Had to Throw Original Plan Out - Need Help with Ideas for 4Yr Girls Party

Updated on April 22, 2012
K.C. asks from Plano, TX
5 answers

Hi Ladies,
A few weeks ago I posted asking for party ideas for a Dora birthday party at home. The websites you recommended were great. However, now I have to change the plan. My husband will be traveling for work the last 2 weeks of February, in fact he's scheduled to fly out on the day I had originally planned for the party. I've decided to push the party out for March 1, but can't really go much past that as we've got other commitments the following weeks. Don't get the wrong idea, my husband's a typical guy and not likely to be involved in any of the actual party planning, but he's a huge help with watching our 3 kids while I do all the running around. He'll be gone and not able to help, so he wants me to hold it somewhere off site for the sake of sanity even if it's a bit more than we had planned to spend. He's suggested we hold it at Sweet Tomatoes, one of our favorite family haunts. It's an all you can eat soup and salad buffet restaurant. They have a small room off the side of the main dining area. He just suggested this tonight, so I haven't checked with them yet, but I'm sure it can probably be reserved. Now my question is, what to do. Space will be limited. We don't plan on very many kids, probably about 15 max if everyone comes, most of these are siblings, so we'll have about as many adults. Besides eating, what else can we do? I'm stumped. Should I look at hiring someone like a clown/entertainer who does balloons, face painting, etc?

I'm all for another venue, but I want to stay away from Main Event, Chuck E Cheese or any of the places where the kids run around or you get shuttled from room to room. We've done this for my older kids, but I was hoping to avoid this kind of thing in favor of a slower paced, more intimate gathering. The kids will range, boys and girls from ages 8 to 3 years old. Most of our friends are from Plano, Frisco and Sachse area, so I'll need to keep it fairly close to this area. Due to the time of year, I don't want to plan on a park because I won't have a back up plan if the weather is bad that day. HELP! I'm still pretty new to the area, so I don't know of that many places. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Well, I couldn't find a venue that I liked well enough to host the kind of party I wanted, so I ended up hosting it at home. At the last minute, my daughter decided she wanted the Backyardigans as a theme after looking at a cake order catalog. It ended up working out well because I found nickjr.com has email-able invitations. Very cute and FREE! I went to Dollar Tree for game prizes, but bought enough for one per child. I found really neat story books and coloring books that I knew my own kids would like. I opted to not do goody bags as I hate the cheap toys that always just end up in the trash. I hired a young lady (teen) from my church who was trying to raise money for a mission trip to act as party hostess. She got the kids involved in playing games like musical chairs, balloon pop and backyardigans bingo. I picked up at Backyardigans pull pinata at Party City and a couple of bags of candy filler. I passed out paper lunch sacks to hold their loot. For lunch I picked up 5 Costco pizzas, a veggie tray, a fruit tray and juice boxes. Having a hostess helped so much. I was free to mingle with other parents and get food served while she occupied the kids.

Costs were:
$60 Party hostess (tax free donation to church for mission trip expenses)
$85 Pizza, veggie tray, fruit tray, drinks, cake
$60 Paper goods, balloons, decorations, pinata (mixed 1 pkg character plates, napkins with 1 pkg solid color of each to save)
$15 Party prizes/favors

Total was $220 for 15 children, right on budget.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.S.

answers from Dallas on

I like the idea of a private room in your favorite family restaurant. The only thing is that might be a little "boring" for the kids. And it may be too small to have a clown or entertainer in there. And since the only thing you can really do is eat, you may have to provide a little more food that you would at a house party.
There are so many great places to have bday parties that are not Pump It Up type things such as the Little Gym. If you want to do something original,here are some suggestions:
an ice cream shop,Build a Bear(yes, they host parties!),Quiggley's Clay House(www.quigglys.com),Dallas Aquarium,Paint Yer Pottery, Center Stage Drama(http://www.centerstagedrama.com/birthday_parties.htm),
and my favorite, Young Chef's Academy( http://www.youngchefsacademy.com/birthdays.php)
They handle everything: from sending out the invitations,writing down gifts and who they are from when they are opened,decorations.
This is a sit,relax,and enjoy the party. No stress involved. :) And the gift bags for the guests are SO cute.
Kidz Muze is also a great place for a party and they handle everything as well.
The Children's Art Studio has creative parties and the trolley on McKinney avenue lets you have parties on it while they drive around. Pretty cool!
Club Libby Lu has cute girls parties.
OR...contact Kreative Kidz parties and they will plan an awesome and very original party for you. They have all different types of locations like a karate studio,art studio,museum,ice cream shop...
Hope I was able to help! :-)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

P.V.

answers from Dallas on

Sounds like fun! My venue can host your party and we have tons of entertainment available. A themed party is always a good idea to keep kids (and adults) busy. What about a puppet show?

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.R.

answers from Dallas on

Hello, have you tried out this new birthday party company called The Royal Party Room?
They bring beautiful parties to whatever location you choose.
They also have different themes. The reviews are great too on parents connect.
The website is www.theroyalpartyroom.com

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.P.

answers from Dallas on

We just had a party for my 6 year old at Planet Pizza in Plano. It's relatively small and you can't go wrong with an indoor amusement park - it's not that big. Weeknights are especially quiet and the staff is very helpful. There are activities for the age range you mention. Good luck!
M. P

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.H.

answers from Dallas on

Boomerangs in Plano (SpringCreek & Coit)
www.boomerangspartyandplay.com

or Paint n party (Independence & Parker).

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions