Kid's birthday parties Grrrr related

[rdsx28]

Hi, for my daughters 6th birthday party I invited the girl's only to a ceramic place and they all made either a plate or bowl. I ordered pizza and we had cake.My daughters b'day is in December so there are not alot of options.They had a great time. Why not just have the boys and maybe you have a local AAA baseball team in the area. We have one and the tickets are very reasonable and the kids have a great time.Our local movie theatre charges I think 125-150 for 25 people for a party as well. Good Luck!

 

[nbodyhome]

Thank you for saying that! Too many kids today have such an entitlement complex, if the candy's not expensive enough,or they want a bouncer,not just a game of tag or b-ball,etc, the list could go on, and there are always 1 or 2 kids at every party we attend where they have a fit at what's in the goody bag, and mummy rushes up,and asks the host to give little darling the___ ...whatever it is they wanted... that drives me nuts!And the host does...
I guess \I'm the mean exception when I hand the kids a candy bag, I announce,"if you have a problem with this bag, I'm not going to change it. Bring it to your parent"- so the 1 or 2 whiners in the bunch have to live with it... and then i don't invite the whiners again...like I said,I'm the mean parent...

That isn't mean, I think it's great! If the kids want something else, they can do what we did as kids and trade for it.

I didn't grow up having parties with friends over that I can remember (maybe when I was very young), it certainly isn't necessary. Not that it isn't nice, but as the parent, you have the final say in the cost and what type of party it would be. If the kids want something more, let them earn it by doing chores or something.

I do think parents tend to "give, give, give" and not let kids learn the value of money. When I was growing up, I thought of parties more as a milestone occasion - like if a child turned 5, or turned 12 or 16 - not an every year type thing.

 

[summerrluvv]

Thank you for saying that! Too many kids today have such an entitlement complex, if the candy's not expensive enough,or they want a bouncer,not just a game of tag or b-ball,etc, the list could go on, and there are always 1 or 2 kids at every party we attend where they have a fit at what's in the goody bag, and mummy rushes up,and asks the host to give little darling the___ ...whatever it is they wanted... that drives me nuts!And the host does...
I guess \I'm the mean exception when I hand the kids a candy bag, I announce,"if you have a problem with this bag, I'm not going to change it. Bring it to your parent"- so the 1 or 2 whiners in the bunch have to live with it... and then i don't invite the whiners again...like I said,I'm the mean parent...

Wow, I've never experienced this at any party we have been to or the parties I have given. How rude!

 

[hsmamato2]

mmmm... most of the kids are just fine, but you know there's a few in every crowd

 

[shades]

This may not work as well for a boy as it does for my dd, but about the time I got tired of the traditional slumber party that she always wanted I offered her the money I would have spent on a party. She is now 13 and would much rather have the money to buy exactly what she wants instead of all the small gifts from her friends, plus she usually saves some for Disney.

What a GREAT idea! Why didn't I think of this?? Maybe I'm one of those grumpy moms - but, I hate having a bunch of messy, noisy teens in my home. I always have dd put specific times (like 4pm to 11am the next day) on the invitations and I always have 2 or 3 kids still here at 4pm the next day. Just when I think she has outgrown slumber parties, another birthday rolls around and we are planning another one. Next year, I'm going to make her an attractive offer of cash instead of a party.

One of the most recent birthday parties my dd went to was a gathering at a pizza place (4 kids were there and the birthday kid's family). They ate pizza and then the parents took all of the kids to a movie and then I picked up dd after the movie. We were going to do this for the latest party but I was afraid some kid's parents wouldn't pick them up and we would be sitting at the mall for hours. Can't you take your own birthday plates & cups to a pizza place without paying the pizza place extra for a party?

 

[englishteacha]

My nephew's birthday is Oct. 30, so my sister often had a Halloween themed party for him. The kids came in costume and had party games and carved a pumpkin to take home. His parties were the talk of the school for weeks! The parties weren't expensive but were lots of fun. It probably helped that lots of aunts and uncles came to help out.

My parties were always at home, and since we had a small house, we only had about 6-8 kids total. When I was younger, we did party games and had cake and ice cream. When I got older, we rented a movie, ate junk food, and had cake and ice cream. We always had a lot of fun, and having just my closest friends made it more special. Once my parents took 3 friends and me roller skating on a weekday afternoon for open skate-I think it was about $2 a person. We had supper and cake at my house afterwards. One of my best parties was a BBQ on the deck. It usually rains on my birthday, so it was a big treat that it was sunny!

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

My DD just went to a party with a slip and slide in the back yard and she had a blast.

I would think that if you have a big enough back yard you could have a bunch of differn't water type games. Slip and Slide, water balloon fight, squirt guns, water bucket relay etc. I don't think you need a pool to have some cool fun. Check out familyfun.com I know they have alot of water party ideas.

Toss some burgers and dogs on the BBQ, some fruit, some chips and soda and I'm sure they'll have a blast.

Oh they have a cool new slip and slide that is 3 lanes wide for racing !

Let us know what you do and how it goes !

 

[summerrluvv]

My DD just went to a party with a slip and slide in the back yard and she had a blast.

I would think that if you have a big enough back yard you could have a bunch of differn't water type games. Slip and Slide, water balloon fight, squirt guns, water bucket relay etc. I don't think you need a pool to have some cool fun. Check out familyfun.com I know they have alot of water party ideas.

Toss some burgers and dogs on the BBQ, some fruit, some chips and soda and I'm sure they'll have a blast.

Oh they have a cool new slip and slide that is 3 lanes wide for racing !

Let us know what you do and how it goes !

We went to a BBQ Sunday and they had the mother of all slip n slides. It was the blow up kind like the bounce houses. It was really cool!! I've seen it at Walmart and it's expensive...$149, but the kids had a BLAST on it! And their bellies weren't sore after

 

[sk!mom]

My DH and I never had parties as kids but we love to celebrate our children's birthdays.

For DS, who is now 21, with a Jan. birthday we had friend parties starting at 4. We tried all the party places since it was winter and the best were skating or swimming. Skating - we did it during open skating with a couple of reserved tables and a cake from home. For 10 - 12 kids it was only about $5 per kid back then. I'm not big on goody bags but would usually pass out bags with lots of chocolate and maybe a small toy. Swimming- the indoor pool could be reserved for two hours for $100. No lifegaurd but my DH worked summers as a life guard through college so we felt safe with 8 to 10 boys and we didn't do this party until ages 8 & 9 so that all of the kids could swim. For me the problem with pizza places and game rooms is all of the kids take off
in different directions and there isn't the interaction of a party. From the ages of about 10 - 13, DS would usually either hang out at home with a few friends, video games, pizza, cake and ice cream or we would take him and a friend to some type of event- hockey game, Globetrotters, etc. After that he didn't want parent organized parties anymore. From then until now we take out for a nice dinner and I make his fave dessert.

DD10 is a lover of parties and planning so she and I have a blast planning a party every summer. She has never had a party at a party place. She's been to many, of course, and would always choose parties planned by us with lots of games and activities. Her parties are more recent so I can actually still remember what we did each year.
3 years- hired a clown for $50 for one hour to come and entertain and make balloon animals in our back yard. I made cupcakes and we had ice cream and gifts. The balloon animal was the favor. 6-8 children

4 and 5- A luau in our yard. We made friuty drinks with umbrellas and fruit skewers and of course cupcakes. They hula danced, did the limbo, and played 2 or 3 standard party games. Grass skirts and leis from Oriental trading were the favors. This was such a hit at 4 that it was repeated at 5. 8-10 girls

6, 7, 8- Swimming party at our club. This was by far the easiest for me. The pool was the entertainment. I made cupcakes and bought ice cream, chips, and drinks. Since DD's birthday is early summer, this was always a hit since it was usually on the pool's opening weekend so the kids are excited to swim. It was also cheap since usually 1/2 or more of the guests were usually club members too so we didn't have to pay for them. We would usually use up our guest passes for nonmembers and pay $5 per child after that. 15 - 20 guests.

9 & 10- Slumber party- my least favorite- her most. We plan lots of games and a craft. This year was a Survivor theme so we planned different challenges, had lots of water balloons, and a craft. They decorated a picture frame and DH went out to Wal Mart and copied one party pic for each girl to take home. Pizza, cupcakes, and ice cream sundaes. Movies starting at midnight and donuts for breakfast. 8 girls and exhaustion for me.

We also give gifts and take her out to dinner and a movie on her actual birthday. But hey I bake half a cake to celebrate my kid's half birthday so it stands to reason that the actual birthday would be well celebrated.

Good luck.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Question for you - did any of you parents have birthday parties while growing up? I'm just wondering if i'm weird because of my upbringing - I really only had one 'friend' party - when I turned 16 and that was only like 6 or 10 friends. Other than that year - I was allowed to have a friend or two sleep over. I guess my family's never been big on birthdays.

I had a couple parties growing up, not one every year or anything and the only place besides home we ever had one was a park pavilion. I wasn't really big into having huge parties for my kids, but when my ds (now 7) had to celebrate his second birthday in the hospital we started making a big deal over all of our kids birthdays, we wanted all of them to be special, but within reason of course. Some years that has meant no party, just a family trip to Chuck E. Cheese, but since we have a big family it still feels like a party.

I think our best party was one that we split with another child, it was in April so we had a big Easter egg hunt. This year my dd had a party at the bowling alley and it was great, they only made us pay for the children that showed up, they got pizza and ice cream bars and 2 hours of bowling plus shoe rentals and a few game tokens. I spent $80 total for 6 children and two adults. I made my own cake.

 

[mommiepoppins]

my friend had her sons bday party at the fire department the cost free and it was a tour. After the tour it was cake and Ice cream at her house.

 

[musicmama]

DD just turned 13 and her idea of a party was to invite her 3 best friends from school to the movies and "pizza". Unfortunately, there are few good pizza places near the movie theater, so we ended up across the street at Chuck E. Cheese. It was funny - the other 3 girls have rarely been and had a blast! We got 1 pizza and sodas and a bunch of tokens. The snacks at the movies cost more than CEC! (That's because they have a pretty strict rule at the theater about bringing in stuff and I didn't want any problems. Plus, I used a CEC coupon.)

We always invite the family to CEC because it's the one place that all the kids like to go to. It's also because our house is farther away and we have 2 dogs - some of the nieces are dog-shy so it's just easier to go somewhere else.

We have done the Build-a-Bear and bowling with limited friend count and those have worked out well, too.

 

[jessica52877]

We also do at home parties and the kids love them. Classic old style parties, nothing fancy. Maybe grill some hot dogs for the kids, run around and play, bubbles, a couple organized games then cake. Nothing major. I enjoy those best and so does my son. Short and simple!

An ice cream party at the house would work just fine. Have different toppings and the kids can make their own ice cream, or go all out and get an old fashioned ice cream maker and really make the ice cream.

I personally would never do a pool party. Too many kids, too much going on, too dangerous. I am really really REALLY strict with our pool though. It is for our family only!

 

[princessgirls]

Definately look into an indoor pool party at your local Y or Boys/Girls Club. Kids love the swimming and play area, you can bring in your own food and all of the cleaning/setting up is done for you (mostly). Cost is under 120.00 for 20+ kids. I think this is a pretty good deal, because it always seems like when I have a house party (and trying to save some money doing it this way) I always spend more money, have to prepare before hand, clean up a lot afterwards and don't have a chance to really enjoy my childs party because I am the go to person for whatever everyone needs. My dd wants her Nov. birthday at the local Y this year and I am tickled pink. We did have her last party at home (I hired a local stampin up gal and she created a craft for them to do at my house). This actually was pretty great, kids loved it and it gave me a chance to finally sit back for a few at the house party to watch the kids having such a great time and not have to do all the work!! She only charged me $6 per kid. The craft was their take home goody == they did a mini scrap book with pictures from that day == Halloween party theme.

Another year we did Papa Ginos (pizza party) and that was pretty inexpensive for 27 kids (I have a huge family) and it only cost 125 including pizza, soda, cake, and goodie bags. Again no clean up!!!! (notice a pattern )

WE have also done local ice cream shop for her kindergarten class (girls only) and that was easy and VERY inexpensive (43.00 for 12 kids, plus goodie bag included - penny candy bags)

Now that my other dd is 3 she is starting to give her ideas of what she would like and it is always to go to the local mom/pop duck pin bowling where kids get hot dog, drink and bowling for $5 per kid.

Now my girls would be perfectly happy with parties at home, but like I stated earlier I enjoy not having to run around too much and not really delight in their fun but being spread too thin. Also I do go overboard when I have parties at home!!!!! so a party somewhere else, but price is definately a consideration, is great for me! Plus with a Nov and January birthday it is nice to do something out of the house ==even if it is not outside.

I know what some of you mean by parties getting out of hand. I am not trying to encourage overspending, but for me, personally, I am better off having the parties somewhere else besides home and honestly I do spend less this way. I try not to go crazy with goodie bags....although I love them I just become creative to cut down costs. For example, for daughters 'candy' themed party the favors wer ice cream cones (tops dipped in white chocolate) and filled with candy (dots on paper, pixie sticks and bubble gum) then wrapped in clear bags. VEry inexpensive and they were a huge hit (thanks to Semi homemade on Foodnetwork).

Keep all of the ideas coming.....I am getting some great ideas.

 

[njcarita]

I am really really REALLY strict with our pool though. It is for our family only!

Wow how did you manage that--
Sometimes Ours feels like the town pool.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

We do parties for each of our kids. We have had some at home and some out. Personally I like the at home parties (though they tend to cost more!) When I was younger my Mom threw the best parties for us! One year we did a make your own pizza party. We made such a mess but had so much fun! We never did slumber parties and personally I wouldn't feel comfortable sending my kids to one. That's just me. I love the whole creative part of planning the parties. It is so much fun!

 

[scraptoons]

Keep them coming!

LUV the ideas.

We like to do a pinata. I hand each child a party favor bag. Whatever they can grab is their party favor. Of course we put enough stuff so that everyone gets a fair share. I usually check the bags to make sure. The same close friends come each year and they respect how stern I am about it.

A friend of mine did an extra early Easter egg hunt, with the party favors inside the eggs. They did it early enough before we left, so that the party favor bags were secretly redistributed to give each child a fair share. It was fun and silly for the kids because Easter was still a month away.


I'm not one to invite the "Whole Class". You know that rule. You invite one, you have to invite them all. We like more personal, intimate affairs.

I'm usually a fun loving happy nice person , but when I am a hostess I like everything to be PERFECT...call me hostesszilla. That doesn't mix well with 20 kids.
It's no wonder my husband dreads having parties at our house.

 

[Breakfast@Tiffany's]

I have had so many bad experiences with kids' birthday parties lately that I'm kind of dreading planning a party for my own dd4. We went to one at a person's house, the hosts were great but one mom was cheating so that her daughter would win the games! A few weeks later, we were invited to a party at EatzaPizza (like a mini ChuckECheese), and the morning of the party, I got a call from the host's friend asking that we chip in for a birthday cake! What?! The host had apparently decided that she didn't need a cake since she had one at her son's "family" birthday party. That's fine, I'm just as happy if we're not eating junk, but to ask for a donation was too much. I declined on the donation but went to the party since dd had been looking forward to it. There were 20 kids there, which I think was too much at that age (4/5). It seemed more like a giftapalooza, and the birthday boy had quite a haul that day.

I'm trying to fight the trend of bigger is better, but dh was born on the fourth of July, so he grew up thinking everyone was celebrating his birthday (and I wish I was kidding!). At least I have until November to figure out what we're doing this year.

 

[AlaskaMOM]

I have a couple of ideas that haven't been mentioned yet. For my older son we had a mexican party, where they had a "margarita bar" (fruit slushies in cool margarita glasses) and we had a burrito/ taco bar. He also did a pinata (even at 15)They also did the sombrero hat dance. And of course that Mexican favorite "Karaoke" The teens really seemed to like it even if they had to be "cool"
The last party for my younger son (turned 11) was a Jumanji party. We had the movie, so we had to preview it. First off the kids got there and "made" their own popcorn: took a plain lunch sack and decorated w/ markers and/or stickers, added popped corn then sprinkled on a topping (I had cinnamon/sugar, cheddar cheese, spicy nacho, and butter flavor) then they picked out a drink (i choose flavored water so there would be no stains on the carpet). We then started the movie. At certain points in the movie it would be time for a "movie inspired" game. The different game ideas we had were Jungle Music Rockin' (where they had to dance until the jungle music stopped, and then freeze 'til it started again. If you moved you were out the last one standing got a prize. Another one was to find the "jumanji" dice in the sand; a big bin filled with sand that the kiddos had to dig through to find a die (only 1 per child and everyone got one, so they all got a small prize) the other one was a mini treasure hunt with silly clue to find other clues , and everyone would get a prize at the end of the hunt. The prizes were Jumanji themed; like Fruit striped gum (w/ the zebra) monkey headed pens, big gummy snakes. My son also wanted a pinata, so we did that too during an intermission (stuffed the pinata with a little bit of candy, jungle themed erasers,hair combs, a few stickers, and rub on tatoos). The breaks in the movie were great, it helps the more energetic kids release a little energy. After the end of the movie we had cake and presents (I made a jumanji gameboard cake that was so cool!)
The kids each got another brown lunch sack to put their prizes, and pinata loot in as a goody bag. Cool party cost less than $60 for 10-12 kids.
The timing also worked out great, 2 hrs for the movie 5-10 min for each intermission/game, and the 15-20 minutes for cake and presents and the kids were out the door in 3 hours total!
Actually most of the kids were out the door , but the few neighbor kids stayed and helped break in the new toys! Kept kiddo busy while we put the living room to rights.

I have to say I LOVE giving my kids parties......I never really had them growing up, just family or a girlfriend to stay the night, so I go all out to make my kids' parties good memories. That doesn't mean I will spend a fortune, I won't. They get one BIG birthday party (16th) a big Graduation party and then the last of the parties party, their wedding, if they so chose (that we'll be paying for at least)

 

[njcarita]

I just have to say I also love throwing my kids birthday parties!!!!

It not like we have lots of money-- I am on a tight budget-- but I always have a budget category for the kids parties---

As they are geting older the parties are getting smaller ---( their choice0
my almost 11 year old-- only has 12 boys on his list--

my almost 5 year old-- has almost 30.

they both have Aug birthday--

My 8 year old will probably invite about 20 for her fall party.

They are only kids once --- and I want the magic of childhhood to last as long as possible.