Birthday Votes Please!

[newtodis]

Alright....my DS2 will be turning 3 next month. I'm starting to stress because nothing is planned at this point at all. He is in love with Buzz Buzz (Buzz Lightyear) and Little Green Men. He would LOVE to go to Disney but that's not an option right now unfortunetly. His birthday is 11/20 so I need to start purchasing favors and the like.

Disclaimer: I know I don't *have* to do any of this. I enjoy the parties as much as the kids and am choosing to do it for them.

Here are our options:
*Rent a room at the HHI DVC resort for the night We would invite a couple of families over to swim in the pool and "party" and just celebrating with our little man in a Disney but not at Disney sort of way. This would be about 15 - 20 minutes from our houses.
*Invite some friends and head to Chuck A Cheese (Chuck E Cheese) for the afternoon. (so far in my research, both options would run almost the same amount) This would be about 40 minutes from our houses.
*Something else yet to be determined. He doesn't have a bunch of little friends to invite over, it would basically be our neighbors and our close friends - 6 adults total (including our family) and 5 kids. Without knowing what the weather will be like or anything I am hesitant to do something outside (we live in the South so that's an option for us - we would just worry about rain). It's also hard because our friend's DD is 7 months and our neighbor kids are 9 and 7 - the kids are a wide range of ages (my other DS5 will be there as well).

Thank you for any suggestions you could provide! I'm interested to see what everyone thinks!!

 

[redrosesix]

My DD loves Chuck E Cheese but she's older (it would have been a great idea for the 5 yo if they were inviting school friends), so I voted for HHI.

I understand your apprehension about doing something outside, in case of rain, but if you do decide to have the party at home, can you rent those bouncy tents where you live? We've been to a lot of parties where they have those, and even toddlers love them.

 

[Meriweather]

I would do a party at home.
You could do a Buzz Lightyear theme and plan games and activies to go with it.
My kids are grown, but we had lots of great themed parties at home over the years.

 

[Zandy595]

I would stay away from Chuck E. Cheese. With all the H1N1 (and other) germs going around that would be the last place I'd want to be.

HH sounds nice, but what if there's a cold front and swimming isn't an option. Is there enough to do there without the pool?

I'd say have a party at home with a Buzz Lightyear theme.

 

[hegsag]

I would have a house party with a Buzz theme...

 

[MAKmom]

I would do a party at home.
You could do a Buzz Lightyear theme and plan games and activies to go with it.
My kids are grown, but we had lots of great themed parties at home over the years.

The rule of thumb is 1 child for each year your child is + 1.

Get a few buzz items then order Green & Blue balloons. Balloons are a great bang for your buck when decorating. Make or order a cake with the theme. If you make your own you can buy the small buzz figure for the cake or buy a mold.

I would also make matching cupcakes. What we always did was have the kiddie party first. At 3 yrs 1 to 11/2 hours is good. Pinatas are always a big hit, sing happy birthday, eat cupcakes. After the kiddie party we would have the adults over, have dinner than sing again with cake.

I have punch bowl my girls still to this day love me to make punch for their party's with an Ice ring made out of juice & fruit. They are teenagers & I still use the balloon trick.

 

[newtodis]

My DD loves Chuck E Cheese but she's older (it would have been a great idea for the 5 yo if they were inviting school friends), so I voted for HHI.

I understand your apprehension about doing something outside, in case of rain, but if you do decide to have the party at home, can you rent those bouncy tents where you live? We've been to a lot of parties where they have those, and even toddlers love them.

Yes we have the bouncy stuff here too - I just don't know how cold it's going to be.

I would do a party at home.
You could do a Buzz Lightyear theme and plan games and activies to go with it.
My kids are grown, but we had lots of great themed parties at home over the years.

Oh I know - DS5's party was here this summer and the kids had a GREAT time running around and just playing outside. Our house isn't huge so there's not a lot of space and he doesn't really have a lot of "friends" as we have a nanny so there's no school/daycare/anything like that to invite. Can you tell I'm still stuck??

Get a few buzz items then order Green & Blue balloons. Balloons are a great bang for your buck when decorating.

I would also make matching cupcakes.

Balloons are a must for us as well! That's the first thing the boys always ask for when we start talking about parties! I love using cupcakes just because it's easier and less messy. I actually make the cupcakes in an ice cream cone to keep the less more contained and do popsicles instead of ice cream sometimes.

Thank you all so much for the suggestions! I really appreciate it! I'm just stuck since he doesn't have a bunch of little friends to invite over for a play date or anything like that...