2Year B-day Party in January

Monkey Bizness in Western Springs is GREAT for the age. And it's not too big so you can easily keep an eye on your little guy. They even have a little area for babies to crawl around. After playing they do a little craft followed by cake. Lots of fun!

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Wonder Works was great for my daughter's 3rd birthday. Not too expensive and they did all the set up and clean up. We just ordered pizza and brought a cake. Monkey Bizness in Western Springs does parties too and it's a real safe 2 year old friendly indoor play place.

Not sure where you are located, but the Exploratorium in the Skokie Park District is amazing. It's like a toddler museum, they have a water area, dress up, crafts, computers, books, ride on toys, and a small area of tubes and tunnels. My daughter and nephews love it!

Another idea is Pump it up or a gymnastics party, so the kids can run and you don't have to :)
I'm a gymnastics coach so I'm a little biased.

How about My Gym in Buffalo Grove? Parties are private, the place is very clean and safe (within reason). Just grab a cake, kids and go! You and your guests will love it! It might be a bit far for you, but you have to drive anyway - it is worth it.

www.gotomygym.com

Dear A., Everyone is different, but 30 sounds a bit much, of course that includes moms, since you are talking 2 year olds. Nonetheless, the party is for you, since the two year old really isn't keeping track yet. Do you need to go to this effort to be the great M. you want to be? Many families stick to a small, grandma, etc. party at two years.

I second Little Monkey Bizness in Western Springs. Perfect for the age group you'll have, and the party packages are very reasonably priced. http://www.monkeybizness.com/littlemonkeybizness/western_...

Hi A.,

Check out my website, www.kidwinks.com. We list over 100 birthday party places in the Chicagoland area in the Services section. Here's the link to the exact url: http://www.kidwinks.com/ForKids/KidsParty/.

If you become a member of kidwinks, which is free, you can sort these 100+ results in order of distance from your house.

Kidwinks.com is a resource for parents in the Chicago area looking for kid-friendly events (click on a day on the Events calendar for a list of kid-friendly events for that day), activities (browse our categories for ideas when you're stumped on what to do with the kids), restaurants, shops and services (like birthday party places!). In the restaurants section, you'll find our Kids Eat Free Calendar, where you can click on a day and get a list of restaurants offering kids' dining deals (like "kids eat free") for that day. Check it out!

Hope this helps,

J.

Hi A.-
I see that you live in Elk Grove Village. Do you know about Jumps and Jiggles in your town? Here's the link for it:

http://www.elkgroveparks.org/birthdayParties.asp

You have a lot of great responses already. So I will not repeat myself by typing anymore. Check out oaklee's guide online or there are booklets at libraries and doctor's offices to take to get ideas and coupons. Another great resoure is Chicago Parent- Going Places. This can be found on-line to or at libraries. You can go to Jumps and Jiggles with just your child during open play times to see if you'd like it for a party. There are coupons in Oaklee's guide sometimes for buy one get one free... parents are free though and it's cheap to begin with... like $3.00 during open play time and then about 50 cents to ride the merry go round.
Have fun!

I was in the same boat a few years back and I had it at MY GYM. It was worth every penny because they did everything!I also recommend one $3-$5 gift instead of a goodie bag. They loved it!

You don't say where you live, but My Gym, River Forest Community Center, and Monkey Island (all near West Suburbs) all have indoor gyms and do parties. RFCC is the most affordable. They have a play gym/climber as well as a large gym and they have a person come and do parachute play, etc. They can supply only the space or pizza, cake, etc.

Good Luck!

Hi A.,
I really like Party Time Palace in Des Plaines.

We had my son's party there, and I was really impressed with the service and how easy it was. All I had to do was show up and they did the rest.

Phone:
###-###-####

Email:
____@____.com

http://www.partytimepalace.com/Des%20Plaines/des-plaines....

If you're near the River Forest Community Center they have a gym/play area that's similar to a McDonald's, but better. They host parties. My daughter had one there when she was turning 5. You can google them and take a look.

Have you looked up Jumps and Jiggles in Elk Grove Village? I am a teacher and I brought my class there and they loved it (3-5 year olds with special needs). I also have a daughter who will be turning two on Christmas Day and I was thinking it would be fun to go there for her birthday as well. Good luck planning and with the birth of your 2nd!!!

A lot of great responses, didn't see anyone mention Wonder Works Children's Museum in Oak Park. Don't know if that is too far for you, but I've heard of several people having their 2-3 bday parties there and I'm considering it for myself when my twins turn two this January as well.

http://www.wonder-works.org/

Pump it up is great. My daughter is a January girl and we had her party at the Schaumburg location. We have also gone to B-day parties at Go Bananas in Arlington Heights on Rand Road. It was a blast!

Hi A.,

I have not done this yet, but it sounds really great for kids. Its called Fire zone, and they get to learn alot of fire safety in a really fun way. Also there is a place called bounce (not sure of the full name) but its in schumburg (by babies r us). My kids went to the one in florida and they loved it. I have 2 boys 5 years old and 2 1/2 years old. Good luck - it will be great

Jumps N Jiggles in Elk grove Village.

We just went to a 2-year old birthday at The Little Gym and it was great! They have workers who organize group activities/games and the place is big with fun gymnastics kind of things. They had a separate room for lunch.

See if they have one in your area. http://www.thelittlegym.com

My gym, Little Gym, Gymboree, Pump-It-Up, Skokie Exploratorium (or other childrens exploratorium), Chuck E Cheese's.

I am not sure where you are located but there is a place called Safari Land on North Avenue in Villa Park. I have been there quite a few times but have not had a party there. I do know that they have party rooms to accomodate the amount of people that you are trying to have. The have a play area for younger children along with a few rides and games but also have plenty of stuff for all ages. Here is there website if you are interested in checking it out http://www.safarilandfun.com . Good luck and may God continually Bless you and your family!

Pump it Up is awesome. We did that for our twins 3 year birthday. We have also have gymnastics parties at Aerial gym in Downers. The YMCA in Glen Ellyn has an area called KidsZone that is fun too. It's not as nice as some of the other places, but is cheaper.

Pump it Up. Kids have to be 2+ to jump, but it's a TON of fun for the little ones. Oh, and they do everything for you!

Chuckee Cheese, My gym, Little Gym, Kohl's children's museum.
Also your little guy won't notice if you have his birthday party a little early. So if you think you will be in better shape I might have it a month early so that there is less chance of overlap with new baby. Or you could have it a few weeks later but then you may well be exhausted. I had my 2 yr old's bday at our house this year and of course I cooked and cooked etc and then realized that she would likely at her age not notice much if she had had a much smaller party. I think we often bend ourselves into pretzels for these things for no good reason. good luck.

A.,

I am a children's entertainer & have a fun interactive music show. If you can find a park district that rents a room I can come there instead of your home. Check out my website! ( Also, check out the member perks for my discount coupon) Good Luck!
www.jigglejamproductions.com

J.