birthday party ideas Archives

8 Snooze-Proof Birthday Ideas That’ll Blow Your Kid’s Mind

March 6, 2025 | Leave a Comment

Kids look forward to their birthday all year long, which can make it hard for the big day to actually live up to the hype. Finding quality kids birthday party entertainment is the key to making your child’s next party a hit. To help you plan an epic event, we’ve rounded up eight snooze-proof birthday party ideas that are sure to entertain and delight your child and their friends.

1. Medieval Times

Medieval Times is a popular option for kids’ birthday party entertainment, but you may not live near one of their locations. If you can’t make it there, you can put on your own rendition in the backyard. You can find inflatable jousting games and foam swords and shields online, which provide hours of fun. Renting a pony will make your little one feel like a real knight and only costs about $300 for one hour. If that isn’t in the budget, set up medieval games instead like apple bobbing or Nine Men’s Morris, an ancient strategy game.

2. Trampoline Park

Trampoline parks have been a huge hit with kids over the past few years. Most medium and large cities have facilities that you can rent for your child’s next party. Bouncing entertains little ones for hours and helps them burn off excess energy. But if you don’t have a trampoline park nearby, renting a bounce house is a great alternative. It provides a similar experience in the comfort of your own backyard.

3. Science Museum

If your child is curious and inquisitive, they may enjoy going to the local science museum for their birthday. Planetariums and children’s science centers usually offer birthday packages that provide an unforgettable experience. You may get private access to the interactive exhibits or undivided attention from a docent, helping enhance your museum visit.

Unfortunately, some towns don’t have science museums. If there isn’t one nearby, you could help birthday guests learn about science by doing some experiments, such as building and launching a model rocket.

4. Amusement Park

Kids love rollercoasters, so it’s no surprise that amusement parks are a popular option for kids’ birthday party entertainment. Admission can be pricey, but luckily many theme and water parks (such as Cedar Point) offer discounted group tickets or birthday packages. Discount sites like Groupon and warehouse stores like Sam’s Club also sell discounted tickets. However, if a theme park isn’t in the budget, you may be able to find a local carnival or festival that offers more affordable admission without skimping on games, rides, or fun!

5. Host a British Tea Party

English tea party — Image Source: Pexels

If your child doesn’t enjoy thrilling rides, they may prefer the slower pace of a British tea party. It’s easy to host afternoon tea at home on a budget. If you don’t have any china, you can usually find pretty ceramic plates and cups at the thrift store. Even if you aren’t much of a baker, British treats like finger sandwiches and scones are easy to make. You can also find English snacks like Jaffa cakes and Walkers crisps in the international aisle of many grocery stores.

For games, consider purchasing a children’s croquet set or play tea bag toss. You can also research fun facts about tea and create a fun trivia game.

6. Aquarium or Zoo

Kids of all ages love going to the aquarium or zoo to learn about and marvel at all the animals. Aquariums and zoos almost always have event rental space for children’s birthday parties. These packages include admission so your whole group can get in and see the exhibits. If you don’t live near a zoo, you may be able to find a local farm with a petting area.

7. The Circus

The circus is a classic choice for kids’ birthday party entertainment. You can find tickets on StubHub or Ticketmaster. However, if the circus doesn’t come to your town, it’s easy to throw a similar event at your home by booking local entertainers. You can find skilled clowns, magicians, and face painters on sites like GigSalad or Bark.com. You could even dress up as a clown yourself to save money!

8. A Car Show

A car show is a low-cost kids birthday party entertainment option for little boys who love classic rides. Major car shows are special events that only happen once or twice a year in specific locations, so you might have to travel to get there. However, your local group of car enthusiasts may have smaller, more frequent meetups.

Reach out and see if they’d be open to sharing their love of cars with a group of youngsters. Since these events are often hosted in parking lots, ask if you can bring some foldable tables and chairs and set up a little picnic.

What are your favorite children’s birthday party ideas? Let us know in the comments!

Vicky Monroe

Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance writer who enjoys learning about and discussing the psychology of money. In her free time, she loves to cook and tackle DIY projects.

Charity Birthday Party Ideas Your Kids Will Love

March 18, 2021 | Leave a Comment

Although birthdays are meant to be a celebration, sometimes we can’t help but feel we’re spending more money on a party than we need to. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars on new toys that your child will outgrow, put that money to good use by hosting a do-good birthday party for your kid. Lots of parenting websites have great ideas for charity birthday party ideas, and we’ve compiled a list of our favorites. And if you’re worried about your children hating your suggestions, kids are natural givers and would likely be more than willing to help out people in need.

Bring an Animal Shelter to Your Home

There are plenty of pet adoption centers and animal societies that would be willing to bring their animals to private events like a birthday party.

Photo by Jairo on Unsplash

Or, you could see if you could host your party at the local animal shelter. That’s what the Shaw Family in Portland, Oregon did. They had their party guests bring treats, toys, and other donations for the cats and dogs, and you can do the same. Guests can also be given the option to adopt one of the pets!

Have a Couple Piggy Banks in the Party Area

At an early age, we teach kids the value of money with allowances and earning extra cash with chores or babysitting. To show them how a little goes a long way, have a couple piggy banks in the party area where guests can make their donations. You can label each of the piggy banks with a different charity, which gives guests the option to choose which organizations they would like to support.

Organize a Clothing Drive

Take cue from the Multari twins in Hamilton, Ontario, and have your child’s friends and neighbors bring in previously loved and any unused clothes. The girls ask for pajamas every year, sometimes receiving as many as 93 pairs of pajamas to donate. The girls’ pajama drive has been so successful, they have even started their own nonprofit. Depending on your charity, you might have to limit the kinds of garments you accept.

Donations to Your Local Homeless Shelter

Another idea is to call your local homeless shelter and ask what items they need. Then, you can create a wish list, and party goers can choose from the wish list.

Another idea is to see what food the shelter may need. You and your party guests could create sack lunches for the homeless, making sandwiches, bagging chips and desserts, and adding a fruit.

Final Thoughts

American children are often spoiled when it comes to material items, especially when they receive many gifts from well-intended birthday party guests. Instead of showering your children in gifts, choose one of these charity parties to help spread the wealth, so to speak. The more you and your children practice giving, the more you’ll enjoy helping others. Your guests can feel good about their role in helping others, too.

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Melissa Batai

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in Arizona where she dislikes the summer heat but loves the natural beauty of the area.

How to Save Money On Birthday Parties (and Still Have a Great Time)

January 16, 2017 | Leave a Comment

Pinterest is a magical place for party planning, especially for kids’ parties. Due to the unspoken pressure created by social media, DIY-themed events can become a financial sinkhole quickly. That’s why I’ve put together how to save money on birthday parties, and still have a great time.I’ve seen

I’ve been the Pinterest mom, scouring professional cake designs and theme-consistent decorations, utensils, favors, mascots, and skywriting airplanes. OK, maybe not the last one. I’m not saying you shouldn’t have fun stuff; I’m just saying sometimes we all need to step back from the culture of excess that permeates the internet and reboot.

We all need to take a moment and remember how things were when we were kids. No Instagram filters. No professional photographer.

I’m talking homemade sheet cake with mismatched birthday candles. Party hats made from construction paper. Running around in the backyard with friends.

We didn’t have many elaborate birthday parties growing up. But every birthday, large or small, was great. Odds are, your kids will feel the same way, too.

So here are a few ways to lift some pressure off your shoulders, save money, and have fun.

How to Save Money on Birthday Parties (and Still Have Fun)

1. Scale back.

Not every year needs to include a birthday party with 20 guests, a main course, three dessert options, and a bouncy castle in the back yard. For example, my daughter turned four shortly after Christmas, so we had a simple celebration at home with her grandparents. She helped me bake a cake from scratch and got a kick out of sticking the four candles in the cake, herself.

She’ll have bigger parties in the future, but I believe it was good for her to have a simple celebration with family this time. She had so much fun, and it certainly saved us a small bundle.

2. Give experiences.

One of our gifts to our daughter this year was a playdate at one of her favorite indoor bounce house entertainment centers. There was a discount on Groupon, so we set the date, invited friends, and enjoyed an afternoon together. You could even do this at a later time instead of a large birthday party.

To learn of discounted events in your area via Groupon, click on their website and type in your city. These deals fluctuate constantly, so make sure you check in from time to time.

3. Utilize the power of the Dollar Store.

Perhaps you’ve chosen your party theme and it’s time to pick out decorations. When I threw a “Thomas & Friends” party, Amazon had bundle upon of bundle of great decorations. My cart was filling up quickly. I finally realized I could buy a few of those items in generic colors and they’d still tie into the theme.

That brings us to the power of the Dollar Store. If you want to save money on birthday parties, don’t force yourself to make every item match perfectly. You can have plain, white cups and napkins to go with your Frozen theme. Plastic table cloths are another great example where solid colors work well.

If you have a budget for party items and need to save money, try out a few of these suggestions and see how they go. Like I said before, it’s great to have a party and celebrate your child, but you don’t have to go all out just to make them happy. Kids come predisposed to love birthday parties.

How do you find ways to save money on birthday parties?

Image via Alvimann (MorgueFile)

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