I'm trying to decide on what to do for my 2 year old girls' B-day party in December. I don't necessarily want to have it at my house. A friend of mine rented one of those "gyms" for a B-day party, but I thought it was way overpriced! And I'm guessing that other little gyms are all similarly priced. It was fun, but way out of my budget! Plus, I'm in Kansas City, so weather will be an issue. Any fun, creative ideas?
I had a "dress up" party for my oldest daughter's second birthday. I bought costumes in different sizes right after Halloween when they were 75% off and then put them in a trunk. The girls had a great time trying on all the costumes and we had a "tea party" (with juice instead of tea). And the homemade dress up trunk was my daughter's birthday present which she still gets into every day!
well, i don't know where you are located, but here we have some nice parties at the zoo, weather permitting. it's kind of inclimate here now in the midwest, but depending where you are, it might be fun!
If you do find a place that is suitable for you and your group. I make homemade beautiful birthday cakes, that are very moist. I have pictures of cakes that I have made if you would like to see. and depending on how many people are being served and what your theme is, they are usually inexspensive. Let me know if you are interested. Or let me know an email address if you would like me to send pics of some cakes that I have done. I also make homemade candies (chocolates like rose suckers, and teddy beary suckers, etc.)
Good luck hun!
I know all about having bdy's on a small budget. My son's birthday is Dec. 24, my other children are in the summer and I can reserve one of the parks which is free. Not so with the December baby. Pizza Hut here has a "party" room that they rent for free. I did that once and since pizza for everyone was out of my budget, I just ordered a few orders of breadsticks and had it at 2-3 and brought my own drinks. Another idea is a local rec center, they usually have rooms to rent at a resonable price. Do you have a church? Maybe they have a room for you to use? Where I used to live they had an old train depot that they restored and rent out for only 25.00 a day, you can get that information probably from the city or something?? That is where you get it from here. Hope I have given you some ideas. For my son's last birthday we had it at the local rec center (not the YMCA) and we rented a room for the party and the pool for an hour and it was only 100.00.
We did the Deanna Rosa petting zoo one year, but you never know about the weather this time of year. Crayola Cafe at crown center was alot of fun for my daughter's second birthday. Also ChuckeCheese seems so overdone but the kids really love it. The KC zoo may still be offering parties, they do in the summer at least :) Hope this helps at all.
Unfortunately, most places charge around $7 to $10 per child. I totally understand not wanting the stress of having it at home, but you might rethink that. At 2 years old, there are a lot of fun things you could do at home without spending a ton of money somewhere else, like having a finger painting party or letting the kids decorate their own cupcake, things like that. My kids are 10 and almost 14, and I've gone both ways, the at home parties and renting a place out. Once, we even had a makeup party for my daughter, and her friends loved that. At this age, I really think you would have more fun having a party at home, or if it's nice outside, at a park, but of course in December it will probably be too cold for that. As they get older, they'll WANT to have parties at the more expensive places; I'd save your money for when that happens. Good luck!
I know it's hard when you're birthday is in December or the cold months. Mine is December 30th. Maybe go to Chuckie E Cheese's if u have one nearby or have a home party and have hot coco and smores or something like that.
What about Wonderscope in Shawnee ?
Here's what their website had:
Invitations and admission for the birthday child and 11 children
- Additional children are $6 each
- 10 adults may attend the party for FREE
- Additional adults are $3 each
- Infants are FREE
2 hours of play and party
- First 1½ hours exploring the exhibits
- The last 30 minutes in our special Indoor Picnic Area
Decorated birthday cupcakes and napkins
Apple juice
Staff member to help serve and to clean after the party
All of this for only $125!
I agree, those gym places are VERY expensive. My daughter just turned three this week, we didn't have a big party. We had the grandparents and the aunts and uncles, and one friend. That was enough for us, and enough people for our house.
If you really don't want to have it at home, what about your church or everyone just going to a pizza place and doing it there? I wouldn't suggest the one with the big mouse, it's a little crazy in there for a 2 year old-but several pizza places have little arcade areas for the kids.
You could maybe do a Chuck E Cheese or Incredible Pizza party. This can get a little bit expensive depending on how many people you have though. An other idea is one I just recently saw advertising for. You could do a birthday party at a McDonald's with a playarea. They have b'day packages you can purchase so all the kids get a happy meal & toy, then you have your cake and do presents, then the kids all play in the playland.
I love planning birthday parties for my kids.....my husband says i should start my own business with it. You live in KC right? December birthday you couldn't do much outside here in KC.....so what about going to the Independence Center, since your daughter will be 2 you could play in that play area there and get a couple of tables and have a party there......that would be fun for 2 year olds and older kids as well......or little girls like to play dress up also, you could have a little get together at your house and have a make up, nail and toe party, paint there nails and toes and give a little bottle of polish as a gift. Just some ideas I thought of right off the bat.....
Both these ideas should be well under your budget, no expense renting a building or gym.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to talk further.....HAVE FUN!!!
We used our church's fellowship hall to do a finger painting party one year. We used yogurt colored with food coloring and the kids had a great time eating the paint and wearing dh's grungy t-shirts. It was super easy to clean up and kept them from spreading cake all over the place.
We went to a pizza place that had lots of video games another year. This is better for the bigger kids and can be expensive.
A tumbling class, toddler dance lessons, or trip to the zoo could also be great if you get lucky enough to have a warmer day.
A small celebration at home is usually best during the winter especially at this age when she won't remember it.
If your in the OKC area, there are several parks with buildings that you can rent. My daughter just had her party this last weekend at a park in Norman, and the price to rent the building was very reasonable. If you want more information, let me know. I think I still have the info for the different parks.
Last year at my Friends Sons 2nd birthday she had it at a Burger King and it was around $50 for a cake, small gift from BK and 10 kids meals. My kids had a blast at it and her some thought it was awesome because they got to play in the playarea too. Hope it helps.
Hey A.,
We had our daughters 2 year birthday party at McDonald's and it was a huge hit even for the older kids. It was very reasonable, I think it was around $60 and that was for 10 happy meals, cake and ice cream. I'm actually thinking about doing her birthday there again this year because her birthday is in Jan and we have the wheather issue too. Best of luck to you..
K.
