Older Child Birthday Parties

I have a friend who just had a "spa day" party for her 7 year old and 8 friends. They had their hair done, nails and makeup. They all had the time of their lives.

Take them to play putt putt golf

Take her and friends to a pumpkin farm

Take them to a lake, have a picnic, maybe take fishing gear and let them catch some fish, feed some ducks

Have everyone bring a pumpkin and have a carving party and maybe have them work together to make a scarecrow with supplies you will have available.

Take them to Libby Lou

Here are two ideas: I was just told that Michael's craft store will host birthday parties. You can pick out a craft in advance, pay for each guest's supplies, and then they help you make the craft together.

Also, I just saw the cutest idea in Parents magazine. They suggested doing a daytime sleepover. It's perfect for younger kids who might not be ready for a real sleepover, and you can also invite boys. The kids come in their pj's and bring their sleeping bags and pillows. You do all the normal sleepover things, like do each other's hair/makeup/nails (maybe not for the boys!), eat popcorn, play games. They even had the table set up like a bed, with sheets made up to be the table cloth. You can look at the magazine for more ideas.

Have fun!

We did a spa party. I had the aunties and grandmas come over and supervise stations. We rotated through each one, and at the end the girls made a bead necklace, decorated a pair of flip flops, got their fingernails and toenails polished, and got to pick a lip smacker, puffy sponge, bath gel and a hand lotion of their choice. I used Bath and body works items because they are returnable if the scent or ingredients are disagreeable. We put the "booty" in cheap dollar store cosmetic bags that they decorated with puffy paints. You can pick and choose! The dollar store had manicure kits in bright colors. Good luck. Many of her friends copied the idea because it was so fun.

hi T.,
My daughter just turned 8 and we did a pottery party. the girls loved it and it has many different prices. You get to set the price.

I don't have any girls, but a friend of mine has a 5/6 yr old. ( cant rememeber the exact age)
Anyways, she did a princess party. She had invited only so many little girls had them come dressed up as their favorite princess, It worked out great cuz alot of them had the costume already and some of them were going to be a pricess for halloween . She treated them like little pricesses, took them for a manicure at a friends house. ( friend was a nail tech) Took them to eat( pizza) and I think she even took them to a early show/movie. I think she did something else too, don't remember this was a few years ago. good luck and keep us posted what you come up with.

How about a craft party, where the girls learn how to "bead", "knit" or "crochet". There's a bead store in Oak Park called "Bead in Hand" that used to sponsor such parties.

Hi T.! So, I remember a party that my mother threw for me as a child that I will never forget. My mom, being a hairstylist came up with the idea of a beauty salon theme. She set up three stations and each girl moved along to the three stations one at a time. In one station each little girl got her make-up done by one of my mom's friends. In the next station each little girl got her nails done by another friend. Let each little girl pick out her own polish! In the last station, she did everyone's hair. Instead of goody bags, she bought hair accesories. Each child took one home from the party. I promise that your girls will never forget this party and your creativeness will be the talk amongst all the moms. It's a very inexpensive idea that you can throw at home. Good luck! Let me know what you decide and how things turn out.

What about Build-A-Bear for a birthday party? They have a more generic kind too in downtown Glen Ellyn.

What about taking the girls to a salon to get their hair & nails done? You can probably find a beauty school close to your home. They charge minimal for their services since they are students close to graduation. They maybe you can have a tea party at your house afterwards & they can dress up with now that they were just pampered.

My daughter is going to be 21 next month and to this day still talks about one birthday party. She was around your daughters ages, but I can't remember exactly how old. We had a makeup party. I gave the girls some mirrors, cheap makeup, play jewerly, and we already had dress up clothes. All the girls dressed up and they did each others makeup. It was really fun, and made for some great pictures! I let all the parents know before the girls came over so they could wear clothes that wouldn't get ruined.

The other party that we had with both my daughter and sons, was just to have kids over, and they played games. I had enough children for 2 teams. We played relay games such as each team had 1 person sitting on a chair blindfolded, with someone holding a big bowl on their head. The blindfolded child had a bowl of cotton balls on their lap and they had a big spoon. The idea of the game is to see how many cotton balls you can get into the bowl on their head. I gave them each a certain amount of time, and then they had to switch kids.

If you plan on a few games and just light snacks you can ususally get by fairly cheap and the kids can use imagination! Good luck and have fun !

I don't have girls, but what about the "build a bear" place in the mall. the commercials look good! also, I think there are places out there that you can Paint ceramics, etc. I don't live in your area, so I am just throwing out ideas!

How about a spa day, you and the girls and maybe 6 girls go and get your nails and feet done, then lunch.

Hi T.,

For my daughter's birthday this year, we had an evening party. We set up a movie projector (someone in your neighborhood probably has a projector!) and showed an age appropriate movie on the garage door. We ordered pizza and had popcorn, and laid out blankets and chairs on the driveway. It was essentially a drive in movie party. We had about 20 girls, and in total it cost less than one hundred bucks (5 dollar pizzas from Dominoes!) Just an idea!

It sounds like you don't want to have the party at your house. How about a beading party, a pottery making party, or a manicure party. I had a hip hop karoake party at my house. A manicurist came to the house and did a quick manicure for each girl while the others were singing and dancing. You can go to build-a-bear and go with the basic birthday package. I believe it is pretty inexpensive. The girls can walk out with their cute little boxes and you can take them all for a quick happy meal. Check it out on line.

I used to live in your area. There used to be a bead store in downtown Grayslake. I remember a Build-A-Bear at the mall in Vernon Hills. There is a Color Me Mine Studio at Deer Park. There is probably something similar near you.

I used to live in Gurnee about three years ago. Good luck and email me if you have questions.

What about a Tea Party? Or, I know some of the malls have these stores where you can do "dress up" and fashion things. There's also Build-A-Bear parties...Not sure the cost on these but they are ideas.

C. T.

Have you tried Libby Lou? It is a "dress up" boutique. We have one in our area at Orland Park Mall. You may want to check it out!

Hi!
My son just attended the neatest party ever...a Candyland party! It was his biggest "Willy Wonka" dream. It was a golden birthday for one of his very good girl friends. This family did it all. Everything was just like the board game...even the invitations. Each corner of each room had something so fun such as: a chocolate fountain with pretzels, strawberries, marsh mellows and tables with bowls and jars of candy,and labled just like the board game. There was a cotten candy and snow cone machine. Even the hot dogs were in a "carnival type" warmer. She had a Candyland train table with decorated cupcakes in the middle. The kids strung candy necklaces and bracelets. Instead of musical chairs they had the kids walk on patches of colored squares with music, then stopped the music, picked a color out of a tin and that is the person who would be out. They played Candyland bingo. They also had a "moon jumper" to help the kids work out the sugar rush.I was even amazed at it all and it was so much fun!You can combine both girls together and have a huge wonderful bash.

I hope this helps...I have so many more ideas if you wish to email me:) I'm currently planning a "mad science" party for my 9 year old son. I've limited my costs at $150 for the whole party. (It might even be less!)

Many blessings!
M.

Hi T.,

Here's a link to a query I did on www.kidwinks.com that shows the birthday party places listed there. If you sign up as a member and put your address in your profile, you can then sort this list in order of distance from your house.
http://www.kidwinks.com/events/index.asp?SECTION_ID=6&amp.... To do the query yourself, just go to kidwinks.com, click on the "Services" tab at the top of the page, and then click on "Birthday Party Services" along the left, and from there you can select "Birthday Party Places".
Kidwinks.com is a site for parents in the Chicagoland area looking for kid-friendly events, activities, restaurants (you can click on any day on their restaurant dining deals calendar to find out where kids eat free that day), shops and services (birthday party places, pediatricians, etc. etc.). It's a great resource. They also send out a bi-weekly newsletter with upcoming events. It's awesome!

J.

when my son was little i did a birthday party at a playground...it turned out great...the kids played and we broke for pizza, cake, etc...the parents brought all the kids & we took the kids home when we were all done...the mess was there & the boys enjoyed it so very, very much!!! (my hubby went to pick up the pizzas when we were about ready to eat)

you can do a tea party at home...have the girls dress up and have a tea party...little sandwiches...little muffins, etc...the girls just love that.

have fun!!!

If your daughters are crafty or artistic, a pottery party
can be fun. Not sure what studios are out in your area, but
the kids can paint their own pieces (you control the price)
and bring home a great keepsake.

Movie parties are also fun and easy, especially if there
is a good new kids movie being released...also well under
$20 per person.

My 7 year old was invited to a rock and roll party last year. Each child came dressed up as a rock and roll star. When they arrived, they were put into groups of four. Each group was given a song and 20 minutes to come up with a group dance. Then each group performed their song to the rest of the kids. The dad taped all of the dances. They had cake and played a couple of party games (freeze dance, four cormers and charades) When the thank you card came it was attached to a copy of the DVD of all the dances performed at the party. The whole party was down in their home. It was a really fun party. The only thing they bought was the cake, snacks and goody bags!

Hi,
I have an 8 year old little girl, her b-day is in Feb. So there is not much that we can do. So when she turned 7 I told her she could invite 3-4 of her friends for a sleep over / pool party at a local hotel. It was fairly cheap. All had a blast and enjoyed pizza. To this day it is the most talked about and favorite party. I hope this helps. Good luck in your search.
B.

What about roller skating, or cosmic mini golf or laser tag
also you have near you key wester not sure how much p/p you could host a water park party

For my daughter's sixth birthday we had a princess/spa party and sleepover. We invited six girls. I purchased some inexpensive princess gowns at the resale store and each of them. We had arts/crafts (colored different princess pictures and decorated treat bags)at station one. Station two was a nail polishing station. Then they soaked their feet in a footspa and got their toenails polished. Station three was the makeup. Afterwards they put their gowns on and went to the royal ball. There they danced, played games, took pictures with cinderella (store bought wall picture and a chair next to picture), broke a princess pinata, ate pizza and a homemade princess castle cake. Of course you will need volunteer helpers. All of the girls had a wonderful time and felt like little special princesses. Trust me, all of the work will be worth it and very inexpensive.

There is an awesome children's museum in Rockford-The Discovery Center-that you can have children's parties at. I've been to a birthday party at an apple orchard before that was super fun and perfect for fall birthdays. If you are going to be doing a kids only party you could go to Libby Lou, there is one in Gurnee and always a hit with my neices.

Dear SAHM, I work at a Children's Hospital and plan programming and special events for children while at the hospital. I was thrilled to hear that you were avoiding the "pre-canned birthday parties" of today. My kids are grown but I was always happy to plan an "old fashioned" birthday party. I had boys so it was always outside in July!! However, I think it would be fun to plan a girls party (no gender bias meant here).

Something that comes to mind is to have all of the girls bring their own item that they all have in common such as My Little Pony, Barbie, Beanie Bay etc. Then put out all kinds of boxes, tape, fabric, cotton, etc. to make houses for their characters. You could have books out from furniture stores to give them ideas on making furniture. I did this with Beanie Babies with boys I was babysitting for and they loved it. They come up with the cutest ideas.
Kids took paper cups and cut out part of the cup and stuffed it with fiberfill to use as a chair. Hope you have a great time. A.