Help with 3yo birthday party please

[fivi2]

My twins will be three in December. This will be our first real party. With playgroup and twin group etc, I am looking at inviting about 15 kids. (and about 6 infant siblings!) My house cannot hold this many people (it is tiny). Because it is in December I can't trust the weather so no park.

I had pretty mcuh decided on Gymboree, but am having a hard time with the price ($225, not including gratuity, and doesn't include anything - no favors, no plates, no napkins, nothing. just the space and a leader for 1.5 hours). We could afford it, it just seems like a lot to spend.

Today I called the YMCA. They have a space I can use for $25.00 per hour. It has tables and chairs and that is it. Sounds great. But I went to look at it and I am worried about the size. I wanted something big enough where they could run wild, and while it is big, it isn't go crazy run wild big, iykwim. There is room for tables to do a craft and then room to play games, but they would have to be structured. (I wanted something like the gym at our rec center where they could throw balls and roll on mats etc, but it isn't like that and the rec center won't work - I checked). It is maybe classroom sized. I can decorate it and do whatever I want as far as crafts or bubbles or whatever.

So - can I make it work? What sort of activities can I do to fill 1.5 hours with 15 ish 2.5 - 3.5 year olds? Or would you just do Gymboree?

[jenmcadams]

Honestly, it might be tough to keep that many 3 years old busy in a classroom sized space for a couple of hours. My kiddos have summer birthdays, so we do the sprinkler in the backyard type parties for the most part now, but we did two bigger event type place parties when my DD was young. At 3, we did a party at a Learning Express Toy Store...it was a good party, but the place was small and the kiddos weren't totally in to the craft. They did set up a small (think Little Tykes) bouncer for a portion of the party and that helped. Maybe you could borrow one from a friend and set that up?

The other party was for my DD when she turned 4 and we did that at My Gym (like Gymboree) -- it was an awesome party! We had 12-15 kiddos that ranged from 18 months to 5 years and they all had fun. Our My Gym provided all paper products and we provided some snack trays and the cake. It was similar in price to what you're looking at, but totally worth it.

We love our birthday parties at this house and our backyard parties tend to be massive -- lots of friends and siblings of invitees. On the surface they seem mellow (costco food, sodas/juice boxes, etc.), but we honestly spend more having the parties at home (for DS's 3rd we did a sprinkler, slip 'n slide party and for DD's 6th we did a Tie Dye Party) and in both cases we spent closer to $300 (kind of embarrassing to actually post that).

Edited to Add: If you do decide to go with the Y, just make sure you have more activities than you think you'll need. I'm always amazed (as a coach and frequent volunteer with preschool aged kids) how fast they can sometimes go through activities. I'm also always surprised at what captures their attention. Do you have a theme in mind? If so, there are so many creative types on this board, I'm sure you could get some great recommendations for crafts/games.

[Radosti]

Well, we tried a party at our house for DS1's first. It was friends and family. It's a december birthday, so indoors only. I got a clown for the kids ($250), food, cake, probably over $100. Plus, hours of cleaning before and after, stress... it was great, but I was worn out.

Shortly thereafter, we were invited to a party at My Gym. It was phenomenal and I did The Little Gym for his 2nd. Loved it. It was $235 for the party, $60 for pizza, $20 for the cake, and more for favors/snacks. All in all, most likely cheaper and less stressful than having a party indoors at my house. Doing that again this year.

I keep choosing The Little Gym over my Gymboree because they have a bigger lunch facility. Plus, they are a bit different from Gymboree and DS enjoys the difference.

[fivi2]

Thanks to both of you for the input!

If we do Gymboree, what is an appropriate tip? I was surprised when they told me tip was expected - I wouldn't have thought to do that!

(My Gym and The Little Gym are much farther away - gymboree is right down the street).

Thanks!

[sidmand]

Any chance there's a Pump It Up near you? http://www.pumpitupparty.com/

We had one open in our town in April and had never been before I had DS's party in June (DD was born in April and I just wasn't having people at the house so soon!). It was amazing. Everyone loved it and it turned out that because DS was three, we did the Junior Party, I think it was $110 for 15 kids. You bring in your own cake and can buy pizza, balloons, juice boxes, goody bags from them if you'd like (you can also bring your own goody bags, but no other food besides cake). I didn't think to tip everyone at first but they were really helpful, so I gave them each $5-10 I think (three teenagers). It was the best money I ever spent! No cleanup, no setup, everyone had a great time bouncing and I'm thinking it ended up cheaper than doing it at the house. Or at least a lot less stressful!

[fivi2]

I looked into Pump it Up - it looks cute. But for weekend parties there was only one selection online and it was $250 -- so more than Gymboree! I can't do weekday because of dh's work schedule. I'll call and ask about the Junior - I didn't see it on the local one's website.

Thanks!

[Tinkerbell313]

What about a Children's Museum? We have a Discovery Museum near us...you get the back room for 2 hours and it is free admission for the kids and their parents and siblings. I think the cost is $75. You supply the food (most just do a cake and drinks. And then you let the kids run around, play, and learn, of course. While its more expensive than the recreation center or the Y, you do not have to plan activities. And its lots of hands on stuff for the kids...no matter what the age.

[sidmand]

I looked into Pump it Up - it looks cute. But for weekend parties there was only one selection online and it was $250 -- so more than Gymboree! I can't do weekday because of dh's work schedule. I'll call and ask about the Junior - I didn't see it on the local one's website.

Thanks!
If you're interested, I would call and ask about the Junior Party. It wasn't listed on our website either. I knew it was less expensive, but I didn't realize how much! If they have both, they have a totally separate room for the Junior. I forgot we did do it on a weekday morning so it was a little cheaper, but it still would've been less than $200 even at the busy times.

The $250 usually includes 25 kids and is in the bigger part (even for adults, I've been wondering if we ever need it for an adult party). It's too big for most three-year-olds. Mine is tall enough, but I think he would've been scared of how big the structures in there were. And I didn't have 25 kids to invite anyway. It only includes those who can actually walk, so the babies we had didn't count toward the total. Neither did the parents.

[fivi2]

If you're interested, I would call and ask about the Junior Party. It wasn't listed on our website either. I knew it was less expensive, but I didn't realize how much! If they have both, they have a totally separate room for the Junior. I forgot we did do it on a weekday morning so it was a little cheaper, but it still would've been less than $200 even at the busy times.

The $250 usually includes 25 kids and is in the bigger part (even for adults, I've been wondering if we ever need it for an adult party). It's too big for most three-year-olds. Mine is tall enough, but I think he would've been scared of how big the structures in there were. And I didn't have 25 kids to invite anyway. It only includes those who can actually walk, so the babies we had didn't count toward the total. Neither did the parents.

Thanks! I will definitely give them a call!