you can rest after a loooong day). Chuck Cheese probably won't work for you because there aren't many kids attending. I would suggest the following :
Bowling party : We did this for my son's 4th birthday. We took him out bowling a couple times prior to booking to see if he would even enjoy it and he really did, so we set it up for him. Even the youngest child at his party (2 1/2) had a great time. The alley put bumpers in the gutters so all the kids balls would make it down the alley. I ordered pizza there and brought my own cake. Couldn't have been simplier. The adults got to bowl for free if they were assiting their little one, but most ended up finishing the games for their kids and had SUCH a blast. Also, I made up flyers with instructions for WACKY BOWLING.....i.e. frame one bowl through your legs..frame two sit on the floor and push the ball...etc. You can find the instructions and some suggested ideas for this by googling "wacky bowling rules" on line. That made it REALLY interesting.....the video of the kids and adults doing this was HILARIOUS!
Roller Skating party : My son attended one of these type parties at age four and had a blast. Again, we took him a few times before the party so it would't be a brand new experience for him, but in your condition, let hubby or someone else skate with him. Being able to do this will depend some on the age of your youngest kiddo attending. But at the party my son was at, there was a 3 yr old there who was doing great and was absolutely fearless!!! Roller rinks will have child skates that can be used (think Fisher price kind worn with shoes) and the smaller kids can basically walk/skate along the edge. At this party, all of us adults had a great time getting in touch with our inner child. They also had a thing where the birthday boy and the kids attending the party got center stage at the rink while the birthday song was playing.
Good luck with whatever choice you make and keep yourself in mind while planning. Next years party will surely be alot easier for you.
I too instantly thought of bowling at Main Event - they have something for everyone there. Food, Games, Bowling, great party packages.
Also, the Ft. Worth Zoo hosts birthday parties for ages 3-12
That would be wild fun!
- C.
We have a place where you can go and paint pottery. They have everything known to man in there to paint. Fun figurines, etc for kids. They have a birthday party package as well. My kids LOVE to go there (and my youngest son will be 4 in June) =0) That would be very low-key and you can sit the whole time!
"Pump It Up" or "Build a Bear" or the local museum.
I am having 43 people over to the house on Saturday to celebrate my son's 3rd birthday.
I am enlisting 3 people to stay after to help with clean up since most of the people coming are NOT families with wee ones.
I think a small gathering at home where your friends can pitch in and help with clean up is better than trying to go out somewhere.
I will say this tho...my house is TINY...so next year if we have almost 50 people, we'll have to rent a small room or something, have cake, etc and call it a day.
