Hi Mama's.
Thanks for considering my question.
My boys, ages 4 and 6, have never had a birthday party. I tried to plan one last year, but as soon as I started, I gave up because I am not good at this kind of thing. Usually, we take them out to pizza and make them a cake.
So here are a few of the details that I am thinking about:
*They are summer babies - July. I plan to have their party 'together' because their birthday dates are one week apart.
*My one son will be turning 5 and my other son will be turning 7.
*My budget is probably about $300.00.
*I don't want to have people to my home at this point, because we recently moved and I am even still unpacking. So the house is out.
*I live in San Diego - great summer weather, so it could be indoors or outdoors.
*I also plan to have it before school lets out - June 16 (Thursday). But here is where the date gets a little tricky. I want to have it about two - three weeks before school lets out, so really I wanted to have it at the end of May, but that is Memorial Day weekend, so that is out. So I could have it June 4 or 5th, or May 22 or 23rd. Your thoughts? My thinking is that it gets kind of crazy towards the end of school, so that is why the minimum 2 week thing. But should I even push it forward a bit more to the May 22/23 date?
*Also, do I have it on a Saturday or Sunday? Kids sometimes have events/sports/family stuff on Saturday but Sunday is a day of rest and stuff before school on Monday.
*I plan on inviting all the kids in my 1st graders class, so I would guess maybe half to 75% would come, but I honestly have no idea.
*For my preschooler, I will only invite the kids he is closest too in his preschool class, so maybe 5 or 6 kids will receive invitations.
As far as me, I don't have any family out here, so they can't help me and I am new to the area so I don't have a lot of friends that could help me with anything either. There are a couple ladies I could maybe ask to help me serve ice cream and cake and stuff. My husband can help too with the kids. Some parents will choose to stick around and I know to allow for some siblings too.
So, I put the higher dollar figure in for the "convenience factor" of getting some premade like the pizzas, juice drinks, etc.
Okay, well, I know this is long. I have never done one birthday party for my kids and I know they would be thrilled if I could pull it off !
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
We went to a fun bday party at Pump It Up (San Marcos location). My friend who hosted the party said how easy it was and pretty inexpensive. The staff played with the kids and had fun games for them to engage in. Good luck and have fun :)
I would say take them to chucky cheese or something similar. It is surprizingly cheep. We had a party last year at a place similar to chucky cheese called classic skating. They have a bounce house and skating, arcade etc. They provided the food, plates, cups, forks, decor, icecream soda for everyone and a prize for my daughter bacially everything and a hostess to do whatever we needed and the best part is they clean up the mess. It only cost $125.00 for everything for 10 kids now that is not bad and so easy. My boy is turning 4 and we will probably do his there too. It was lots of fun with little stress.
found a link for a place similar in your town http://pumpitupparty.com/ca/san-marcos/home-p1q150.htm
I did a "together" party for my 2 girls last year. It was at Pump It Up (don't know if you have that chain, but probably at least something similar with bouncy houses and inflatable slides. There were so many benefits to having it at a place like this: They did all of the work! The kids loved it and burned off lots of energy. It doesn't matter what kind of weather you have that day since it's indoors. If you get overwhelmed by organizing your own party, then I suggest choosing a place where they pretty much do everything for you. Then you can enjoy your childrens party too!
Well, I usually have big parties and i have it between 2:00pm-4:00pm so that people aren't expecting a meal. I then place finger foods out in a help yourself kind of manner, I do a row of crackers and I take my apple corer and use it to cut circles of cheese and ham or turkey lunchean meat. I lay this out on a tray. i then have a tray of fruit, grapes, strawberries, very thin apple slices, very thin pear slices, very thin peach slices, and mandarin oranges on a tray. i then have a third tray of match stick carrots, cucumber sticks, cherry tomatoes and brocoli heads with dip. I then place juice boxes and mini bottles of water in a cooler and let everyone fend for themselves. for the cake & ice cream, I do an asembly line type thing....my husband cuts the cake hands to me and I scoop the ice cream then pass to my MIL who serves it with fork & napkin. it all goes really smooth for us. We've done the pizza & chips, same way, but was actually more expensive. self serve is the way to go though for sure. As for opening gifts, when we are ready, I ask the guests to get their present and hold it. I then ask who's birthday is in January and whoever raises their hand gets to bring their present to the birthday kid and gets to sit next to birthday kid while opening. I take picture of gift and i always know who gave it cause the giver is in the picture too! I then have my kid thank the other and then I have the guest take the trash and put it in the trash bag that is handy on their way back to their seat. I place the gift in a large gift sack I have handy and then I ask who has birthday in Feb etc... it goes smooth and everybody gets a chance up front when it counts and trash is cleaned up and there is no pushing etc... If you have more than one in a month, I go by day etc... that has worked great for us too. Hope this helps you
I realize you live in San Marcos, but there's a great kid's place called Kid Ventures off the 5 in San Diego that is SOOOOO great and has party packages within your budget. Here is the link to the website: http://www.indoorplaysandiego.com/kids-parties/
I would suggest a park too, but I would go with a theme! ;) Chuck E Cheese can be inexpensive but it is so crazy, especially with that many kids, I say don't do it! Do you have any bounce house type places near you? That would be a good place to go too. They usually have party packages and you would probably just have to bring cake and drinks.
If you do a park you could make it a pirate theme or just plan on doing a scavenger hunt. You can plant things all around the park for the kids to find, or just use things in nature. At the end have a "treasure chest" full of prizes (that could also be the goody bag) or you could do pinata or something fun. Just being at the park will be fun and you don't have to do much decorating.
If you want to do it outside at the park, you could just grill hot dogs, have chips & preztels, juice pouches, bottled water...or have some pizza delivered. ($50)
Don't get into the trap of themes, just order some balloons, cupcakes and those little ice cream cups from the grocery can be kept in a cooler with ice until you serve. ($50 tops)
Get a music CD and let the kids limbo (get a portable CD player. etc).
You could get a piñata & let the kids fill their own treat take-home bags. ($35).
At that age all the kids really want to do is get together and run around & play. Keep it about 2-3 hours long.
As for when--whenever suits you & your family best. Yes some kids might have activities/sports but lots won't. You can't second guess that to the point of everyone being able to make it. Do the best you can. Plan for meal at the beginning or end (like 12-3, 2-5, etc.)
Have fun! Your boys will have a blast!
Look into bowling! The have little slides for the bowling ball for the younger kids and they have party packages that are for so many kids plus drinks and pizza. We invited my son's whole kindergarten and 1st grade class both years. The first year... 1 kid came. The second year... 2 or 3 kids came. I wouldn't count on 50-75% based on my experience. If bowling doesn't fit the budget then maybe a park would be nice. They usually rent out the shelters for the day and you can bring whatever you want. Plus there's a playground and room to run! You could even just cookout hotdogs there!!
My kids always loved a bowling party......no mess and everyone can attend
Most of the parties we get invited to are on Saturdays, but my son is younger so his friends aren't involved in sports yet. We get invited to some on Sundays too though, so I think it's ok to have one on a Sunday.
Have the party either from 10-12 or from about 2-4 so you don't need to provide a lot of food. Cake and ice cream (or even just cake) is enough.
If you have a local pool, you could have a pool party. Ask the parents to stick around so you are not responsible for the safety of all the kids.
A bowling party can be a lot of fun at that age. Some bowling alleys do all the work for you - invitations, cups, plates, decorations, etc. All you do is bring a cake. It runs about $15 per kid, but it includes everything mentioned above plus bowling and shoe rentals. The kids will have fun and it will be easy for you.
Think about the parties your kids have been to and enjoyed. Where were they? Plan something similar for your own family and it will be a hit!
K.
http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao - great gifts for kids of all ages!
what is their favorite thing to do together? go to the beach? mini golf? bowling? theme parks? art?
find something they both really love and base the party around that.
my sisters oldest loved bubbles, so for his 4th birthday they had everyone come to the community center at their apartment complex and set up two bubbles machines and the kids all had a blast with that. they also got a bunch of little balls and balloons that resembled bubbles that were out for kids to play with. they also had his favorite snacks out for kids to snack on, then they did a pinata. it was fun and easy!
when our babies turned one we had a little get together at the beach at a bonfire pit, ther favorite food was watermelon so we had tons of watermelon, we roasted hotdogs in the pit and i made them a watermelon cake. since it was the beach, everyone just played with sand toys and the ocean. that was great!
Check out www.birthdaypartyideas.com for great ideas. Have fun!
Okay-I am like you, over thinking. Choose a date. So what if it is inconvenient to others, that is not your problem. Choose what works for you. Give a specific time frame 1-3 or 11-1. NOT starting at 2 w/ no end time.
I really dislike kid parties. It's best to have an activity-a bounce house for example. Even better-one year I rented a inflatable bouncy water slide, and I had the party on a Friday afternoon (after school). w/ delivered pizza, margaritas, and juice boxes.
My 1st grader went to a great party this year. it was during winter break. Pancakes and Pj's theme. the kids wore jammies, the mom made pancakes, had a bounce house-the kids decorated pillow cases as their favor. and it was early-from 9-11.
Less is more! Don't try to have the perfect party, or you'll make yourself crazy. And as soon as you choose something, someone is likely to tell you that you should have done it differently - don't listen!
Keep it simple! Regular paper plates and napkins, not printed, themed ones, crepe paper and ballons for decorations - easy, inexpensive stuff really does work great. Keep the party to about 2 hours, so you're not exhausted and nobody has a chance to get bored.
We often have birthday parties at a pizza place. Bring cake and a game or two. If there's an arcade at the pizza place, maybe give out quarters.
Parks or the beach are also great. Most of the activities are already built in. One fun outdoor game is to tie balloons to everyone's ankle, then have the other kids try to pop the other kids' balloons. Last one with an unpopped balloon wins. Just make sure all the broken pieces get picked up - maybe let the kid who picks up the most get served first.
Have fun! :)
