My daughter's 4th birthday is in January and we're struggling with trying to figure out what to do for her party. She has about 4 friends that we could invite to a party (3 of them being boys). When asked what she wants to do she keeps saying she wants to have a Princess Party - which is what we did for her last year. We just let her dress up like a princess and had a small family party. This year we'd really like to include her friends so we can't just do a Princess Party. My daughter even suggested that the boys come as Pirates and the girls come as Princesses...clever for only being 3. We thought about Chuck E. Cheese since she likes that place but she HATES the big mouse! Any suggestions for a 4 yr old party - one that takes place in the middle of the winter?
Premier Gymnastics in Oswego (on the border on Rt. 30.) They have fun parties. You don't have to be a gymnast! Foam pits, trampolines, fun fun. We had my daughter's January 5th birthday there - boys and girls.
We did a ceramic painting party in December for my daughter's 4th, and she loved it. There's also Pump it Up or Monkey Joe's (I don't know if they have a big monkey in there, but I heard it's a cross between Chuck E. Cheese and Pump it Up).
Good luck!
When my daughter was four we took her to a place that specialized in tea parties. The girls dressed up in fancy gowns and crowns and little fake heels. They even recorded it for us. It was adorable. Then they all danced to silly songs and had a blast. A mixed party at this age is difficult. How about an indoor jungle gym run and play kind of place?
www.noahsarkworkshop.com is like Build a Bear on wheels. It is great fun and 4 year olds (boys or girls) are the perfect age for it! A rep comes to your house and takes care of everything for you. You can be involved as little or as much as you want. You can do theme parties, so if your daughter wants to be a princess there are tons of clothes and accessories to dress up her animal and such. For the boys you can pick out an assortment of "boyish" outfits. Or just let her dress up as a princess and stuff just the animals if $$ is a concern. Their prices are very reasonable and they are based out of Chicago so I am certain you shouldn't have any trouble finding a rep to do your party.
Another idea, my son had a paint your own pottery party for his 3rd birthday (he is a December baby, so we are limited on outdoor activities too). The kids really loved it and it wasn't terribly expensive. Good luck!
A.
You have some great answers, but I'm with Angie. Noah's Arch Workshop is awesome! You can pick a few animals (within your price range) that the kids can pick from. I had a monkey, different colored bears, a cow etc... Then you can let them pick ahead of time (when they rsvp) which animal they will build when they get there. I did not let them get outfits since they picked their own animal, but you could pick a bear and then let them pick an outfit (additional cost). Average is about $12, but there is no need for a goody bag because they take their bear home! The rep helps them stuff the bears, make a wish on a star that they put inside the bear, and plays games with the kids and their new friends. I did it for both of my girls and they loved it! The birthday child gets an extra birthday monkey as a gift. I still have moms that talk about their son/daughter still having their pet and how much they love them. Good luck!
We have been invited to a "Princesses and Wizards" party for a 4 yr old girl party later this month at MagiQuest at the Yorktown Mall in Lombard. It is an interactive scavenger hunt then they move on to the party room. Even I am looking forward to going to this birthday party, just to check this place out! The website makes it look impressive - we will see: http://magiquestchicago.com/
Have you looked into a jump-around place, like Monkey Joe's? Also, the park district may have a swim party package that you can book. These places can get costly, and, for a small crowd, you may not think it's worth it. You can do indoor mini-golf, or find a local candy shop that does parties. In fact, there's Aunt Nina's Sweets and Treats, not too far from you. The parties are cute there.
~ Do they ice skate that young? We're in SoCal and one of my granddaughters had her 6th birthday party at an ice skating rink last November. It was so fun for the parents and the kids.
~ What about a tea party? Girls and boys both like them, and you could ask the children to come dressed up, have a table set with different decaf teas, little sandwiches, cookies and cupcakes.
~ A "castle" party, versus a "princess" party, the girls could be princesses, the boys knights, you could have a cool castle cake.
~ Or combine the tea party with the "castle" party.
~ A "make your own" party ~ buy some Boboli crusts, cheese, sauce, veggies, pepperoni, and whatever you like and let the kids create their own pizzas that you bake, have some bags of salad mixes, cut up veggies and salad dressings for the kids to make their own salads, undecorated sugar cookies that the kids frost and put their own sprinkles and small candies on. You and other adults can "guide" and help the children, and you could buy small chef aprons to give out as party favors.
~ Are you near a Rainforest Cafe restaurant? My grandson had his third birthday party at one and had a blast : )
Hi, J.,
My daughter's birthday is also in January! We had a somewhat larger party for her, but I found this list very helpful:
http://www.chicagokids.com/resources/birthdaypartylocatio...
Good luck!
R.
What about bowling? And of course they could still dress up ;)
Do chuck-e cheese and request that the DON'T bring out the big mouse. Saves you time and money---have fun!
M
My son is turning 4 in January also and we are having his party at Incredible Pizza. There is one in Springfield, I don't know where that is from you though.
Do you have a Pump it Up near you? Kids LOVE it.
Jungle Java
Bowling
contact your park district. My daughter is doing a gymnastics party (for 15 kids)...
There's a hotel where I live that has an indoor pool with a waterslide that can be rented for parties. My 5 year old daughter went to a party there last spring and is STILL talking about it!
Call around to the hotels in your area and see if any of them do anything like that.
Nail painting & an updo for each girl? Lots of salons do kiddie parties.
I have a january bday child too... we found our local YMCA had indoor swimming parties and basketball parties as well... they give you 2 hours a small room to use for cake and presents and then the rest of the time is in the pool kids loved it. We have also done bumper bowling thats always fun... or an "inflatable" partie ( you know building that have a ton of those in door bouncy houses and slides and stuff) these are usually pretty reasonably priced too. There is always the old fashioned ones at your home too LOL since there is only 4 other children it may not be that chaotic . Hope some of those are helpful
R. Chapman
Here we have a children's museum that has parties. Also, the local historical museum has parties. I was going to have my son's there, but there was a limit on adults and I like to have parties where the adults can come too. I'm not into watching all those kids myself!!
