Birthday parties and low cost

I was wondering if any one knew of a low cost place to have ath birthday party? My daughter turns 4 next April and was thinking of doing a bbq at my in laws for her, but my mothe in law wants me to change the date because of weather. So I was thinking of renting a hall,. but dont want to spend alot of money. Any ideas for places

Gravatar for christina christina Message christina
Jul 3, 09 7:23 pm

It's totally corny, but I was thinking of having my daughter's 4th bday at the MCDonalds in Flanders....they are renovated, and the new playplace is AWESOME.....apparently it's more of a "play place theme" bday then the old school McDonald's bday.

Otherwise....try the firehouse, or maybe church halls????

kelleo22
Jul 3, 09 11:36 pm

I believe the new art place in town (2 doors down from Stella G's) does Birthday Parties

Gravatar for Just Asking Just Asking Message Just Asking
Jul 3, 09 11:40 pm

I was also going to suggest the new at place. I met the owners and one is an actual art teacher. The place is gorgeous inside.

Gravatar for Christine Christine Message Christine
Jul 3, 09 11:46 pm

christina - Just a reminder, at 4 years old, they are just interested in the fact that their day is celebrated. In a few months, they will not remember where the party was held or who was invited (or not invited).

You should first figure out how much you are willing to spend make a realiztic budget and work within your means.

If you need to invite the family and that is a must to the party, then you would scale back the invitees for the children. There is no requirement that you must have a large party at this age.

DD is 7 and we have seen many different options for the birthday parties over the years. Some parents have a standard rule - family only parties until the child is a certain age (about 6 seems to be the consensus).

There are many options for a 4 year old party, but if you are having it at a party place, you should be planning on a cost of at least $15-20 per person (child). Some options good for 4 year olds:

Home (bit more work for you, but we have seen some great parties at the houses)
Little Gym - Hackettstown
Clown Around - Flanders
Build-a-bear - Rockaway (this is actually much cheaper than it appears - there is no need for a goodie bag because they get the bear!)
McDonalds or Burger King with a play area is great
Local fire house - you will need to provide / plan entertainment (bit more work for you, but we have seen some great parties)
Eyes of the Wild - Washington (Kids love this place - they put on a great party)

assuming that the other kids are mostly in the 3-5 age range, the above are my recommendations.

Just my suggestions! :-)

Have fun!

Gravatar for Coralie Coralie Message Coralie
Jul 4, 09 6:36 am

Planning now for a birthday party next April? Wow that's thinking ahead. Good for you.

Gravatar for Firefly Firefly Message Firefly
Jul 4, 09 9:40 am

Coralie, very good advice! You pretty much covered everything.

Bessie
Jul 4, 09 10:07 am

We had our 4 year old's party at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Hackettstown and hired Sprinkles the Clown . She was awesome! It was from 2-4 and she occupied them for a whole hour. The first half hour I had them decorate cookies, then Sprinkles came for an hour, then we had cake/ice cream and then it was time to go home! Perfect timing and my daughter STILL talks about it 5 months later.

Gravatar for justcurious justcurious Message justcurious
Jul 4, 09 10:43 am

We had my daughter's 5th at C'mere Cupcake. It was great! They did an excellent job and everyone had a wonderful time. Very inexpensive as well.

Gravatar for Alison Alison Message Alison
Jul 4, 09 8:33 pm

Thanks for the advice.

WE are looking to doing a kids party at build a bear in rockaway
But needed some ideas for a family party.. My inlaws said I could do it at their house but my mother in law does not want me to have it the weekend after Easter and my father in law tells me that I should email everyone to see what day would work for them, but if this is a party for my daughter then it should not matter what is good for everyone in the family right? or am I just being to critical of what they think?

But love the ideas Thanks everyone!

Firfly, I am thinking now b/c of the economy who knows what will happen at least this way I can start buying things now and put them away for the party...

christina
Jul 4, 09 9:44 pm

As far as the family party goes, just pick the weekend that is good for you. The people will come if they want to, especially if you give this much notice. Both my children's birthdays are in April, and I am constantly battling the Easter weekend scheduling mess. I gave up, just started picking a date and letting things fall where they may. People always come. Remember - you can't make everyone happy, just your daughter. It's kind of like planning a wedding. Eventually, you just give up and do what you want to do.

Gravatar for Alison Alison Message Alison
Jul 5, 09 9:48 am

Good advice Alison and once you start changing things to please the inlaws, it's all downhill from there, LOL. Christina, you're the parent now and you should be able to make your own decisions and plan the party the way you want to. JMHO Also, good idea to start buying early, gives you the chance to look at clearance now for next year. Since summer will be just around the corner when you have the party, you should be able to pick up some bargains on "Summer Clearance"

Bessie
Jul 5, 09 10:52 am

Good for you christina. I wish I was that organized.

Gravatar for Firefly Firefly Message Firefly
Jul 5, 09 8:55 pm
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