For those of you who have the option of choosing between indoor or outdoor parties, there are a few things you may want to consider. If weather permits, outdoors is the best place to let loose a bunch of party-hungry kids. Fresh air is good for everyone and cleaning up is usually much easier.
If you have a backyard, you’re all set. But, for those of us who don’t have the luxury of a backyard or don’t want to forsake our backyards, you can hold your out door parties for free at a local park, lake or beach, etc. These days, there are lots of places that offer to host children’s parties. And (for a fee), many of these places can provide everything – all you need to do is show up. Make sure you settle the exact details and know exactly what to expect. For outdoor parties, venues can include zoos, farms, water parks, theme parks, miniature golf, batting cages, nature centers, etc.
Indoor party venues provide you with a great option for indoor parties that aren’t actually held in your house. Some of these include restaurants (Chuck E. Cheese’s, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King.), bowling alleys, ice rinks, roller rinks, movie theaters, craft shops, laser tag arenas, Gymboree, museums.
Sometimes, taking the kids to such venues is a great way to diversify, however, because of the cost involved, you may have to cut down on the number of kids that are invited.
Out of all of the theme parties, this year Joey chose a knight theme for his 9th birthday. So, there were 8 knights, 2 princesses, and a king. Invitations The invitations were printed on red paper with the edges burnt. It read as follows: “Hear Ye! Hear Ye! His Majesty wants to honor the bravest … Read more
Thomas the Train birthday party ideas and photos by: Patricia from Johannesburg, South Africa My son who just turned three on April 15, 2007, is crazy about trains of all kinds, and he is a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. It came as no surprise that he asked for a Thomas … Read more
My son Reese loves Buzz Light-year and Toy Story so we ordered all the party supplies online for his Toy Story birthday party. Party Games Then I created some games including a Buzz Light-year Bean Bag toss game with 8 blue star bean bags, easy to make with fabric and beans or rice to stuff … Read more
For my daughter Savannah Rose’s 9th Birthday we wanted to have an under the sea birthday party. I tried to make it as much under the sea as I could without getting mixed up with Nemo or Little Mermaid. Savannah Rose loves to dress up so we always have pictures taken to the theme of … Read more
Under the sea party ideas and photos by: Kristie from Fort Gaines, GA We had an Under the Sea birthday party for my son’s 2nd birthday. I purchased blank invitations online and printed them myself. I ordered most of the party decorations from Oriental Trading (blow up fish, lobsters, paper fish etc.). I also ordered … Read more
My daughter just loves the Backyardigans, especially Uniqua so I decided to take the theme and run with a Uniqua birthday party! I decided to do the party color scheme in two-tone pink like Uniqua. That way it could be kind of girly. I did buy some Backyardigans decorations plates and napkins at Party City … Read more
For Justin’s 3rd birthday we had a Wild Wild West birthday party. So, let me first say, I got a lot of my ideas from this website. Thanks! Invitations Our invitation was a boot, which I made with a spur that moved. It read: “Howdy Partners! Justin is turning 3 and we’re gathering up all … Read more
Invitations So, Matthew’s Wild West birthday party started with a hand made invite that read: “Howdy Pardners, You’re invited! So mosey on down to celebrate Matthew’s 5th Birthday!” The invites were swinging saloon doors on the outside that opened to reveal the message. As everyone arrived, they received cowboy hats and sheriff badges. I have … Read more
Wild wild west party ideas and photos by: Araceli from Ontario, CA I celebrated my son Aidan’s 2nd Birthday this month-the Wild West party! To date, this is the best one yet. The wild wild west party wasn’t as elaborate as others I’ve had, but I consider this the best because both my husband and … Read more
Teddy Bear party ideas and photos by: Tracy from Hope Mills, NC We decided to have a Teddy Bear Party for our son Chance’s 1st Birthday. I made the invitations out of cardstock that I purchased at the craft store. I just layered the paper on the front and inside. I used a teddy stamp … Read more
Train birthday party ideas and photos by: Rachel from Rexburg, ID To be honest, being a first birthday party, we went for SIMPLE with our train party! I sent out little tri-fold invites with a train car on each fold (here is a sample of our invites…). We just had a family party since we … Read more
Here’s an awesome collection of outdoor kid games, perfect for throwing the coolest outdoor theme parties or just for some outdoor fun with the kids. Banana Bowl Form two groups for this relay race. Have all the players line up with a banana on a string dangling from their waists and almost touching the ground. As … Read more
My son just turned 3 and we did a toy story party for him which was a huge hit. We did the following: Handmade Toy Story Invitations I hand made all the invitations. The front of the invitation was done like the upcoming Toy story 3 movie poster with it saying my husband and my … Read more
Birthday idea and photos by: Tabitha from Indianapolis, IN Our son couldn’t decide what type of party he would like for his 7th birthday, so we convinced him to let us surprise him with our birthday idea (we knew he would love). We chose a secret agent/spy party. He loves Spy Kids and Cody Banks, … Read more
Finding Nemo party ideas and photos by: Kelly from Saint Clair, PA My daughter has a big fascination with the movie Finding Nemo. Seriously, we watch it at least twice a day. That’s why with her 2nd birthday approaching I couldn’t think of anything better than a Finding Nemo party! That’s why with a little … Read more
We decided to have the whole party in our backyard. I got yellow construction paper and cut out a huge circle and drew a railroad crossing on it and hung them on the door leading outside. Then, I used black electrical tape on the sidewalk outside to make a train track that led to the … Read more
Birthday party planning ideas and photos by: Nicole from York, PA It was my son’s 2nd birthday and I wanted to do something fun birthday party planning. My 4-year-old son helped pick out the jungle animal theme. I found a huffalump shirt on ebay and we had Happy 2nd Birthday Brady personalized on it. He … Read more
Fire Fighter party ideas and photos by: Teresa from Malden, MA Since every time the engines leave the firehouse my son goes crazy, we decided to have a fire fighter party for his 2nd birthday. For invitations we sent out postcards, on the front we took pictures of a small fireman statue and sign, then … Read more
My son is a big Star Wars fan – though he enjoys characters from both sides (Empire & Rebel Legion). He is also a big Lego fan so we made his 6th birthday party a Lego Star Wars party. The invitations, decorations, games and food tried to incorporate all these elements. Star Wars Party Invitation … Read more
Boot Camp party ideas and photos by: April from Lexington, KY For my son Colby’s 5th birthday party he wanted to have an Army themed party. We went all out by transforming our backyard into an Army Soldier Boot Camp to make his party unforgettable. For the invitations of the boot camp party my husband … Read more
Fire Truck birthday party ideas and photos by: Sandra from Berryville, VA My son’s 3rd birthday theme was a firefighter’s party. We started with specialty themed firefighter invitations that I bought off eBay. I printed them at home. Next I purchased a bunch of firefighter themed goodies from eBay and Oriental trading. I also ordered … Read more
Last summer, for my son Leo’s 3rd Birthday, he asked for a Beatles Yellow Submarine Party. He was crazy obsessed with the movie, their music, our Beatles Rockband game and he just couldn’t get enough of them. He knew all their names and the instruments they played and he made sure that every person at … Read more
For my oldest daughter’s sixth birthday party we expanded on this concept which we had done on a much smaller scale in the past. She chose a Candyland party theme so we ran with that. We try to limit the number of gifts our children get and focus more on teaching them the value of … Read more
First birthday ideas and photos by: Elad from Israel There are already a bunch of great 1st birthday ideas on this site. For our latest first birthday for Noa, I came up with a few new first birthday ideas while planning the party. 1st birthday parties are a challenge, primarily because the guests are usually … Read more