Being Rained Out on 1St Birthday

Where do you live? Because there is a great place in Belmont called Pump It Up where the kids can have a blast cruising around. Also there is an indoor water park in Newark that is awesome called Silliman Water Park.
Good Luck!
L.

One way to entertain the kids would be to have a camp out in the living room or den because you cannot go to the part. You could interest the older children by asking them to be camp couselors and finding projects to keep the younger ones entertained.

Have you tried contacting the parks and rec department? I know they have facilities that they rent out... There is one called the Foothill Community Center on Diablo Drive (at least I think that's the name). It's near Elkhorn/Greenback and I-80. Hope that helps- good luck!

Our birthday party is also this Saturday (one is turning 5, the other 3) so this is our fifth year of winter/spring rain/sun parties.

Here's my plan (it's worked for me in the past):
I have a craft at the table when children arrive. Think simple: construction paper, kid scissors, stickers and crayons. If you're doing goody bags, buy plain lunch bags and the craft can be to decorate them to fill with goodies later.

After this, the kids usually play with toys. I quickly clean up the craft and put out playdoh. Target sells tiny tubs in a party pack. Use these with kitchen items you already might have: cookie cutters, rolling pins, mini muffin pans, tupperware... The kids can then take the playdoh home.

Then we clean up playdoh and decorate cupcakes. I provide frosted cupcakes and bottles of sprinkles. Everyone gets a candle. We light them and sing happy birthday. This way everyone gets to blow a candle out. I like to include all the kids at this young age.

While kids are eating, my kids open the gifts fairly quickly. At age one, your son may or may not want to open them. You could ask each child to help your son unwrap the gift he or she brought. I try to open gifts quickly so the other children don't get restless. Unless they're super special, we open the new toys right then for play. More play, then everyone goes home.

Remember the punch-balloons? They are large balloons with a giant rubber band attached (check the party aisle at Target). They seem to entertain the kids for a while too. This year I bought plain balloons which I'll blow up and scatter around the room before the guests arrive.

I put food for adults and kids on the counter in the kitchen. I have a double sink and fill one side with ice and cold drinks. I take the coffee table out of the family room so that I have an open space for play. I don't turn the heater on - it gets so hot with so many people. I put out tons of kid toys.

This year we have pinatas for the first time. If we can't go outside, we'll do it in the garage. I don't usually have kids playing in the garage for two reasons: safety and I don't want their parents to see all of our too-good-to-throw-away stuff.

Sorry for rambling and good luck! I'm hoping for a stop in the rain too!

K. - Try one of those indoor bounce house places, the have mazes and slides. My niece had her second birthday at one at it was great. The kids loved it and almost all of the parents stayed and played also.

You might want to have it at a pump it up place. There is one in Oakley off of Main close to the freeway. There is a charge but the adults watch their own kids and everyone has a ball. They will service pizza and drinks.

L.
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Check out the Round Table on S. Novato Blvd. They have an awesome playstructure for the older kids (probably 2 & up) & you can book a room for free. They provide hats & balloons for free. Bring a cake from Costco & you're all set. We just had my daughter's 2nd bday there & it was like the party of the year. Everyone is still talking about it. I was happily surprised.

We just went to an indoor b-day party for a group of two year olds and it was great. There were plastic table cloths taped to the dining room table and playdough and tools were set out in stations around the table. Kids and parents alike came and went from the table to play with the playdough. Even my husband had a great time with it! When they weren't playing with the playdough, they were checking out other toys and books or snacking on the treats that were set out. It was simple and really fun for all ages!

Check out SuperFranks! I'm not sure whether they will be busy on a Saturday, but they have something for every age group you have coming, and they are indoors. Just make a deal with the adults that you'll provide cake and spring for X and Y and Z are up to them and their kids. www.superfranks.com

If that doesn't work, ask each family coming to your house to bring one activity that would suit their family to be shared with all the rest. That way the toys will be new to everyone.

hi K.! i have two ideas, which may or may not work for you; one is to have the kids do a really fun project like make and/or decorate cupcakes (and then eat them later, of course)- it's amazing how much kids love to be a part of something good happenning in the kitchen!
a second idea is to hire a clown (we got a clown last year and he wasn't any good, but we could tell it was a good IDEA and are hiring Budderball the Clown this year - she's a mom owned business who is on this site!)- if one is available and if you have the money, of course!
any how, good luck! the worst case scenario is that people may leave earlier then they would have otherwise, because their kids get fussy or too restless or something, being stuck inside. i have a feeling that you guys are going to have a fantastic party, no matter what! happy birthday to your little one! :)

Hi,

Have you tried calling a Chuck E. Cheese or even a bowling ally? I've helped host a kid's birthday party, with both adults and kids, at a bowling ally, everyone had fun. Bowling ally's usually have birthday packages available and they serve alcohol (for the adults, of course).

Hope this helps and everything works out!!!

Go to the public swimming pool.

Kids at this age are easy to entertain and do not respond well to structured games. Bring out lots of toys (like Little People) and they will entertain themselves. Don't need to pay for expensive locations but if you want to local gyms provide great b'day parties.

Hi K.,
My name is Jo Anna and I am in my late 30's..... I remeber when we had our grand daughter's 1st birthday, it was raining too....so we decorated the garage with games like Pin the tail on the donkey (out dated but fun), we played hot seat, you know when the music stops the kids have to find a chair and the parents participated in helping the younger kids, also we held a coloring contest which was really fun and kept the little ones busy for a little bit...then we ate, then did the gift thing and finally the birthday cake thing. As for the adults, there was a verity of shows/movies and let me just say this as adults we should know how to entertain and visit with the other parent and watch the kids have fun not to mention interacting with the kids.

Hope this helps.

Have a great 1st b-day party =)
Jo Anna, Lathrop, California.

3 hours is a long time. i'd send word that since it's going to rain it'll only be 1.5 hours. but some ideas are....to have a craft that all ages can do....one year we had them decorate door hangers with those puffy stickers (from any craft store); this year, got some of that crayola magic white sculpture clay and had a bunch of things to stick in it.....pipe cleaners, tiny objects, non chokable "gems", beads. etc. Dot Dot paints are fun and easy. Some simple games are fun like red light green light. Or I'd say do a dance party.

Hello. Theres a new place to have a great time indoors. The have a few out here in the greater Sacramento area & all around the bay area, google them, it's called Pump it Up. We had my 2 year old sons bday there & all the kids had a blast. Only problem is you don't get to spend the whole day in there. If I remember correctly you get 90 minutes in the play room & 90 minutes in the party room for eating & opening gifts. Just a suggestion! Have a great time.

Kristin, is the recreation center in your town? (In Redwood City, we have the Red Morton Center) They are usually located near a park. This would give you a fairly large space to entertain and the outside play areas are available...rain or shine! Otherwise I would say throw the party at home, throwing caution to the wind. Feed the kids first, adults second, one game and then cake...party should last two hours MAX! And then rule of thumb for future birthdays (especially after three) one kid for each year, plus one. Much easier to handle that way!

Good luck!
M.

Do you have a garage that you can use? Maybe move the cars out and set up tables or do the games there. Good luck with the weather.

I have not personally been to Jump N Round, but it looks like it could make for a fun indoor party for multiple ages. Here's the website: http://www.jumpnaround.com/

Good Luck!

set up a table, with crafts....strings and fruit loops or cheerios keep them busy...paint, is always a busy thing...alot of kids love those fuzzy posters that you can color, play dough? sugar cookies and frosting, and sprinkles?> thats a busy thing....the adults should be fine, if you can keep the kids busy....go to familyfun.com its a wonderful resource for crafts and kid stuff!

I have the same problem. We have a small jumpy that we are going to put in the garage along with some of the food and drinks. That way they can get all their energy out and keep the number of people in the house to a minimum.

You can have the party inside and play games like hot potato, musical chairs, bingo. Make cupcakes and let the kids frost their own. Get lots of diffent sprinkles for decorations and get a few vanilla frosting and add food coloring for assorted colors of frosting. Get pizza from Little Cesar ($5.00 each) or Costco, salad and drinks and of course, birthday cake (or cupcakes)and ice cream. Maybe get some crafts from Michael's and let each child make something. Since Easter is around the corner, maybe they can decorate their own Easter basket or eggs. Even cards for their parents. I hope these ideas help some. happy birthday....

We have the same dilemma, my daughters 1st b-day is tomorrow and her party is on Saturday. I decided to shorten the party time from 3pm to 5pm so I don’t have hours to entertain. I am providing pizza (easy) and goodie bags for all the kids to open and play with, then Savannah will have her cake and open her presents. I have wine and cheese for the adults. My house isn’t big either and this was not my vision for her 1st birthday but due to the weather it’s the best I can do. Let me know what other advice you get. Tell your little one happy birthday.

Hi K., we had a rained out-(jumpy house cancelled) party...bummer. It was still fun when we grabbed a broom stick and played limbo with the kids and adults. Cookie decorating is fun and easy, plus a stack of crayons and coloring pages from the Internet. We had an adult coloring contest and the kids liked judging the grandparents/uncles etc. art work. Google some party ideas for indoor games...check out amazingmoms.com or birthday party ideas for indoor games. Don't forget TWO cakes...one for your son to throw into his hair and mouth, and one for the guests!

I run All About Theatre - a local theater company for children and adults. We do have many talented staff that can be hired to come over and do an improvisation party - fun theatrical games for people of all ages....

It would be great for the kids to watch the adults and vice-versa. We could even do a theme party...

http://www.allabouttheatre.org

If you are interested please let me know.

Sincerely,

L. Chester
Artistic Director
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Is there an option to reschedule? Keeping that many people inside for 3 hours in a tight space might be too much for even the most talented mom!!!

For a 1st birthday, you are trying to do to much. Your son will never remember that you had 9 other kids and their parents over for his birthday. When he is older, yes, big parties are nice. For the first birthday, I would and did just have family at my home with a nice cake.

Start by calling any rec departments near you, (usually adjacent to parks,, IF the rain stops) maybe rent one of the "little" jump houses that would fit better indoors, have a table with Crayons and pages copied off the online coloring sites or favorite coloring book. Disney.com has printables! bring music and have dance/jump/freeze etc.... game!
Went to a 2yr old rainy day party last month,this is what they had plus a princess. Good luck!

No worries, this is the easiest age for a quick solution, that is still guaranteed to give your son an amazing 1st bithday and a good time for all. I have children who's ages range from 3-19yrs. On my youngests first birthday I got my teenagers to put together a little puppet show. The show included some audience participation along with a group acknowledgement of the birthday girl as the characters sang along. This is a sweet and simple solution and the kids love it. My biggest concern was keepng the birthday girl awake :)

Hi! My twins are turning 1 & having their birthday party on 3/1. I happen to have turned my garage into a play area - and didn't know if you had that option, or could park a car somewhere else, if that would even be a safe environment & it is a little late to do all the work now... but if it happens to be something you can do, I just wanted to offer that idea.
Other ideas: My friend always buys crafts for her parties so the older kids can make bracelets or even paint wooden items. Stores like Michael's or JoAnn Fabrics would have those items. I have also made a couple dozen cupcakes & let kids as young as 2yrs decorate their own. You can get poster board and let them make their own crowns - similar to the ones from Burger King. Also, a lot of games can be played indoors such as pin the tail on the donkey. AND, I went to a birthday party recently where they played a game where you place commands on a piece of paper, inside of a balloon. You do this & blow-up the balloons before the party. Then, the game is that you allow each child to pop the balloon & see what the command is. Such as "hop on one leg and sing mary had a little lamb", or "make a silly face", etc... the kids at the party I attended LOVED this game. Hopefully you have room for everyone, but if not, maybe you can make different activites in each room, the bedrooms, kitchen & living room. Sorry for rambling, I was trying to brainstorm for you & hopefully help you to spark some ideas! Good luck! =)

Wow, looks like you have some great tips already. One I wanted to add was my daughter just had her 2nd birthday and we took her old blow up pool and added pit balls from Toys R Us. They were a little expensive but they all had a blast. They have 250 for $19.99 (they are the little smaller ones and a little softer). Even my nephews who are 10-7 had fun as well. I also added some of her small stuffed animals as a search game.
Have fun and Happy Birthday to the 1 year old!

You know what I did that was really fun when my son was two? I went to a pizza parlor that had a back enclosed room and it even had a television and I just had an old Fashioned party. We had Pizza and drinks and Salad for the Adults. We had party hats and Spiderman Masks set up on the tables with the Spiderman theme and we played pin the Spider on Spiderman, and we had a pinata. We did cake and we opened presents. The only extra cost that incurred was that I had was a Balloon Guy who came an hour into the party and made a balloon figure for each child but he was just starting out and it was only $60.00. Mostly the party was just good ole-Fashion fun. Start off small and grow big because it gets harder and harder each year. Everyone had a great time. You really don't even need an enclosed room, just a back area. Good-Luck and Wish your son a Happy #1!

What will make it your son's best first birthday is having happy, contented moments with you.
K.

have lots of games planned. pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, etc. make sure you have another adult or two to help you out.
next year, maybe a jumoy house place, chuckie cheese, or something in doors!
have fun!

There is Playtime Safari in south Novato. Not sure where you live. But if this is workable, call Yvonne the owner. She is great, just opened the place in January. Big Big room with some play items. Realy about creative play. Just lovely. www.playtimesafari.com tel: ###-###-####

K.

You can rent the party room at Tumble and Tea in Oakland. It's a great play place for kids and they have lots of comfy couches for parents.

Hi K..

First of all its a bummer about the weather; the first thing I would do is change the length of your party and put the word out as soon as possible! 3 hours of indoor party with tiny ones is a lot and you don't want to be the stressed out hostess!

Do presents and cake as soon as possible - that way if the natives get restless they can head home and not have to wait for the "opening ceremonies." Also, opened presents means new things to play with and keep the kids busy.

I hope it all goes well for you!

"S" Mama of adult children (I survived!)

I am faced with an indoor birthday party every year as my daughter just turned 2 in January. I had a cookie/cupcake decorating party which turned out to be a hit even for the young ones. Set up stations, one station where the decorating takes place, and two others. I did a blocks area and a coloring, sticker area as I couldn't seat everyone at the same time for decorating. I was surprised at how much fun the kids had!

One thing to mention, was I did feed them lunch before we started playing with all the sugar frostings. This way, they had some substance in their bellies and didn't get too much of a sugar high before naptime! Parents appreciated this :)

Remember first that the party is more for you than the baby. He is not going to remember any of it and quite possibly he will either cry with all the attention or like my nephew sleep through the whole party.

For my son's 6th birtdhay party 2 years ago we had tables set out on the patio and had some high schoolers organize games and activities. A big hit were those capsules that you put in warm water and they turn into different creatures. For my daughters 1st birthday last year the kids just ran around and played and she had free reign of the house, normally most of the house is off limits to her.

Mom of 3 7 1/2 years , 23 months and 8 months

My friend had her daughter's b-day at Roundtable. $150 in food and you get a room for free and they clean up :)
Also, Safeway/Lucky will give you a small cake for the 1st b-day, but you have to call to order it.
G/L

What I do for both my kids bday parties is have them at our house. I set up the garage with tables and chairs. I have the food in the kitchen and everyone goes out and sits in the garage to eat. We usually have people hanging out in the kitchen and garage mostly. As for entertainment you can play musical chairs. You can also do inexpensive projects. Go to Micheal's and but some sand buckets (I think they are only like a $1 each) have some markers, glitter and little different foam animals or whatever designs (also at Micheal's)then they can decorate those. You can also get sunvisors (at Micheal's also) for the kids to decorate. We usually get a jump house but in the rain that wouldn't work out to well. We put the jump house at the end of the driveway so we can see all the kids from the garage. You can also get a pinata for the kids. I hope some of these ideas help. We usually have about 25 -30 kids and about 20 - 2 adults at our house for my kids bday parties and we only have a 3 bedroom but it all works out fine.

The Jungle. May be a bit crowded, but it is so much fun.

Oh boy, can you use your garage? How about a church youth room, a friends moble home parks rec room.
Do some games that would be with both the adults and kids.Such as: a relay game. YOU have two teams (mix it up by age.) have 5 or so chairs on each side. Facing each other. In each (2 one for each team) bag you will need one set of gloves(those yellow ones.)a painters hat,and 5 or so rapped bubble gum (not sticks!)(bubble gum)Get hats from any hardware store or paint store(home depot)
A. Show in what order to do each item.
First you put the gloves on Then the hat, then unwrap the gum and blow a bubble. Take every thing off and pass it to the next person on your team the first team done wins. ( funny prize.)
The other people need to be cheering for there team.

Another idea is put together bags with mis. in them. feather. cooking spoon, phone doll.(anything.)
Then tell the small groups to look through there bags and come up with a skit with using all of those items. Every one will enjoy playing and watching what the teams come up with.Do you have any wooden puzzles? This is so much fun.Get two out. Blind fold the person and have another person directing them on how to put the puzzle together.Twister is always a good stand by.
This from a Scout mom of 15 years.(Mom of Five)

Hi, I went to a fun 2 year old birthday party at Pri Pri Cafe on Solano Ave. in Albany. Here's some info:

http://www.pripricafe.com/indexHome.php

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pripri-cafe-albany

They host birthday parties and have their rates posted if you want to rent the space. You may want to call them and see if its free if kept open to the public. Maybe you can agree to buy some food from them. The parents of my friend's party brought a lot of their own food. They have a playspace with toys but you can also bring activities or entertainment. They seem relaxed there so call them if the location is ok.

Look in the yellow pages under entertainment for kids. There used to be a place called Discovery Zone--but they closed. There's one that has a lot of bouncy things.
Don't panic---honestly he won't remember a thing about this first one...try a local mall also for "Gymboree"; not just a clothing store, they sometimes have a place space. Good Luck. :^}

go and get a ton of balloons filled with air and some with helium on ribbons and fill the room with them. Then have a ton of xtra Large crayons, and cover a wall and some of the floor with paper and let them draw and draw and draw! My son was born in Feb and when we had his first birthday, we did a balloon room and all he did was play with the balloons and I got all kinds of diversions but the balloons were all he wanted.

Just be sure that if one breaks you get all the pieces before they are popped into a mouth.

Other than that, any school supply store has the huge crayons and they are non toxic.

Hope that helps.

What about Superfranks in Pleasanton?? Or Chucky Cheese?

Call Frank's in Pleasanton. They're like a clean Chucky Cheese for younger kids (under 12). My son's BD is today and we're faced with the same problem this Sat for his party. We're heading to The Chabot Space and Science Museum in Oakland... maybe they could accommodate you too?

Not sure what you should do as an alternative, but just wanted to advise for future, your child would probably do better with a couple of guests and I would keep the party SHORT - 2 hrs max, 1.5 probably better. They get very overexcited at this age and tend to melt down. I had bday parties every yr starting at age 1 for my 1st son - my 2nd son just had his first party at age 4.

my daughter's 2nd bday party is saturday.. we plan to have a bounce house and it's forecasted to rain. our house is super small and we're having maybe 45 guests come! if you do food presents then cake you will basically be filling up those three hours that no one will know where the time went. just do your best to be hospitable and people will understand.. don't get too caught up in tryint to please everyone because then you too will miss out of your babies special day!

Have you thought about John's Incredible Pizza, or a place like that? The baby will be happy just about anywhere, the older kids will have something fun to do, and so will the adults. If money is an issue, you can by pizza for just the baby's birthday guests, and the adults can fend for themselves. Buy a few tokens for each of the kids and let them have their own fun. You can bring in a cake and birthday hats (call first to make sure). Take lots of pictures!!!

Pump it Up in Oakland is ideal for this sort of thing

Hi K.,

You can try Round Table Pizza...But I am not sure if they have the rooms booked already. Try giving them a call.

Jenny

ask your community school or church to use their establishment in return of some "volunteer time in trade" have your own clean up crew available:)

I've never been but there's the Jungle in Pleasant Hill -- Indoor climbing / play area with Pizza etc

Dear K.:

This happended for my grandson's second birthday and my very creative daughter moved his party from the park to her garage. They had to make arrangements for some of the items to be moved quite fast (like their large boat!) but they decorated the garage, brought in tables and chairs and everyong (~40 people) had a great time. The most important thing is that there is a party, the children don't care where it is!

What about Chuck E Cheeses? They have pizza and salads and games and a play area for the kids. When my son was younger we planned a party there. We had a great time.
I think they also have a Bday cake for them also.
My son is now 15 yrs old so things may have changed there.
But its a great place to have a bday party.

S.

Dont let the rain put a damper on the little guys 1st birthday. House maybe to small but what about utilizing your garage, maybe even half of it if you are like most people and use it for storage. If you need to seperate the storage area make some kind of partition so the little ones stay away from that area. We have had to do this before for birthday parties, halloween parties, etc.. Maybe set up a table for arts and crafts, musical chairs, cupcake or cookie decorating table, pin the tale on the donkey, etc.. Maybe even set up in a corner a play area for the little ones with toys and puzzels for their age group. You can get those square foam floor mats at Walmart, Costco, or Sams, and that way they are not on the bare floor, or even an area rug will work if you have one. You will be surprised at what little ones find entertaining. Also the older kids can help with keeping the little ones busy.
Hope it all turns out well and runs smoothly. Enjoy and Happy Birthday to your little guy.

my little guy Loves the rain. We often go on nature walks or to the park in the rain. Find out about renting an awning from a party company and tell everyone to bring umbrellas and rain gear.

Do you know someone that lives in an apartment complex that has a recreation room etc. Tell your son Happy 1st birthday.

C.

Hi K.,
You could try Gymboree in Mill Valley. They might be able to set up a birthday play time for your son's party.

Hello K.-
I have twins who birthday also falls around the rainy time of year. I have done their party in the front room with musical chairs, pin the tail on the what ever... and the smaller one's in the family room with toys and blankets spread out. Also I have cleared out my garage and had a pinata there. There is also a small jumpy that inflates and could fit in a normal sixe room (remove the fragile stuff out of the room) a friend of mine got her's at "toys r us" cost about $150.00 she said. Her daughter just turned 2 yr olds & LOVES it! She says it was the best money she ever spent entertains her all day and great for rainy days. Also Pay music and let the kids dance around..."freeze dance". Good luck!

Don't stress....let them come to your home and make sure you have some fun snacks and lots of balloons.....balloons, not necessarily with helium, just regular blown up ones will do. Many times this has saved a party. You will not believe how it entertains everyone. Kids love them and it's a blast for the adults to watch them. Have a great time. T

Kids Castle in Newark- can easily accomodate and entertain.

I'm an event planner that lives in a small home of 800 square feet. My living room is about 15 ft x 18 ft. with a enclosed porch about 8 ft x 15 ft. To give room for the 30 people I had for a baby shower, I took everything out of the living room except the couch and packed it into a bedroom that would not be used for the day.

Then I placed about 26 chairs around the walls of the living room. I purchased material at Walmart (cost is a dollar a yard) and placed around living room to exclude my personal items from the party (bookcases - framed items, etc.) If you want to go to this extreme, and can't find enough material in one color or print, buy several and mix and match as you put the material up, you can also use the same material as a table cloth for the table. To figure out the amount, measure your square footage and multiply by the length of the plus 1 foot. Afterwards, if you don't need the material, you can donate it to a charitable cause.

If you do this, do it the night before, it will take a few hours.

The patio area was done the same way, which pulled the two rooms together, and then food table was placed there.

If you don't have a room off to the side, use a table in your kitchen of dining room.

As for the floor, if you have rugs - take them out, you may want some protection from spills if you have carpets. Party stores usually have the plastic rolls of table clothes, or large rolls on butcher block paper - again figure the square footage, on how much to buy. Buy duct tape or 2" tape to tape the pieces together.

But in this case the children could sit in the middle of your living room on the floor. Keep your games flowing, children get bored easily, since you will have children of all ages. Also keep the child's room available for a play area. The 1st birthday is really for the parents, not the child.

Dear Kristin,
We live in a terrible part of California on the coast and it's cold here even in the summer-time when my son's birthday rolls around. You will have to act fast. We've had parties at bowling alleys and pizza parlors. You should call ahead to see if they have an area they can reserve for such gatherings and make sure they have high chairs. Choose one with arcade games and a juke box which keep the older kids entertained. Bowling alleys are great because they will put "bumpers" down to keep the balls out of the gutter. The tiny ones can't "bowl" without help but they can still have fun. We were always respectful and cleaned up our mess.... they gave us a big garbage can and we got to just leave it all there. The only thing to bring home was the presents. For $20, one pizza parlor had an employee dress in a big dinosaur costume and played with the kids. They loved it! I'm sure your little boy will be very happy to have so many people who love him around. Have a great time!

P.S. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. I know how important your baby's first birthday is to you. My daughter's name is Angel and I can tell you that I went ballistic when I picked up her cake and it said, "Happy 1st Birthday, Angle." I was almost late for her own party because I made them fix it. But we really do laugh about it now. She had a wonderful time and never knew the difference.

Maybe you know babycenter.com already. It is a great web page that has a lot of useful information for moms. It has a tool called: Activity Planner. They have ideas for indoor games and activities according to the age of the kids or the duration of the game. Maybe you can get something from there.
Good luck with your son's birthday!

K.,
Welcome to having a child with a February birthday. My advice to you is never to count on being able to have something outdoors. Always try to do something that you can move inside just in case.
I am not sure what is in your area, but any place that has an indoor play area is great. Even the older kids will like playing with the younger ones. Do you have a friend or relative in the area with a larger home?

It will almost always be more expensive to plan a birthday party for your son since the idea of having a park party is never a guarentee.

Best of luck with it. Take lots of pictures!

Hi K..

Believe it or not, your baby will not remember his first birthday, so it's really an event for you. My suggestion is you find something fun for everyone attending the celebration. Like the Exploratorium? The Monterery Aquarium is great too. Playing charades at home is fun. Trust me, we have two girls. Our 4 year hold has just had her first "real" birthday party at The Jungle (not recommended without good vitamins and a great night's sleep). My other daughter does not remember the pony's or Marine World or other parties we gave her when she was under 5 either.

So think about what you all enjoy and celebrate one year of parenthood together too!

There are also great family restaurants (there's a great pizza place with toys and trains perfect for parties on Alhambra in Martinez) that would be fun and not too expensive.

Once, we even postponed our eldest's party until the following weekend when it rained.

I sure hope that helps.

K. Nicole

Check out the website, Familyfun.com. Lots of ideas there for any type of party.

Instead of doing a cake, you can do cupcakes, and all of the kids can decorate their own. That will keep them busy for a while.

Well im 16 I just turned 16 in January and I had to throw my little brothers 11th grade party and well he had like 15 little kids at my house. I had them go outside and play and then they played football and then i had them do a freeze contest where i played music and whoever moved was out that kinda thing... so i mean just use your imagination. If a 16 who is pregnant for the first time and was is giving birth at the end of this month or early in march can handle 15 11 year old kids then trust me you can too. Also if not ask your best friend too maybe help you. Well good luck! .... A. D

I just had the same problem for my boys 3rd b-day. 22 adults and 16 kids. We rented a bounce house, and put it in the garage...though we have an RV garage to fit it...you can try the yard since it is covered.
I bought a box of those foam stickers they have in the coloring section at Target and they were a HUGE hit! so pull out the markers, and stickers. Playdo if you need to and just set up a few tables for kids. You shouls be fine for 3 hours.
good luck!
K. A.

If you have a garage that is always a good overflow area if the house gets too crowded. If you have a small place and no garage (like me) CHUCK E CHEESE is always a great alternative! I had my sons 2nd Bday there and it was great. If you get there early you can just snag a bunch of tables without a reservation. There are games for kids and adults and if you tell them your dilemma maybe they'll throw in some tokes for games. There is a toddler zone that has great stuff for the little ones. We killed 3-4 hours there on Josh's bday.

Oh K.! I'm so sorry about the weather ruining your park birthday fun! Maybe you'll get lucky after all! If you are in Sacramento, our weather is showing *possible* showers, so things might work out after all. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

If not, there are a few things you can consider....

First, there is always Chuck E. Cheese. They are not free, like the park, but they have a wide reange of entertainments for the age spread you will have. A good pinch-hit option.

Second, is there a community center anywhere near you that you might be able to snag for a few hours? The park itself might have one; many of them do! Nothing like a few last-minute frantic phone calls to liven up your day! Ah well... it's for the boy!

The trick, of course, is the wide spread of ages you have coming. I surely hope you find a venue that satisfies you and all your guests. Best of luck this weekend! There is nothing in all the world like that first birthday!! -C.-

Hi K.,
My name is S. McElroy, mother to a 21 month old girl. Here are a few places we've been to or our friends have and recommend for a birthday party place: Funtastic Play Centers, Inc in Eldorado Hills, ###-###-####, Saturday & Sundays are reserved for private parties. It's one big room for the kids to play in and small tables for the adults to hang out in. You can bring in your own pizza, cake & drinks (like from Costco) and I'm not sure of the pricing for the facility. There's also Bounceopolis in Folsom that has bounce houses for the kids and there's also Gymboree & Tricks gymnastics in Folsom....just a few ideas.
Hope you have a great time!

Check out All About Fun on Arden and Howe. It's an indoor bounce house facility, with giant inflatable slides, etc. They have a ball pond for little kids -- mine enjoyed it at one-year-old. The older kids will love it! Their website is www.allaboutfuninc.com and their phone number is ###-###-####. Good luck!

hi there
not sure where you live... a few opitions are places like
Garlex pizza palor...fun, games...pizza..tokens and easy to have a party. That happened to my son too, it was a park bday and had to go plan B...turned out great, alot of fun and so much easier then a park trying to watch kids all over, they are more contained. SuperFrank is fun too, but it will be a zoo on sat im sure. Or even a pizza place where they let the kids make their own pizza is fun too for all ages.

good luck =)

Hi kristin call the san francisco park and rec they have several clubhouses available for rent and great rates. Children at this age love balls ( hit up your local dollar store or target for the real large one's ) keep the party short and sweet. Plkay his favorite music and have a dance party have a friend read a story for the kids

hope this helps

Dee

Hmmm, I guess I would make it into indoor camping. Set up some tents in the garage and living areas, each tent a different theme. Serve finger foods and have nerf games and painting on paper or t-shirts and maybe even set up one tent for photos each in different tents so they can travel around and visit, maybe even set up one where the kids can dress-up like cowboys and take keepsake photos.
Have fun