Birthday Parties at Gymboree?

monkaloo · June 2010

Blake's 3rd birthday is fast approaching. I really wanted to do his party at TW Children's Museum, but they aren't reopening in their new location until after his birthday.

He currently attends weekly Gymboree class and they offer party packages, so I thought maybe that would be a good alternative. The cost seems fair and he really does love his class, so it seems like a good fit. But in all the years of birthday parties we've attended - none have been at Gymboree. Therefore I'm admittedly a little hesitant to book "blindly", so to speak.

Has anyone hosted their child's party there, or even just attended one? What were your thoughts and impressions? Was it interesting enough to keep the slightly older kids interested? (The oldest kids will be 5, but most will be in the 2-3 year old range.) Did you feel it was worth it? Was it well organized? (As much as a little one's birthday party can be!)

Thanks!

darva · June 2010

A friend of mine had her son's party at the Gymboree in the Woodlands (the one near 242, no idea if there is another one) and the kids had a blast! They do fun games with them and let the run on the mats, etc. Micaela was probably 7ish then and she had fun too, so I think 5 year olds would be just fine. I don't remember the time limits, but we started off in the "gym" then they ushered them into the party room for cake and ice cream and then finished off with opening presents in the "lobby." The 2 kids that were working the party did a great job at keeping things running along and keeping the kiddos engaged.

TexasHarmony · June 2010

We went to our first a couple of weeks ago and it was fun. Both of my kids had a blast.

somethingchangd · June 2010

I held Ollie's first birthday party there a few weeks ago and I think it went well. We had a pretty wide range of ages (6 months - 4ish) and it seemed like all the kids were entertained. I've gotten good feedback, although I doubt anyone would say "your party sucked". I felt like it was kind of frantic and a little disorganized, but I think that was in large part due to the fact that it was my party. I don't think I would've felt quite so harried if I was just a guest, you know? (Even though there was little for me to do, I felt responsible.) I feel like the "teacher" did a good job of keeping the kids engaged and did great in moving the party from one aspect (free play, focused play) to another (cake).

If you do do it there, I would suggest booking the first party of the day, if possible. The turnaround between parties is insanely short - the next party was arriving while we were still cleaning up. (I was the first party so it was ok for me, but I felt badly for the people behind us.) I also wouldn't worry about food other than cake. I think part of the reason things took a bit long is that we offered pizza/sandwiches before cake and there just wasn't time to really do both. (90 minutes is a pretty short party - I feel like 2 hours would've been better.)

Overall I was very pleased, though. Any issues were few and minor.

monkaloo · June 2010

Thank you all very much! This is exactly what I needed to hear! (I would have posted this earlier but I got locked out of TN for a bit. Argh!)

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