Seeking Birthday Party Ideas

Try Banneker Community center- they have a great playroom- large, lots of space and toys. Call Bloomington parks and rec: ###-###-####

Is there a park nearby with a picnic area? I've always had parties at my home, but I have lots of friends with smaller homes/yards who have done parks and it was very fun for the kids and adults!

My oldest daughter always takes the boys to Chuckee Cheese and they really love it. Its a little loud but everyone seems to have a good time.

playground world pgworld.com or the cleveland childrens museum.... just at both and they are quite inexpensive and offer soooo much for the kids to do.

Our favorite place to do parties with larger groups if the weather allows is a park. If the weather is no good, what about your local church? I know at our church you can have a shower or party there for free as long as you clean up after yourself!

My house is very small as well so we have had to try and be creative. Probably the best one I have done is Marion's Pizza. We used the Marions located on Dixie, it is just south of Needmore Rd. They will allow you to reserve space for FREE. They will also allow you to store ice cream/cake in their coolers until you are ready for it. The only cost involved is pizza and drinks, but for our party our family memebers bought their own food- so that they had whatever they wanted.
I hope this helps.

We took our son to the bowling alley with about 9 of his friends. We paid for two lanes of bumper bowling and then brought in our own drinks, pizza and cake. It wasn't very expensive at all and the kids had a blast.

Chick Fil a has an indoor play area, and would make a nice place for a b-day party. their food is healthier then McD's

if you are in Cinci, you might also try a shelter house at a park... Sharon woods has alot of nice places... and they have an indoor play area too (there is a cost per child)

mel

Splash Zone in Oberlin, Ohio is a great place for a party. I had my daughters 5th birthday last year there. I am not sure how many people or how much you are looking to spend. I spent about 100.00. on 20 people. Just wanted to add. They have life guards on duty and are very aware of whats going on.

Hi T.! I'm not sure how many kids you are planning on attending your daughter's birthday. But there are a couple of places I thought of that would be fun for a girl.One is Libby Lu's at Easton Mall. .they do the girls hair, they get to make special lotions and can even perform a dance to some music (depedning on how outgoing she is:) Or you could also go to any Build-A-Bear and they do birthday parties for kids, but I believe the minimum is 6 kids on that. Also there is a Carousel in Mansfield that will do parties at a reasonable price and they even provide tables, chairs, balloons and tablecloth for the tables. You get so many tokens with the package to ride the carousel. Hope this helps! Good Luck!

Hi T.,

Here are a few Ideas,

1. I know where we live we have a museum with a room we can rent and they provide activities tables chairs decorations and use of the musuem for the kids to do in the fee. You might check and see if there is anything like that there.

2. The YMCA has a room here to rent that also provides decorations tables chairs and an activity in the fee. It also has a pool party option (with life guard tables chairs decorations etc provided)

3. The parks and rec has a community building to rent out also covered in the package are decorations and activites (you provide the food and cake of course)

4. Rent lanes at a local bowling alley and have pizza

5. Rental at the Ice/roller Skating Rink ours has a birthday party room

6. Chuck E Cheeses and other types of places have rental packages

7. Build-A-Bear offers birthday party packages

8. The latest Glaze or places like it where you can go and create and paint your own pottery offer birthday party packages

9. Glamour shot/Spa type places in local malls where girls can dress up and get their hair and make up done and pictures taken

10. Rent a room at a local hotel with a pool/water park and have her invite 3 of her best friends (even numbers work best!) for a sleep over

My children have either been to or had birthday parties at places like this. They usually run around $100-150 to rent for 2 hours and are pretty much all inclusive. Some are by child like $10-12 per child and some are by the hour or by the party. In all it runs about $100-150 on average. Then you have to get the goody bags $15 and the cake $25-30 and drinks $10. So plan for around $150-200 total. We usually tell our kids this is most of their B-day present from us!

Hope these ideas help you.

E.

What does she like to do? How about at a skating rink? What about a local pool? Many times local schools have open swim for kids. Do you have a church that will give you a room or charge you very little?

For a 5 or 6 year old a birthday at McDonald's Playland is a great idea. You might have a few kids who aren't in the party there but it's not that bad. Just bring a few cupcakes. You can get 24 cupcakes at BJ's or Sam's for 12 bucks and then just buy the kids a lot of sandwiches and fries off the dollar menu at Micky D's. Kids meals aren't bad but will run you 4-5 dollars a kid. Forgo the party favors if you want to save some green. They don't need it and I always hate telling my son not to eat the candy till after dinner. Also if the parents want to stay then they can get their own lunch/dinner. For a 5-6 year old party you don't need more than an other parent or two to help with the wrangling of the kids. You buy their lunch for helping but not everyones.

OR if you want to spend around 200:

We did a zoo party and it was around 200 for 10 kids and 2 adults (at the Akron zoo). The parents paid for themselves to get in $4 a person unless they had a membership which most of mine did. This came with 2 animals up close to touch a reptile and a mammal. Lunch and a drink for th kids (not adults) and then they give them a bag of goodies when they leave which was great because it had NO candy!!! You take a quick tour of the zoo and then you eat. It was great. I will do that again for one of my other children.

I read about parties that are themed, like buy dress up clothes that she can have after the party and do a theme, cowgirl, princess, and what ever the them try to have them make their own cupcakes and not have a big cake. they can make crafts that they can take home. eg, wind chimes, picture frame. then you can give them a pic of the birthday girl and them to put into the frame. But I think if you want to have it at your house you need to keep them busy all the time or your house will look like a disaster, good luck

What about a Spring Fling party. Easter is at the end of March which means that all of the pretty easter decorations, plates, etc will be 50-75% off. I have found that renting a park indoor shelter can be pretty inexpensive or maybe your church (if you have one). The girls can each paint a wooden flower (be sure to have old shirts to cover their clothes). Party favors can be a bag of jelly beans, that you would have gotten on sale. A fun cake could be the yummy Dirt Cake made with chocolate pudding and crushed Oreos. You can even make individual cups with a gummy worm and fake flower. Play pin the petel on the daisy. Have fun celebrating you precious daughter's 5th birthday! Let us know how it goes...

Hey T. E!
I have a wonderful ceramics business that specializes in birthday parties! I use the Studio Arts Center, a beautiful space on Lincolnway that is a gallery. I throw ceramic painting parties, please visit www.willowbayceramics.com for pictures and ideas. I get that you are trying to not spend alot, I could do a tile party-everyone gets a 6X6 tile with holes to hang it later, I bring the glazes, stamps, everything they need to have fun and personlize their tile. I take them home, fire them and return them to you a week later. The Studio has a full kitchen so to save $$$ you can bring the cake and drinks, I'll supply the fun and activity. I can do it for $10 a child and $35 for the studio time, I can do a discount on 15 or more painters. The birthday child also gets a customized tile with everyone who attends finger print on it to remember the occasion. I'm very flexible and have other plans as well! I hope that's helpful:)
Thanks,
K. Hendrix

My son will be 5 in a couple of weeks & we are going to Chuck E. Cheese. We aren't having any other kids, simply for the money factor, but Grandma & Grandpa are going. My mom tells me that she had taken him there & he loved it.

We just had a party for our 2 outside the home so I know how expensive a lot of places can be. This might not be right for your daughter, but I've heard of people having a b-day party at a local fire station. I think it's free, you bring the cake or whatever (plus some to share with the firemen) and the kids get a tour of the fire house, sit in the truck, and maybe even some activities. Might be better for a boy, but I know a lot of girls are pretty interested in that stuff, too.

Hi T.! My daughter will be eight in a few days. The biggest, most talked about, birthday party that she has had was a pool part at a neighborhood hotel. We got one room for me, my husband, my daughter and one of her closest friends. The next morning we got up, the rest of the guests arrived, we had cake, opened presents and then went swimming for a few hours. The fact that the kids were able to go swimming in February was the talk of the school (her teachers told me that she could not believe how popular the part was!) The only thing I would make sure is that there is an adult that would be able to stay that knows about water safety, cpr, etc.

If you attend a church check with your church about using the fellowship hall, student center,gym or common area.
With our boys we've done army birthdays(obsticle course & all), firemen birthdays (real firemn came in full gear) and sports birthdays all at our church.
It takes some prep to get everything carried in. But after 2-3 hours everyone is on their way home and there is no mess to clean up at home!
Make it a gardening party with plants, dirt, seeds etc...Kid gardening tools would make great party favors.
Through in a garden tea party and the girls would love it.
I teach preschool and we have a Teddy Bear Tea every year. Kids both girls and boys love to bring their favorite teddy bear and have a big party.
Have fun and keep it simple!
-J.

Hi! I am planning my son's 5th birthday pary right now & have been looking into a few different ideas myself. We live out so far that no one will come to the house! So, I am looking into somewhere convenient to have several kids attend. I would call some of your local bowling alleys & get prices. I think that is the route we are going to choose. I got a few different prices... about $50 for the bowling, which includes shoes... or $80 which includes food & bowling & shoes... each are for 1 1/2 hrs. We also looked into skating... which I think was around $150 though. I thought it would be fun, but my husband thought it was a bad idea at his age. But, if you're looking for something different... we have done a few pizza parties that are pretty inexpensive. I think Donato's typically allows you to rent their party room for free w/ a certain amount of pizza. And, Massey's (in Gahanna at least) only requires that you spend $60 I think & that's it. And... you can decorate these places if you wish. I really liked using Massey's... I've done it for a few different occassions. Anyway, those are just a couple of ideas for ya. Good luck & have a great time!

Hi T.,

At our church we have an indoor playland that you can rent out for parties. I believe it costs $45 (double check me on this)for 2 hours and there is also a refundable deposit. You supply your own food, cake etc, but it is a nice facitlity and resonably priced. You can get information at www.westerville-christian.org The playland is called Central Park. That is what you will need to click on the website. Good luck!

McDonald's is a forgotten blessing as far as birthday parties go. They have cakes, games, everything. And, I don't believe they are real expensive. Although it's been a while since I've done a youngesters party! Actually, most restaurants anymore host kids parties. Also, you might try a craft store like Michael's or hobby Lobby. I agree with having one outside of your home when they are so young. Plus, some else gets to clean up!

Good luck!

What county do you live in? The Geauga Park District has enclosed lodges that you can reserve for free(heat is $25) and you can host more than enough children. Perfect for April, when you are not sure if it will be nice enough to have the party outside or in. If you aren't in Geauga you should check into your local park buildings. We have used the park district buildings for many parties. A small house makes it hard to host at home and when you are somewhere else it is so much easier to clean up. Good Luck!

Hello T.! If you attend a church you might consider asking for "loan" of a classroom for 2 hours or so ... and if you don't have a church, call one in your neighborhood and ask. Sometimes a church will accept a "donation" (which could be within your budget) and a promise to clean-up following the event.
Do you have a couple adults to help you supervise? I definitely recommend that (don't try to do it all yourself).
In terms of games - "the simpler the games, the better" from what I recall! Dropping clothes pins into a bottle; coloring a birthday greeting for your child on a l-o-n-g piece of white paper table covering taped to the floor; "pin" (w/masking tape) the hat on the Easter Rabbit (or donkey or snowman); pass the potato (use a real potato) or some other vegetable that won't be messy if it hits the floor.
And consider serving finger foods -like cut-up-apples and pretzel stix- to avoid serving something a child with a food allergy may not have.
Consider serving cupcakes at "the party" and save the special b'day cake for home and family.
And I sure would limit the number of children attending: 1) for your sanity, 2) because you may not know the other children well in terms of behavior outside of school, and 3) at age 5 you may not want to overwhelm your little girl with 12, 18, or 30 friends! :)
Best Wishes for a Wonderful Time for you and your daughter!

The Copper Cup in Westlake is a large, nice coffee shop. They have a good sized back room with tables that you can reserve for free. Since it's just girls you could keep it quiet with a craft. You should call and ask them about it.

We have used Chuck E. Cheese - they have reasonable priced pizza plans with special prizes for the kids (check their web site for details). Our Community also has a "Bounce City", which is a a building full of inflatable climbing, playing structures, along with other games, etc. You can bring a cake and have a party on their indoor picnic tables. I would also check with the local "Y", the parks department, etc. Many times they have specials for children's parties. Parks and community centers often have an enclosed building with rooms available for rent fairly inexpensively. Also, ask your child's teachers for fun and inexpensive games - they are pro's! Check also with other restaurants about party room - many are glad to welcome children! Have a good time!

I had my son's birthday party at Graeter's last year and it was wonderful. Comparatively, I thought it was quite reasonable price wise. They have a couple of options -- they can provide an icecream cake or you can choose to have icecream sundaes. I chose the latter and brought my own cake. But, they handled everything, ran the whole party, etc. I was free to respond to guests needs and just make sure everyone was having fun. And, the kids all seemed to have a great time playing in their indoor play area.

Since money is an issue you might see if your local movie theater has free spring movies, ours does and you can get the party room there after to have your birthday party.

How about avoiding the places with scary food for kids? You could try calling your local library, which usually have community rooms for little or no cost. Since they frequently offer crafts and games, they most likely won't have a problem with you wanting to provide some for your party goers.

A lot of churches also offer space, and may even have play facilities in the bargain.

Another possibility, depending on the time in April, is to have the party in a park at a playground or shelterhouse. Some areas can be reserved for a fee, some you can claim by showing up. There isn't a high demand for such spaces in April. One of our favorite parties was in a park. One of the crafts was making fairies with hats and accessories made of found natural materials around us. You can also take a nature walk/scavenger hunt when everyone gets wiggly from the treats.

Happy Birthday to your daughter. My youngest is an April baby, too!

A.

Would one of the grandparents enjoy hosting the party. If you limit it to your child plus 5 others (her age), the grandparents might be delighted to be involved with her party. As a grandparent myself, I would enjoy that.

I'm new to the area so I'm not that familiar with facilities or prices, but I have seen parties going on at Graeter's Ice Cream on Bethel across the street from Walmart. They have a party area and a play area to burn off all that sugar. You can limit the kids to her favorite friends and go to the zoo or COSI (especially if the other kids have memberships). Pump It Up might be a little spendy, but it's a blast for 5-year olds. You could also hire a couple of preschool teachers with their wealth of craft knowlege and skill to do a bunch of craft projects with the girls to entertain them in a small space. Oriental Trading Company is a good place to go online for supplies and party ideas. That's about all I can think of. Good luck!

Have you considered a "girly party" at a nail salon? They can arrange package deals for all the girls to get feet and nails done and you can talk to them about getting a light lunch brought in, having cake and ice cream after they feel gorgeous. Not to mention it will be a blast for the girls...now if you are having boys at the party you might want to consider Laser Tag or Skating Rinks...

Hello T.,
I was just in a hair place for kids I think the name was SNIP IT'S and they have a room for parties. I'm not sure what all they offer. The girls might be able to get their hair and nails done and then have cake etc...

My daughter just turned 4 and we invited all the kids in her preschool along with family and a few friends in our subdivision so we went to Pump It Up. The kids had a blast. The grown-ups can also participate in the fun.
They have two blow up jumpers, a blow up slide and a blow up obsticle coarse. They run around for atleast an hour and then there is a party room you get for an hour for cake and ice-cream and presents etc... they also let you buy pizza from them if you want. If not, you are allowed to bring in drinks.
This place was pretty pricy but that was on the weekend. I'm not sure if they are open durring the week or if they would have anything cheaper. You could give them a call and find out or go on their website. Several mothers said they would have their childs next birthday party there.

There is also the Little Gym. I'm not sure if your daughter would be into that though. They have more things like the balance beam, un-even bars etc... you could see if they have a web site or call for more information.
I hope this helps:)
T.