The BIG 5 yo party..what did you do??

[ThreeMusketeers]

Curious as to what ya'll did for your childs 5th birthday party. I consider this one EXTRA special, just b/c so many things happen at age 5. We are wanting to do something special for dd, anyone have any ideas??? We would love to take her to Disney for her birthday but it falls during peak season. (don't want to deal with crowds) and looking for something a bit more than a traditional bday party.

Thanks for the ideas.

 

[daisyduck123]

We didn't consider DD's 5th b-day to be any different from the rest...never even thought about it until reading your post. I think DD had a party at one of the "paint your own pottery" places with about 10 friends. She loved that & we did that for a couple years. She also had a Build-a-Bear party when she was young. She loved that too!!

 

[WantToGoNow]

My son had a swimming party at the local rec center. The pool is more like a waterpark than a swimming pool. I think he ended up with 12 kids and they had a blast.

 

[CharmedLife]

Last year when DD turned 5 we had a bowling party with about 12 girls (crazy, I know) from pre-school and ballet. They had an absolute blast. I have also seen lots of parties at gymnastics gyms, paint your own pottery, Build a Bear (expensive, though), and even little tea shops that do dress-up parties.

Last week we had her 6th birthday party, and we did it at home. Let me tell you, the at-home party was a lot more work!! Not to mention I had to clean the house. I think for #7 we'll go somewhere again!

 

[poohguys]

We did take our ds to Disney for his 5th birthday. It was nice, but this year he starts school to we will not be able to go for his birthday (going in Aug. instead). If it is still warm enough why not minature golf. Another idea I like is that there are supermarkets and other private places that have "cooking class" parties. The kids get to participate and then eat what they have helped prepare.

 

[belle&beast]

I am in the midst of planning my DD's 5th birthday and she is going to share it with DS for his 2 and a half birthday! We didn't have a birthday party for him at home (we were in WDW ) but the real reason is that we had a blizzard for his 1st birthday and not everyone could make it out of their driveways! DH plows snow in the winter and he almost didn't make it! Anyway, we are having a luau for both of them and asking everyone to wear Hawaiian shirts and are decorating accordingly. At this point the party is just family and close friends and their children, not a true "kids" party. My parents have graciously offered their home and pool for the party and I think it will be great! Oriental Trading catalog has some wonderful and affordable decorations and favors for all types of themes- check them out. We have always been happy with them.

 

[PaulaSue]

For Em's big day we had breakfast at Norway with the Princess with her dressed up. They did a special cookie and a card with all the princesses coming over then special.

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

Thanks for the ideas everyone! I love your swimming party pics WantToGoNow!! Too cute!

 

[andysgirl360]

DD just turned 5 last month....we had a party at the local movie theatre and took DD and 8 girls from pre-school to see "Over the Hedge". We were able to have a party room before the movie to have lunch and cake. She loved it and it was the hit of the pre-school, as no one else had thought to do it before. We live in a small apartment, so a home party was not an option. I bought small items from the dollar store (jewlery kits, skipping ropes, bubbles, candies etc) for the loot bags.

 

[minkydog]

My DD13 still remembers her 5yo party fondly--because I brought out our great dress-up box and let them put makeup on each other. They planted some marigold seeds in a pot and decorated it with stickers. Then they all went outside in their dressups and played on the swingset for 30 min. Of course, no party is complete without Strawberry Cake and a helium balloon for each girl. This party was a hit because it was laid back and included everything my "girly" girl loves--makeup, clothes, shoes, and flowers.

 

[mytwotinks]

We treated #4 like a big b-day. I was pregnant with my dd#2 so we wanted to make a big fuss over our "big girl". We had a miniature horse come and give rides. We live in a cul-de-sac so the kids all got a couple of rides around the circle. It was pretty cool! For #5 she had a party at a place by us where you do mosaics. It was really cool. Some of the girls did mirrors, trinket boxes and picture frames. That was a pretty big hit too! Have fun.

 

[MissMagnolia]

My DS had a friend party with a Thomas the Train theme at Toys R Us and just for our family we took him to the Kalahari - an outdoor/indoor waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells...and for the extended family party we celebrated at Chuck E Cheese (not my favorite place in the world, but he picked... .