Children's Birthday Parties
We have my daughter's fourth birthday quickly approaching, and
for the fourth year I've decided to play it simple. She had the misfortune of
being my third child, so by the time she entered the world I had lost most of
my zest for party planning and attention to the finest details! While I still
love to throw a party, choose a theme, and splurge on their special day, I'm no
longer painting sugar cookies until the wee hours of the morning, or printing,
cutting, and stringing a new banner for each party. In fact, the pink ribbon
garland I made for her first birthday will do just fine for the fourth
consecutive year! Don't get me wrong, I'll probably get back into spending far
too much time planning their parties, but for now, I've come to the realization
that I cared far more about it than they did, and because I was in crazy-party
planner mode I wasn't able to enjoy their day as much as I'd like.
I love a good home party, I think it's economical, personal, and
a great reason to gather friends and family. However, children reach a certain
age when you might start thinking about taking the party outside of your home.
To a place with additional help. And entertainment. I will never forget the
look my husband and I exchanged when we had twelve six-year-olds dressed up as
superheroes, battling in our family room. Fortunately I was able to wrangle
them into playing a few games that kept things slightly more controlled, but we
swore that would be the last home party for a while. So the following year I began my research of
where to host our son's party- and boy, was he excited! Having been to many
birthdays at various centres, he had always dreamt of the possibilities.
Here are a few:
Smart Moves is a great option for younger children, with private
party rooms offering meal options, along with play time in their STEM based
centre. The kids absolutely love it because they can run wild, climb, play, and
slide.
Bowling is a fun choice for kids who are old enough to throw the
ball fast enough down the lane! Bowlerama has quite a few five pin lanes,
bumpers, and a private party room with meal options.
Cineplex now offers a variety of movie packages to choose from,
whether you want to serve an entire meal to your guests, or just popcorn and a
drink. As with the other venues, you have a party room to gather the guests and
open gifts or play games.
A fun option I recently discovered is Swirleez, the frozen yogurt
bar by the waterfront. With their own party room, they offer a space for glow
in the dark games, make your own yogurt sundae, and more!
We ended up choosing Retro Planet, based on the activities
provided (mini golf, laser tag, and arcade games) the pizza lunch provided in a
private party room, and the cost per child. It was the perfect fit for our son
and his party preference! I also really liked that I was able to bring my own
decorations, and supplies. The kids absolutely love it there, which is all that
matters (read, I was ready for a long nap afterwards). My son had a blast, but
he knows that not every year is a "big" party year because it can
just be too costly.
This winter we booked Smart Moves for our middle child's fifth
birthday, but sadly he broke his collarbone on Christmas Eve, so we were forced
to relocate to Boston Pizza. It was the perfect place for a low-key,
non-physical party, which was just what the doctor ordered, literally. The kids
had fun making their own pizzas at the table, then decorating their ice cream
sundaes with tons of candy provided, and Boston Pizza even threw in loot bags
for each child. All the set up and clean up was taken care of by the staff
assigned to our party, and the price was perfect!
I've always wanted to try an outdoor park party, picnic-style,
another economical idea. I might give it a go in a couple years for my
daughter's birthday, though you always have to take a chance with the weather.
Have you tried this? Where did you do it?
Whatever your budget, there are many options out there for the
perfect party, big or small. Birthdays are very important to me, they are such
a special day in the lives of those who mean the most. One day my children
won't want a big party, or won't want us celebrating with their friends, so for
now I'll spoil them as best I can!
B
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