I am sure almost every parent has been there. You know that place of madness where you decide that hosting, making, baking, and cleaning up a birthday party are much better in terms of sanity price.
You blithely plan it all then realize two days before hand that you have a lot of decorating and baking and, oh yeah, where are 25 people going to fit if it rains? Then you add clean the bathrooms to your list and think you got it. THE DAY arrives. You are making that step by step app and frosting the cake or yelling at your other half to go pick it up, shoving the kids out of the kitchen and taping up that darn banner for the millionth time. Oh yeah, kind of forgot to clean the bathroom and I see that smudge of fingerprints on the light switch…and the wall….and the door…and the door handle’s sticky and good grief, if I don’t sweep that floor then every one knows what was for breakfast, and wait, is that a pizza crust on the floor? Oh yeah, last night’s dinner too.
Okay, let’s wake up from the dream, er, nightmare or all too real flashback and try again. In the space of one week we were invited to check out two different kids’ party locations. Yeah, two. (Is someone trying to tell me something? Are my parties THAT bad?)
Birthday Parties at YOUR Place
First excursion we took was to My Gym in Cherry Hill, NJ. Yes, non-locals, this still pertains to you. See if there is a My Gym near YOU! If you are local, we had a great time there. The staff was friendly and fun and kept the party moving. They broke the time into segments so there was always something new to do. From toddler to 11 year old, there was party fun for every one. With balance beams, zip lines, bubbles and a tent, lively music kept everyone moving to the beat and running all that pent up energy out. My 5 year old fell asleep in the car. SCORE!! My Gym, Cherry Hill NJ, offers parties up to 14 years old and makes birthday parties fun and easy for you. How about “your place, not mine” next time?
The next evening we were invite to Cupcakes Gourmet, a local Cupcake store, to check out their new party room. I’m thinking Girl’s Night Out but it would be perfect for a kid’s party too. No mess, no stress – in my house – the kids go there for the party. They choose a cupcake, then add their favorite frosting color or colors, add some toppings and enjoy their one of a kind creation. Again, I’m asking “how about your place, not mine?”
Where do you choose to party? How do you make it “stress-free” or at least low stress?
I wish they had things like this when I was a kid! It would have saved my mom hours of preparation and cleanup. Plus, it looks like they have a lot of fun options for kids.
I don’t like the clean up part either
This looks fun! I love having parties at places outside of the house…much less stressful!
When my kids were younger and wanted to invite several friends, I always took the party somewhere besides our home. Even if it was at the local park or community pool. I didn’t want the stress to get ready and clean up too. Plus, when we were out in a public place, I felt like it was those children’s parent responsibility to oversee their actions. 🙂
I need to utilize the park! So much easier!
Looks like they had a great time! We used to do birthday parties at my dance studio and while it was a lot of work for my staff & I, it was great for the parents.
I am sure it was lot of work! My daughter would LOVE that kind of party. Hmmmm…
I definitely agree with your article, I think it’s not worth it when you put all your efforts (+cash too) when you organize a home party and everything goes out of hand. With the kids, food and other party gimmick you have to take care of, it could be chaos you know. It’s more relaxing for you and visually enganging for the kids when your party is held outside, you don’t have to worry that much. And there seemed a lot more things for kids to do!
Generally that also cuts the decorating budget! Win-win!
In summer months we try to do parties in the parks, because it means easier cleanup and is very much worth the hassle of dragging everything to the park – but our winters are dreary, so we like to take advantage of the sun whenever possible. 🙂
In the winter, I agree, still, we like to take them elsewhere. Thankfully here in Portland we have lots of pizza parlors, indoor mini golf spots, etc. that are more than accommodating.
We’ve been to two parties at MyGym: one when Owen was barely 1yr and one when he was barely 2yrs. I thought they did a nice job balancing a few structured things with free play. At barely 1yr Owen wasn’t really able to do or enjoy much. At barely 2yrs he had a great time, BUT I think it would be better suited for 3yrs or older. The older kids certainly seemed to be having a blast.
Creativity is the key to a successful party. Along with cost. There’s a place called Bounce U that does kids parties near me. They did a pretty good job and my niece and nephew loved it 🙂
we try to choose places that are age appropriate for the birthday kid… When they were younger we chose places like Little Gym or the local gymnastics place… now that they are older we love laser tag and go carts 🙂 Thanks for the post
Go carts would be fun…even for the adults!
That’s awesome, I especially love the cupcake party! I don’t even have kids and I love when I can have a party somewhere else, LOL. Last year I had a party down at the beach and it was great!
I think cupcake parties would be fun for adults too! I wold love a party on the beach.
Nice article! I prefer to do non-home based birthday parties away as they tend to have better facilities, the food is laid on and most importantly there is a finite amount of time allotted for the party (nobody lingering on until the early evening)
My favorite part is not having to clean up. I *usually* don’t mind people staying though. I love a full house. 🙂 BTW, just visited your blog. LOVE it.
Thank you 😀 – Yours is pretty cool as well 🙂