Birthday Party Ideas 8 Yr Old Minneapolis Area

I don't live in your state, so I can't offer any new venue ideas, but I can offer a money saving theme. My daughter just celebrated her 8th birthday. We had a mis-match birthday party that we called a "Crazy 8's" party. She went through our miscellaneous left over birthday invitations and sent each guest an invitation with what she thought their favorite character might be. We then used all our mis-matched tablecloths, plates, napkins, etc. I made a cake and frosted equal squares in all different colors and decorated each square with leftover birthday and holiday decor. After I already made the cake though, I thought that I should have made 2 round cakes in the shape of an eight and decorated it wildly. Her party coincided with a couple events in our small town, so we went to the school soup supper for dinner and then dressed up as pirates and went to the high school play "Pirates of Penzance" where they got to participate in a costume contest on stage. We had a pinata and wore mis-matched pj's for the slumber party afterward. I also used leftover birthday and holiday treat bags, but each child got the same favors inside. I typed up the following explanation using wild fonts and different colored words, cut it out with scrapbook scissors, and enclosed it in the invitation. The party was a hit and fun!

It’s a CRAZY 8’s BIRTHDAY PARTY!
Everything is MIS-MATCH!

Janessa handpicked your invitation especially for YOU, no two are alike! And wait until you see the ZANY birthday cake and WACKY decorations! We will dress up as PIRATES and eat at the school soup supper at 5:30 p.m., then attend the play “PIRATES OF PENZANCE.” (We have a little pirate garb, but if you have some, you can bring it, as there is a PIRATE costume contest at the play!) We will also have a PINATA at this CRAZY MIXED UP FIESTA, and maybe we will play the game HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, sing karaoke to HANNAH MONTANA, play with BRATZ dolls, or watch a DISNEY or HARRY POTTER movie at this SILLY SLUMBER PARTY! Don’t forget your MIS-MATCHED PJ’s!
Plan to get back to normal (your home) around 9:00 a.m., Saturday.

My 9 year old has had his last two parties at the Edinborough indoor play area in Edina. It has a huge play structure and they provide a table for cake, gifts, etc. You bring your own food and drinks. It is approx. $100 for 10 kids on a weekend and you pay individually for extra children. It is cheaper during the week. Kids love it and they get exercise. The YMCA also does birthday parties and they offer different packages at different prices. Have fun.

My son went to a birthday party last year (he was a little younger, 5 at the time) but just to give you an idea,many nature centers offer classes for kids at different age levels, my son has taken some with other kids and parties. I think some of them have a party room you could reserve and make it a theme extended from the subject of the class. Example of one I took my son to: If the class were on dinosaurs, get a dino cake from a creative bakery (we like Kowalski's or Byerly's/Lunds). The kids could come dressed in dino costumes if they want, and you could check out party stores to see how you could expand on that. Also, if you know of a great story teller, the kids would love to hear some great books. He talked about this party for at least a week, so it must have been tons of fun.

I am from Des Moines but I am having my twins party at a gym near by and the kids can play basketball or swim they only charge 50 dollars for 15 kids. The boys will be 8 and have done it the last 3 yrs they love it! Maybe you could check with some gyms in your area.

Hi J.
have you ever been to look out ridge I think it is in woodbury. It is a ton of fun. I dont know how much a party would be there thou. Good Luck T.

How about a day at Como Park Zoo, then go over to Pizza Hut or McDonalds for cake and presents. See if there's a grocery store that will offer a tour of their store. I know that the HyVee stores in our area do tours. Maybe Cub Foods or maybe even Byrleys will do something like this. Or maybe on of the local bakeries.

Check out Abrakadoodle - they do art parties and are great! They can either do it in your home or you can go to their art studio in St. Louis Park. www.abrakadoodle.com/mn01.

Have you got a Cheap Skate roller rink around your area? My parents did that for me one year. My b-day is Nov also. I remember really enjoying it.