2Nd Birthday Party Ideas...Anyone???

You might want to try Pump It Up. It's an inflatable party zone. I used the one in Union City. Adults and kids 2 and under are free. I think it's about $250 and that covers 25 kids between the ages of 2-17. I gave my sons 3rd birthday party there and everyone had a blast. After everyone has finished jumping and running around (adults included), I think you only get about 30-45 minutes in the party room. Not long enough to open gifts so we did that at home. I'd recommend going elsewhere to eat and take your time. I didn't want the hassle of going someplace else so I ordered pizza through the company they had there (which was overpriced) and we had cake. I've found cupcakes to be a lot easier and save a lot of time also, but I usually order a small personal cake for the purpose of singing and blowing out the candles. My son doesn't even like cake. He's a chocolate chip cookie kid, lol. Good luck!

Hi A.,

Have you checked out Pump It Up Jr. for the kids? It is located in Sunnyvale and it's $255 for up to 16 kids. You could then head over to Jake's Pizza for a no-host lunch or dinner. My son, 9, has always enjoyed parties he's attended there and they do a really good job. You can check it out at http://www.pumpitupparty.com/

Pump It Up Junior (for 1-5 yr olds) is a fun place for them. There is one on Fair Oaks in Sunnyvale.
http://www.pumpitupparty.com/StoreHome.aspx?StoreID=180&a...

It's about $250-300 for a party there and can order pizza and drinks through them.

Another idea is Happy Hollow, but it is harder to contain your party there, even with the little party area.

I'm not sure where you live but there is a place called Super Franks in Pleasanton. A few of my friends have had their childrens birthdays there and the kids have a blast. I know they have a bunch of different party options and I think their price ranges from $250-$350. Their website is www.superfranks.com Good Luck

We had my 2year olds party at Picture perfect party place in Dublin, not sure where you live but you can also try My Gym in San Ramon they were both great places for toddlers.

For my daughters 2nd birthday we had 17 of her closest friends and cousins over to "Jungle Island". I had a friend design and print Jungle bucks on thick card stock. With these bucks they bought a bag of animal crackers, pith (sp?) helmet and binoculars. A plethora of large inflatable jungle animals in crates in the backyard. I also compiled a CD of jungle noises that continuously played outside. I created a safari by asking questions at a young level (i.e. what animal has a long trunk and big ears) and we would walk around until we found it.
Any way I could go on and on :) But here are some great websites: http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/ http://www.shindigz.com/ and of course everyones favorite
http://www.orientaltrading.com/

Good luck! I am in the middle of planning my daughters 3rd party (Fairy & Elves tea party)

I did my friends childs birthday party at Roundtable pizza. Its just a 50 dollar deposit and min order of 3 pizza's. The one in Pinole has the big playround area for kids. I dont know about your Roundtable but its indoors and they have a party room.

Pony lead party at Lazy H in Half Moon Bay. (http://www.lazyhponyranch.com/)

We had a 4 hour party, where parents lead kids on ponies in ring, used their grill to BBQ, used shelter for food set up and craft (stick ponies), and played games in the field. They provide the place, 6 ponies, and 2 staff for the ponies. It was under $300 and a BLAST! Breen was great and really flexible.

Have you looking into Pump It Up? I have a 21 month old and 3 year old that love this place. I was just online and saw that they have a place for toddlers so that might be an even better place for the party.

Just a suggestion from a mother of three and grandmother of three: Keep it simple, at this age what you are really giving your child is the positive feeling of having family, friends and children around. The highlight of the party is the cake and blowing out of the candles. Keep it simple, pizza and hot dogs, potato salad, green salad and of course the cake and ice cream. Delegate some of your relatives to bring drinks and buns, etc. Delegate whenever you can. It helps and people love to contribute if they can afford it. I would put more money into a special cake and decorations for the table.

Maybe Pump it Up, or Super Frank's. Not sure if there is one close to you, but Super Frank's is in Pleasanton. I'm having my son's 3rd birthday there on Sun. :) Good luck

My daughters bday is in November, so I know what you are going through with the weather. My daughter just turned 3 and I found an old fashion ice cream parlor and they let me decorate the table and bring in the cake. It was great! The young girls that worked there cleaned up and no extra cost. It was just the cost for the ice cream and small sandwiches for kids and the guest. It was a lot of fun!

Try The Little Gym. They do great birthday parties for toddlers. They're relaxing for the parents, as well.

well there is super franks now and picture perfect party is fun for little ones. You can go to little gym too in Blackhawk but probably not too good for 2 year olds unless they are good climbers. But the staff is great there. You can go to pump it up too which is great fun, they also hava a similair one in Livermore called parti palooza. My daughter will be 2 on 4/13...happy birthday to all. :-0

My daughter is turning 2 in April as well.. We had decided to have a pizza party at home. Our birthday invitation time says something like 2 to 4 pm. The catch is when everyone arrive we ask them to take off their shoes and socks. We then give them Birthday booties,(you can find sale on 6pk of sock anywhere) we use marker and write Baby name birth date on them. It make your guest fell special and they get to keep them. It's keeps your floor or rug clean as well and this is how we keep our guest in the house. We also are put a time limit on the party. everyone eats first about 30 to 45 minutes, then 2 small indoor games again about 30 to 45 minutes depends on the amount of children. Then we open presents first (so we can take pictures) and then have cake. By this time 2 hours are up, and a nice way to say party is over, is to say, when everyone ready to leave, we have a nice party box for each of the children. This works great, because the children are always ready to get candy and toys. and the phase is "when you are ready to leave you get a box"

I agree with one of the previous responders to keep it simple. At age 2 the party is really for everyone else BUT the child. The kid has no idea it's their birthday. We have good old fashioned home birthday parties. We put out chips and some simple drinks. We have cake and ice cream and sing. The kids play (not organized games). That's it. It seems the less planned the party, the more fun it is! That is possible even with several guests. Our youngest is the 30th grandchild.

Hi - not to be a party pooper, but at 2yr old, your daughter doesn't care where the party is yet. 50 people sounds more like a party for adults/family than for a toddler. I'd suggest keeping it simple with a few people with other kids (at your house or somewhere a 5-8 kids could play for an hour or two) and save a bigger event for the summer "just because". Playing and cake are perfect at this age. Your daughter will come to expect "bigger and better" parties every year soon enough. Enjoy simple while you can.

Please I am in the same situation everything you wrote is the same with me except I am the Grandma helping my son raise his daughter I dont care for chuck cheese well I should say she did not care for it please let me know of anything you find I did google with this same question and there was one place in San Ramon that seemed really nice and they did everything for you and even took pictures and gave you a cd of them it was a little expensive but not that bad. please let me know of any ideas that you get i did the bbq last year also and it was cold also her day is 04/07 i am feeling your frustration.

R.
____@____.com

Picture Perfect Party in Dublin

I don't know where you live, but what about a park? Just "squat" at a park bench area to save the tables. Decorate it with balloons and streamers. Bring sandwiches and a cake. Let the adults mingle while the kids play on the playground. I am all for simplicity. Only have the party for 2-3 hours so not to interfere with nap time and other plans the parents might have that day.

A. -

Congratulations on the 2nd birthday! If you haven't already checked Gymboree Play and Music you should try them to see if they're available. Their prices should be alot more reasonable and the play area is more appropriate for a 2 year old. The Jungle can be kind of confusing for younger ones. You can view locations on their website which is www.gymboreeclasses.com. I have a Gymboree site in the East Bay - feel free to email me with questions if you have any (____@____.com).

J. Freeman

It looks like you've gotten some great responses so far. I would ditto the Super Franks one- I love that place! Much quieter and cleaner than the jungle or chuck E Cheeses, but my kids love it just as much! The food is really good and much more gourmet than your typical kids place. They are opening a toddler play area in the next couple of weeks, so that might work well for your age group. We are always on a tight budget, so I've discovered that you can still have parties at these places without paying for their party package. Bring your own cake, favors, etc., and just buy some food for everyone. I have 4 kids and I think we've done most of our parties for under $100. We have 3 birthdays in April, and it is a very unpredictable month for outdoors, so a back up plan would be a good idea :-) Good luck!

Hi A.,

I guess it all depends on where you live.. For my daughters second birthday we went to the local Zoo where there were toddler rides with 50 ride tickets included, a park setting with a play srtucture for toddlers and big kids, 8 free admission tickets to the zoo and babies 2 and under were free and pizza, chips cookie and juice included all for about 400.00 for about 3-4 hours.
Both the kids and parents enjoyed the zoo. I had about 20 kids and 15 adults in attendance.

Second idea for a smaller budget would be to have it at a park in a part of town were the weather is guaranteed to be warmer then in your own neighborhood. With a nice play structure for both toddlers and big kids maybe Rent a 150.00 jumper, outdoor food and bring face painting, balloons, bubbles and other types of arts and crafts that will keep a crowd of 2yr olds entertained...

Hope that helped a little!!!

Best Wishes,
M.

I know exactly how you feel, There is not enough options for kids birthday parties these days! The last two years I went to chuck e cheese for my daughter and honestly I dont really like it there, its always way over crowded!! But it always rains on my daughters birthday every year, so I always have to find a indoor place for a birthday party... And My house is not an option, its way too small for alot of people and the furniture is way too light for alot of kids. So this year we are going to a pizza place and she is going to have her party there. I wanted to try Build a Bear but I dont want people to drive an hour just for a birthday party. But if you live close to one you could try that. Or maybe one of those indoor playground buildings... or maybe just an local pizza place like I am doing. They usually have a big back room for stuff like that, and there isnt a time limit on most of them either. Well hope this helps... and your not the only one with birthday issues... I have them every year with both of my children... my daughters birthday is in march and its always raining and my sons birthday is in aug when its really extremely hot. haha... Good luck!!

My Gym is fun. They direct the kids in activities, then everyone moves to another room for cake and icecream. They clean up and set up the present area. I believe it's @ $100-$200, depending on what day of the week and time you have it. My daughter went to her friend's party there when she was 1 1/2 and loved it. The one we went to was located across from the Sunrise Mall.

My daughter will be turning 2 on April 11th, and I too am debating if we should have an outdoor BBQ at the park, or at Rico's pizza. I remember last year was really cold and wind outside. But for some reason I think it might be nice and sunny around that time. Well I just want to wish you luck on your decision, and have fun.

P.S. I have a large family like you and
I couldnt bring myself to invite only 5
of them. I think if you could handle it
its your choice.

We do pony parties here, have a lovely outdoor space, a barn and a covered arena. We have done 2 for 2 year olds, most are for 3-10....check out our website and see if it works, it's less than 1/2 of the Jungle place you checked out.
You can come out and visit and see if your daughter is interested. It only works for her if she is interested in horses. We also do "mini-lessons" for 2 and up. We also have a lovely house at the river on an acre of land--mess up someone else's house, (I think having it somewhere else is great. We really seem to stress ourselves out when we need to get our house/garden/etc. On that note, a small tip--if you do decide to go with something at home--only clean/fix superficially, no one notices more....unless it is someone who would say or notice NO MATTER HOW GREAT THINGS WERE/ARE.
also, a park, w/ a playground--Ives, etc. Schools meet there frequently w/ similar #'s. At 2 they just need a safe space, and it sounds like you need something to make it easy. (oh if you are interested in checking out the pony party try www.welltrainedhorses.com. Click down to pony party & check out "mini-lessons".
Have a great time, she won't remember much, so make it fun and easy for you.
my very best,

S. Jan H. (since they do that anyway)
Today is the lst day I've used this site. I didn't realize it was so geographically diverse. Most communities have park spaces that can be reserved for a small fee--they don't guarantee weather, the rec & parks depts of most cities have something like this. In SF you could reserve different parts of the park for a small fee ($50 for the log cabin area--picnic tables, lots of grass before the road, paths,etc.) Some areas are next to play structures. Neighborhood parks like Douglas & Glen Park (where we had our son's 2nd bday.)
A few other notes on the pony party, perhaps when she is 3, we have games like horseshoe painting, treasure hunts, etc. and they are all age appropriate. The games provide favors, we have 2 picnic tables. We provide utensils, plates, napkins, etc. in bright colors w/ horse themed plates. All children get to choose a plush, rubber or plastic horse from a basket. Parents are encouraged to bring cameras....you can use a photo of someone else's child as a thank you note...
There is a carousel horse on the property for children under 90 lbs., there is an Amish wagon to sit in, holds up to 3 adults & the back holds more. There is a forest trail, 2 swings (one more sophisticated, and one for younger ones), we have an indoor and outdoor space, and a covered outdoor space.
After the horse rides the children can play ball (soccer,etc.) in the covered arena.
The treasure hunts are age appropriate with gifts, and hiding, for little ones everything is pretty visible.
We are environmentally friendly, reusable dishes, tablecloth, composting, & much more.
You have a zillion ideas...perhaps you will join us next year here.
Am I missing something...or does it say where people are located....I gave you ideas from SF to Sebastopol, I noticed responses east to Blackhawk & So. to Sunnyvale, perhaps we should list our cities next to our names, that would make geographic answers easier.
You have so many good ideas, I'm sure you will come up with something super.
Happy day (and it's only happy if you & your daughter are comfortable).

We did our sons 2nd birthday at the MOCHA in Oakland and had a wonderful experience!!! THe downstairs area seems a little small for the amount of people you will have, but the upstairs area might work. Check it out http://www.mocha.org/

Go to the park-! Decorate a table, have snacks and cake, maybe 1 short organized activity - and the rest of the time the kids will have a ball playing on the playground - plus it is easy and enjoyable for moms of the guests to stay (a necessity if most of the guests are 2 years old). I have done this a few times when my kids were little, and it was great. I would suggest not opening presents together with the birthday party guests at this the 2 year age of 'MINE'-! And also - keep the party 1 1/2 to 2 hours maximum.

Good luck-!

Keep it simple, we had Nathan's 2nd b-day party at the park with water play and invited 3 children and their parents. We had finger foods, cake and ice cream.

on his 3rd b-day we did a carnival in the backyard. 6 games (go fishing, tatoo painting, basketball hoops, hand molding.....) and the lady who does storytime and puppet show at Barnes and Noble here in stockton will do that for $50.00. We invited lots of kids.

use your imagination and check out marthastewart.com or goggle it.

M.

Do you belong to a church with a hall? Usually you can rent a hall or place to have an indoor party. It's hard to have a lot of little kids over inside your house. We live in a neighborhood that has a hall you can rent. Some places just require a security deposit. Then you can go to some of those websites and come up with a theme (I like the jungle idea!) Good luck.

Hi A.,

My son will be two on April 28th. We are having his birthday party at Lemos Farm in Half Moon Bay this year. For $275 you can invite up to 20 kids....includes play area, petting zoo, jump house, pony rides and train rides. You get a 5 hour block of time for your party. They offer different packages and only require $25 to hold your reservation. www.lemosfarm.com. Hope this helps :-)

Take care, M.

Hi A....

For my son's 1st and 2nd Birthdays, I held them at a community center. It was in my mother housing complex and was pretty nice sized. It had a play area and lots of grass for them to run around. I even rented a jumper and the kids loved it. I cooked all food but kept it really simple like hot dogs for he kids and spaghetti for the adults, drinks chips and of course a cake..
It saved me lots of money and headaches...
I agree with the Chuck E. Chesse, I HATE IT THERE !!!!!
My son, now 5, just had his bday party at a place called Pump It Up, maybe you heard of it, but it cost over 500 for 2 hours... Never again.. Hope this helps.. Feel free to write back.. God Bless...

You've received alot of great ideas. You could look into the San Jose Kids Museum. They have alot of great activities there. Pump It Up,Gymboree, etc are also good. We had my son's second bday at the S.F. Zoo and it was a huge hit! There is a petting area, rides, etc. They also had a hall where they decorated it in a theme. Good luck!

Have you check out your local pizza places? Some of them may not charge for the time just the pizza and drinks. Most kids love pizza and you don't have to clean up as much. Good luck.

You didn't say the ages of the children, but when my son was that age i got the little plastic chairs for kids from the local hardware store and bought lots of stickers and the washable markers and let the kids to to town on the chairs. They loved drawing on them (although some of them weren't really great at it), but the little hands can work with the stickers. I had previously put their names on them along the back. They then spent time with bubble in the back yard as well as cheap spray bottles filled with water and a little food coloring. I told them to help wash the house. They'd spray the house and I also gave them some cheap paint brushes and they'd spray and "paint." They had a blast. Ages ranged from 2 - 6. The spray bottles/brushes are a fun thing to do at any time for the little ones in the yard. They especially liked the sliding door to watch the water run down. They'd spray the plants and the lawn furniture--and it's just water! Kid's don't really need fancy stuff. At this age you could get by with some wonderful sandwiches and salads for the adults and cheese and peanut butter and jelly for the kids, with fruit and crackers. Don't sweat it. She's only two and probably won't remember it.

Many apartment buildings have a rec. room that can be rented out. You can be indoors with lots of space and a bathroom and not have to worry about your house getting torn up. Ask anyone you know who lives in an apartment complex if they have access to one (sometimes tenants get discounts).

Also, check out your local community center to see if they have a room or building that could be used for a birthday party. People have weddings and receptions in these types of places all the time so they should have something available.

I hope this helps! Have fun!!!!

If you're willing to try an outdoor party, look for a bounce house company that will deliver a bouncer to you. You can have it at your home or do it at a local park.
You will get much more fun for your dollar than at an indoor bounce play center. The kids will be entertained in it the whole time versus just an hour at a play center and the play center will charge you more.
Google "bounce house" and your city and a bunch of companies will pop up.

You can try Build a Bear if you have one near you. I had food and cake at my house then my guests traveled to Build a Bear. It's farely reasonable and the kids are involved in the process of making their own bear. You can get everyone the same bear that comes in the package deal and then let your daughter pick out her own. Make the parents responsible for the bear's clothing and there you go. Both the parents and the kids enjoyed themselves and we were happy too. I also had a party at a kiddy amusement park. i have two girls so I am constantly thinking up ways to entertain them. Have you thought about a Princess party?

I agree with the women who advised to keep it simple. Kids can't really appreciate big lavish parties until they're older (at least 4-5). The rule I'd always heard is invite the same number of kids as the child's age - so in this case, it would be 2 children in addition to yours. I know that's substantially different than what you're planning, but too many people can be very over-stimulating for a child - sometimes even scary, and you might find yourself in the middle of a tantrum/meltdown. So, I would do the low-key thing - simple family get-together with homemade foods - ask others to bring stuff.
If you really must go somewhere for kids, there are many good indoor play places - Funtastic in Natomas and Elk Grove, Bounce Spot in West Sac, All About Fun near Arden/Howe, Planet Gymnastics in Land Park, Fairytale Town. You usually pay for 16 kids minimum, no matter how many come. They have different rules about bringing food/cake.
Whatever you do, hope it's fun and special for your daughter!

There's a few indoor bouncy house places around town that could be useful... But I heard they are about $300 for an hour and a half... Have you checked out John's Incredible Pizza in Roseville? My step daughter loves that place...

My step-son is turning 4 around the same time, and I was planning on a picnic/bbq in the park and renting a bouncy house. I heard they're relatively cheap... I found a book published by Readers Digest that has all sorts of outdoor party games, and I will try to round up the kids and adults for a couple of games here and there...