What Ideas for an Under Ten Birthday Party

I would not spend more than $200 on a party. That is about what the party places charge on average. If she has a home that has an area or backyard for them to play, she could rent a bounce house which kids love. You can get one about $140 or so. Kids love goodie bags to take with them. It can be a small bag or it can be one item. They seem to like pizza, chk nuggets, or finger foods best. They like cupcakes or cake. Themed parties are fun but under 5 they barely notice. The parties at other places are great b/c they do the clean up and prep. They have little gym places, chuck E Cheese, bounce places, bowling, skating, etc

She can try a bowling party. They keep the kids busy and she can focus on the kids. we had one for my god-son at Mac Daddys on the island. We had a great time it includes lunch they chose either pizza hambuger or corndogs they also get arcade money ans a get to bowl for 2 hours. they start about 170ish and go up. they kids passed out on the way home and my god-son crashed before we even left the alley.

She can access familyfun.com or birthdaypartyideas.com. How much she will spend depends on how much work she is willing to do or how creative she wants to be. I plan themed parties for my kids and relatives. I have spent anywhere from $200-$500 on parties. The fewer kids attending, generally the less you will spend. I try not to do home parties bc they require so much work cleaning and decorating. On party day, I like to help my child greet guests, but love for someone else to take responsibility for the serving, cooking, and entertaining. I also refuse to do the standard Chuck E. Cheese just bc I love for my daughters' parties to be different.

I have an 8 year old and a 2 year old. They have had a Alice in Wonderland Dress Up Tea Party, a Munchkin Reunion at a Farm, A Kim Possible Taekwondo Superhero Party, A BackYardigan Zoo Party, A Don't Forget the Lyrics Music Party, a Kindermusik Party, a Carousel Party at the Mall, an Isis Science Wonder Party, and a Little Gym(nast) Party.

You can cut corners doing the colored party decorations and utensils instead of the character parties. Also, your menu can help you cut corners. I have seen parents spend their money on renting a nice location or hiring a magician, etc. but only serve cake and punch. Or some parents have a nice spread of food and party at home.

The options are limitless. But before planning, you must decide on a budget or things can quickly get out of hand. Also sticking to a theme keeps the party planning in perspective and makes it fun for the kids. Don't forget that the websites will give great ideas and tips for making it all work according to your needs. Familyfun.com or birthdaypartyideas.com are great places to start. Also, in my area there are a few local websites with information on party places and themes just for my area. Your area may have something similar as well. Good luck.

Pump it up seems to be very popular (large bouncy house stuff including obstacle courses and big slides. Here is a link:
www.pumpitupparty.com/

I prefer it over "Jumpin' Beans" which seems to be almost as popular.

I like having parties at home & doing a BBQ & Playdate style party. I used my neighborhood clubhouse last year for my son's 5th birthday. The kids played on the playground then came in to eat. I had non-helium balloons & themed coloring pages lying around & on the playground I put out beach balls.

We had a flippin' blast.

P

Bowling parties are great if the kids are big enough to pick up the balls, so starting at 7 or 8 is perfect. Each one of my oldest has had a bowling party at 9 or 10.

Skating parties are great for the same age. We've had three of these and will probably have a couple more as the girls get older.

We took my 13 year old and her friends to the go Kart track.

Gymnastic parties are good for the smaller ones, say under 8.

We had a clown come in one year.

The YMCA might do pool parties.

Our bowling parties never cost me that much. I think the first one was $85ish for 14 kids and two years ago it was just over $100 for 9 kids. But I am in Jacksonville.
I have done home parties and found that the shorter the time the better the party. My 8 year olds party this Jan was 1 1/2 hours long. Perfect time to do games, cake, and presents, then have a little free time to play with all the presents he received.
At home parties kids here expect a "goody bag" a little treat bag with maybe some candy or small toys. You can get buy with a pinata then just supply bags. We don't do pinatas and the last party they got cowboy hats and neckerchiefs to wear at the party. Party Suppliers has a bunch of theme ideas.

A friend of ours had their son's birthday party at Monkey Joe's in Cary and we had a great time...not to mention the fact that the kids were completely worn out when we left. There are several places like that around here, tell her to find a copy of Carolina Parent for some great ads.

We opted for a home party, yesterday, for our 3 year old and the kids loved that as well. I just did fruit, veggies, chips, pretzels and mini cupcakes.

Hi There,

I have a sister who just did a home party with a star wars theme, she looked up alot of ideas online and made lime sherbert punch and called it Yoda Soda, had old halloween masks of the characters and then played the movie with popcorn and treats after everyone had time to run around. She said that several of the kids came up and told it was the best part ever. (they were 8 year old boys. She also did a home party for her 4 year old girl that was a princess party and had them all come to the event dressed up. She had precut "tiaras" that they then decorated and wore during their tea party, sipping from fancy cups and eating cakes and treats that were all pink. Her husband dressed in a suit with a white napkin over his arm, opened the doors, pulled out chairs, etc. It was very cute.
And also, the Science museum in Raleigh does cool parties, with different animals and activities; they actually bring live animals for the kids to pet into the private rooms.
Hope some of this helps,
D.
My kids are 2 and 3mo so I have not had to worry about this yet :)

Kids just like to have fun at parties--it's the parents who tend to put too much pressure on themselves to throw the perfect party. The other suggestions are great, but she can also check out http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/ for all kinds of ideas for throwing themed home parties. The people who write in about their ideas seem to me to go a little overboard, so please stress to her that what these people do is not at all expected, but it is a great source for ideas. Just keep the focus on doing something that the kids enjoy. And goodie bags of some kind--those are generally expected I think, but they can be simple too.

I hired a character for my daughter's last party. I used partiesbynanabelle.com (I think that is correct)They work in York county area. We got a princess, but there are characters for boys and older kids too. The price was right and they took care of entertainment- like games, face painting, balloon twisting etc. All we did was have a cake, the kids had a great time.
Good luck with your choices!

We've had fun parties at Chick-fil-A, Chuck E. Cheese's, and a local gymnastics school. We also went to a great one at a nature museum, where the staff brought out animal skins/hides to play with. We've also had a fun party grilling hamburgers and hot dogs in the back yard. Do whatever you like!