Ideas Please ! Big Party for 5 Year Old Early December....

If you have a big enough place why not an old fashion birthday party at the house with the great party games, i.e. pin the tail on the Donkey, Sack Race, Potato on the spoon. Cheap & easy and the kids love it. They can decorate cupcakes and you can have food and drinks for parents and kids to just hang out and party! :)

I'd check in to church social halls or community centers, and schedule it mid-afternoon (like around 2 p.m.) so it's neither lunch nor dinner and have a variety of simple snacks for both kids and adults (veggie and fruit trays, cheese/crackers, hummus/pita chips, popcorn for the kids, etc.). A friend of ours had their son's b-day at their church's social hall (they were also able to arrange to use some of the toddler toy area things like play tents and tunnels and push toys) and they set up a table with a couple simple projects from the craft store (cardboard door hangers to decorate with foam stickers). The kids really enjoyed having the space to roam around and one big hit was balloons that were left on the ground instead of helium filled and/or taped on the walls - the kids loved batting them around - so long as everyone's aware that there might be the occasional "pop!" that might startle the youngest ones, it's an easy and cheap form of entertainment :-)
Good luck!

Have you considered having only children to the birthday party?
We never invite adult guests anymore. There was a handful of relatives (brothers,sisters and their spouses) who would drink beer, smoke cigarettes in the yard (in eye sight of the kids), and in general have adult conversations (including cursing on occasion) in earshot of children. It is just not appropriate.

We feel that birthdays are for the children. We let them pick the limited guest list (anywhere from only a best freind if we are going on a train, or to SF or something)to 2-3 for a sleepover or 3-5 kids for a home party. The formal bday rule of thumb from the professionals is one child invited per age of the bday child. But my max allowable is 5 kids. My kids usually never request that many kids- they usually have their 2 or 3 closest freinds and that is it.

This has been a wonderful thing for us! and, my children don't EXPECT huge fanfares and a million zillion presents that get thrown over thier head without a thankyou. They have really learned to appreciate every presenrt they get and appreciate the quality time they get to spend with their best freinds.

If you're living near Sacramento, the Straw Hat Pizza in Natomas (Del Paso exit) has a party room that only requires a $50 deposit. It's totally enclosed from the other dining room and is really big. I'd say there is seating for at least 40. They do have an arcade, as well. We only used it for an adult gathering but the employees were very accomodating. They have good pizza and a great salad bar, too.

I've had a couple of parties for my kids at Albany Bowl and Pinole Lanes. They are a great solution for parties with guests of many different ages attending. Bowling needs no prior experience, and can be managed physically by the youngest and the oldest guests. There are tables where non-bowlers can sit and talk and cheer on the bowlers, and there are arcade games and pool tables at most bowling alleys, which appeal to older kids, teens and adults, if they don't want to bowl. Most bowling alleys have party packages that are less expensive than Chucky Cheese, and are much more fun for all ages.

Dear N.,

The Honest Truth From Auntie...

“Early December”
“Big Party for 5 Year Old”
“Not At My House”
“Chucky Cheese Too Expensive”

While I’m sure everyone in your family loves your children dearly, I don’t think I’m alone in saying not all of them would love to mingle with five year olds at big children’s birthday party. I love my nieces and nephews and I love to see them having fun. However attending a party that usually includes eating bad pizza, drinking carbonated soft drinks and over frosted cake that really stirs up, the already very excited little birthday revelers, is not my idea of a good time.

What I usually do is go to the party around the time of the cake cutting, bring my card and gift, say hello to everyone, especially the “birthday boy/girl”. Stay for about 30 min to an hour and leave. These parties usually last several hours.

Since December is not the optimum month for outdoor parties, your watching you're budget, and want a big party; you could check out a church or local halls with a kitchen, plan a potluck where everyone brings something. It could be a combo holiday start off/birthday party. Make a nice main dish, salad (other items can be filled in by family—make a list of what you need). Bake personalized cup-cakes, have juice, water, coffee/tea etc. If you desire and the hall permits, wine or beer would be O.K. for the adults. In moderation of course.

Since five year olds don’t like to sit still to long, definitely have a kids area decorated especially for the birthday boy and some fun little gift bags.

PS...No bubbles inside...At a BIG family wedding, I once saw a bride slip on the dance floor because they made the BIG mistake of providing bubbles for each child....Need I say more?

Blessings……

Maybe you could check out using a multi purpose room at a school or even your church. Or to keep it on the cheeper side you could invite everyone to enjoy a day at the zoo or chucky cheese. Letting them know that if they would like to meet you there here is where you will be. Considering the tough times right now I don't feel it would be tacky to not pay for everyone. Or if the weather is good then you can always go to a park for a bbq. Good luck!

I am a children's party entertainer, and can bring a make-your-own plush animal activity to your party location. It's called Noah's Ark Animal Workshop, a traveling "stuff-n-fluff" animal workshop. Besides coming to private homes, I can bring the activity to a clubhouse, church social hall, community center, etc. And with a large group like you are describing, I can offer a discounted rate for the activity. In early December I'll be featuring adorable Gingerbread Men and Reindeer Bears for the children to stuff, name, wish on a rainbow star, fill out a birth certificate, and decorate a carrying bag for their new cuddly friend. No need to worry about party favors as the children will leave the party with a fantastic plush friend! Please call me if at ###-###-#### if you'd like more information.

You may be able to reserve some tables at Skipolini's Pizza in Walnut Creek. They are right down town, have long tables for large gatherings, a play area for kids to climb on, a water fountain to look at and is generally a good place that kids can run around and adults can sit and chat.

Pump It Up is a great place for a large family because you are only paying for the kids (adults over 18 and childrend under 2 are free) plus you get your own private time in each of the arenas and in the party room. This is different than Chuck E Cheese where your kids and family are talking over other party guests and running around with kids that you don't know. Especially when you have to worry about the flu, etc. going around. Pump It Up sanitizes everything after each party and you have 2 hours to spend enjoying your guests and taking pictures instead of worrying about making sure your guests are taken care of. Call them and ask if they have any specials. Also, you can have pizza ordered or you can order Togo's sandwich trays directly from Pump It Up and it's ready for you and your guests when you get in the party room. The attendants help the birthday child open their presents and write down who all the presents are from so you don't have to worry about anything, they do all the work. The price per child typically runs 10.96 and if you add the adults who are free the price is even less per guest.

My older son's birthday is in April and we never now what the weather is going to be like. We also have lots of family and friends, so we need a large place. The first two years were easy. We had a large home and had it inside. When he was 2.5, we moved into a smaller house and didn't think we could have it there. We thought it would be nice to have it in a park. A few days before the party, we found out that it might rain. We called everyone to let them know that we were moving the party to the clubhouse at my parents' condo complex. After that, we didn't want to take any chances and had his 4th at the clubhouse. When he was 4.5, we moved 3 hours away from my parents to a small town. We didn't know where to go because we didn't want to spend a lot of money. My son's daycare lady lived in a housing community that had a clubhouse and was able to rent it for us. The next year, he was in Kindergarten and no longer going to daycare. I didn't feel right asking her again. I asked the church we had been attending if we could have it there. This was the first time they had anyone ask for a kid's party, but they agreed. The only problem was that we had to be out in time for them to get ready for the Saturday evening service. This year, we had his party at a park that also had a hall you could rent. I rented the hall for 3 hours and it turned out to be a nice day. I also don't like places like Chuck E. Cheese because they are so expensive and we like to do theme parties with coordinating decorations and games. I have been to birthday parties for his classmates. One was at a bowling alley and it seemed like they allowed you to decorate the party room. Good luck! BTW, if you want a good site to buy party supplies, I like BirthdayDirect for plates, napkins, etc and Oriental Trading Company for favors.

Hi N.. For my grandson's 1st bd party we also had no room in our home and the Chuck E Cheeses, etc. were a bit too expensive for us. We ended up at Round Table. There are pros and cons, but in the end we loved it. You speak to the manager of your local Round Table and let them know date and time you would like party and about how many people are expected. You are provided with a private room and balloons. The pros are that you only have to spend a minimum of $100 (on pizzas and sodas, etc.), you can decorate the room before the party (tape only, no nails), and you have no clean-up (other than taking down your decorations). The room we were provided opened onto an enclosed grassy area with tables and chairs. Kids could run around out there, adults could sit, watch, talk or join in with kids. You can play games out there. The cons are that there isn't entertainment - you must provide your own, and there is a limited amount of time you can have the room for. I live in Santa Rosa, CA. I don't know where you live or if this is available to you. If interested call them ahead of time to ask your questions, is the minimum order the same at all R.Ts, can they be flexible on the amount of time you get, does their party room open onto a "play area", and whatever else you might need to know. It worked out great for us. Everyone mixed. We were afraid people would break up into cliques depending on who knew who, but it wasn't like that at all. All had fun and the money we saved by having it there, we were able to spend on some extra presents we had wanted. Good luck.

Hi there N......My daughter just did a party for her 1 yr old (my grandaughter...It was cute...She approx 60 people and it was Hello Kitty/Cupcake themed...We had it at a park...But in Dec its pretty cold and rainy...So how about at a rec center or a pump it up place (bouncy houses) They have so much that you could use as a theme...What does your 5 yr old like?? We had a couple of people bring different salads and had bbq wings from WING STOP and spinich dip ..veggie platters and fruit kabobs (yummy) I made a cake and my daughter made little cupcakes....We had Plenty of food and family pitched in...It was really nice and we had ALOT of food!! There is so much you can do if you just sit and think what YOU would like to have and what theme for you son?? The internet helped ALOT!! Good luck...

I'm not sure if you are in San Francisco, but if you are SF Park and Rec has lots of playground facilities with club houses that you can rent. They aren't that expensive and you can bring in your food etc . Unless it's raining the kids can play outside in the playground while the adults stay warm inside.

Greetings N.: Since I have 5 children I have done many parties. We ae now stating on the next generation.
Muy son is born DEC.26. Bad timing for him. We generally held a theme party. Since we knew it would rain we might have everyone come in grubbies and do mud pie fights-- at the end we hosed off all the children and any adult that got in the way.
We had buried treasure, and they all becase a pirate and we had them dress up and wear a patch. Seems that birthday boy had to walk the plank!!!!
Every year we got an extra Christmas tree, and decorated it for the party. the invitations, the talecloth was the tree skirt, the kids that came got to hand their cards on the tree. and the gifts went under it.My son's favorite party was when we had each child bring a gift and 2 things of food and they took it to a family that we had learned of and sang them christmas carols, they also got part of the desseert.
So pick a theme and run with it and have a ball, it will be manh ahppy memories for the child to thnk abot as he ets older. Chuckie Cheese is very expensives and not as much fun if you do it a lot. So have fun I love a good party!
let me know how it goes! Nana G