Where have you had a b-day party out that was not crazy

Littlejen22

expensive?  I was having this conversation today with a friend.  Last year we did the kid's birthday at an ice cream place, it would have been reasonable if we did not have so many people say yes to coming.  DS' 1st birthday was at a Chinese buffet during lunch in a private room with using the public buffet and I think it came out to something crazy inexpensive like $10 per person including tax and tip and some guests were even eating sushi.

skippy2310

We had DD's birthday party at Gymboree this year and it was only $130 for 20 kids and they provided all the paper products, juice boxes, balloons, and an hour and a half of gym/class time. DS's party is going to be at the ice rink this year and it's only $30 to rent the room for 3 hours and $5 a person to skate and that includes skate rental, plus kids under 5 are free with $1.50 skate rental.

 

r9stedt

My back yard?   A local park?   

KoriBrett

We're taking DS to bounceland for his birthday, it's 8 bucks a kid, adults are free. ?We're not doing a party package, we're just going, then eating lunch & cake at my mom's after. ?

Generally, we make food or order pizza & do the party at my mom's or our house & let the kids go nuts. ?Doesn't have to be an involved shindig, you can eat cake anywhere ;-)

jettagurl

r9stedt:

My back yard?   A local park?   

This. My house. We'll be having our 9th kid party here in a month and I have yet to host one anywhere else.  

skippy2310

Both of my kids have fall and winter birthdays, so it's hard to do anything outside. I had DS's last birthday here and swore I wouldn't do it again. We had to have a separate family and friend party and I ended up spending a ton of time, energy, and money on his party. DD's party was so much easier and totally worth the $130 we spent to not have to worry about anything.

 

Littlejen22

r9stedt:

My back yard?   A local park?   

That is why I wanted summer babies!  In NJ in December there is no way I could have a party outside and my house is a bi-level and not good for having a large group.

#6

The girls just went to a party at an aquatic center. Its brand new and has big party rooms. They provide pizza, cake, paper products and balloons. I think it is $130 for 12 kids and after that I think it is $5 each. They swim for a bit go to the party room for food, cake, and presents (or whatever for up to 2hrs) and then swim for as long as you want to stay. It has a 2 story high slide, sprinklers, zero entry pool with a few other features (spray thing and a tower with buckets that fills up with water and dumps randomly on the kids) We were an hour early because I put the wrong time in my phone and they let my kids swim early. We ended up staying 2hrs after the party was over. They had a blast and are begging to have a party there. I will most likely do Ls there. So fun, easy, cheap.

MAM1006

have you looked into Michaels??  The one by me, in maryland lets you rent the room for $50 and the you bring your own supplies (they dont have to be bought from michaels).  my friend had one there and they helped her plan the crafts and had 2 helpers at the party.  One caveat is that the room was not that big and i dont know how many people are expecting.  another idea is a communtiy center room or something of that sort.

DandelionMom

The local bowling alley.  The party was something like $5 a person for an hour of bowling w/ shoes and an hour for the party.  We got $5 pizzas, fruit, juice boxes, and cupcakes.  No muss, no fuss.  I had enough left over to buy each of the guests a barbie instead of cheapie favors.  DD loved it. 

goodheartedmommy

We have had all of their parties at either my house or my mom's house. They all have cold-weather birthdays, so it's all inside (sometimes we get surprised with outdoor weather that day). No big deal. One year we had E's party a week late and we went to the local wildlife center (admission is free) after doing food/cake at my house.

shiloh17

I did my ds party at the playground near our house. It was near Halloween, so we got mini pumpkins and let all the kids decorate them. We had pizza, cupcakes, jello cups, juice boxes for the kids. They played and I had balls, wiffle bats, etc for them to use on the field next to the playground. I had it on a Sun 11-1, so it wouldnt be crowded. It really was fun. A few other friends did the same for their kids. Very easy party.

prism207

Rent a community center room.  A friend of ours did that, had access to a fridge and oven, brought in their own food, set up coloring on some tables for the kids...easy peasy and inexpensive.  

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