3 Yr Old Bday in Less than a Month and I Still Don't Know Where to Have It. HELP

Dear A.,

I have a business that provided birthday parties in North Dallas. I can help you out for free if you will contact me.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to put my contact info on this response. But, here goes...###-###-####.

J. E.

1 mom found this helpful

Like an earlier poster, we alternate with birthdays. Party one year, small celebration with family the next. She is only 3, and I guarantee she won't remember it when she is older. Just make her feel special for that day and the only thing she will remember is from whatever photos you take.

My youngest will be 3 on December 4 and my oldest will be 5 on January 10, so we have little girls VERY close in age to yours:).

As some others have suggested, I don't think your little one would be hurt at all to have a small family/friend gathering at your house.

We were moving into our first home last January on my four year old's birthday and we only did cake at home...no guests at all. She doesn't even remember it that way; I mean, she got a house lol! This coming year we'll be doing something extra for her, however. My soon to be three year old will have a family party this year and then for her fifth we'll do a bigger deal.

We have a plan for bigger birthdays on years 1, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16, and 18. But just a few friends spending the night and a cake on other years (when they're older).

You could get a few trinkets easily and cheaply and decorate your own My Little Pony cake:).

I am so sorry for all the hardships you have endured.
I have never done this for a party, but I was thinking that the mall might be an option. Most have great play areas and the one in Frisco also has a Carousel ($2 per child I think). You could do a cake in the food court. Just an idea.
ps - I also liked the idea about asking a friend or family member if you might use their house. I don't think that's too much to ask given all you have been though.
All the best to you.

Oh my goodness, what a devastating story...but at least everyone is safe and sound! I'm not sure where you live, but the Grapevine Community Center is awesome! I'm sure most citites have a community center that you can rent space in, definitely check it out. Good luck and God Bless your family!!

A.,

My advice is to not stress over having a big party for your 3 yr old. Until my kids were much older, our parties consisted of mostly family and a couple friends. This is a time to celebrate your daughter's birthday and how very fortunately your family is to be together and live.

Get or bake a cake and decorate with 3 little my ponies... have some balloons with my ponies or the colors. Keep it simple, especially with the holidays coming up. No need to add stress...

if I might add- where do you live? You can send me private message if you would like...

I am so sorry for all of that.
We had my sons at mcdonalds for free. I just brought all of the stuff. I also think a friend or family member wouldn't mind. My sil let us use their house for my daughters 2nd birthday. Also the dollar tree has party goods, invites, decorations, plates, everything. I always save alot doing buying there. HTH :) K.

Just want to say to give yourself a break. I know its hard when its your own child, but try to remember she is turning 3. She won't even remember this party in a few months. She will be happy with a few friends at a local restaurant or indoor play area and a few My Little Pony presents (think ebay). Try an indoor park at one of the malls and just invite her 2 best friends. Keep it simple so you don't overwhelm yourself. You don't have to try to be super-mom or throw extravagent parties for your kids to have a great time and love you for it.

What part of town do you live? I'm sorry for all you've been through! My DD turns 3 on the 28th too but we are having a small party at our home so I'm not much help!

Do you have a friend in an apartment? Many apartment complexes have facilities for residents to reserve (for free) to host gatherings. See if a friend can help.

I liked the McDonald's idea where they have a play area suitable to her size. If they still do parties with cake and balloons, it was a little price, great value. You can always use the theme by having a table center price from the Party store and/or napkins. Take pictures, mail the pics with the thank you cards to the parents, and keep in a little album just big enough for your party pics.

Or, if you need less hassle still, see if they don't have a "My Little Pony" cake from Tom Thumb and have a family party only at the house. (You can balloon and crepe paper streamers up and around the cake table)

most kids love the train at grapevine mills you could just have the kids do the train ride the a lunch at the chick filla
or you can look into owens farms it was great place with lots to do for kids.

Check with your local library or if you are a member of a church you might could use the fellowship hall or one of the classrooms. Good Luck.

Hi A.,

If it were me, I would skip the birthday party this year and have NO GUILT about it. This may be an opportunity to show your children that it is worth celebrating that you are together, that you have a kitchen to bake a cake in and that you have money to purchase at least a cake mix.

That may sound harsh, but we do not always have a party for my children. They are 5 and 3. They had a big party at 4 and 2, but their last party was much smaller because we just didn't have much to offer financially! We only had 4 of their friends over and told the parents we were having cupcakes and fruit, but no other food would be served. As our friends, they understood. The kids had a great time and my husband and I could really enjoy the party because we were not stressed about the money!

There are many, many ways to make a birthday special. My kids get to pick what they want for dinner (even if it cereal!), we have a cake and we make sure they open at least one present from us. We also enjoy telling our kids how much we love to celebrate the day they were born and came into our lives. They NEVER tire of hearing about the day they were born!!

Peace and Joy to you,
M.

If you belong to a church, you may be able to use a room there. We did this for a couple of our kids birthdays and it worked out great. It didn't cost us since we were members. Some churches may charge a fee. It was really nice since there was a playground that the kids could play at if the weather was nice.

In an effort to do something for my son turning 4 on November 30 but wanting to keep it cheap we are doing McDonald's. It is $70 for 10 kids including cake, happy meals, drinks, and playtime. You can pay for extra kids I think it was $6 and some change per kid.

I think renting a room at your church or library sound great. Both are probably free or low cost like the other moms suggested.

When my daughter turned 3, I was 3 weeks from my due date with her little brother. We had her party at Chuck E Cheese. We did not do the birthday package, but went in and saved quite a few tables by the preschool area. We decorated in Dora theme. We then just bought tokens, drinks, and pizza for everyone, including the parents, and it cost us only a little over $100 at Chuck E Cheese. I made strawberry cupcakes with pink icing and sprinkles.

Chuck E. Cheese had no problem with us saving tables, but we did check with them first. Good luck!

Lake ARlington Baptist Church Lifestyle Center does birthday parties. Contact Sherilyn Conn at ###-###-#### x39

My daughter was just invited to a birthday party at the Carrollton Library. You might check that one. Best to you!

Your 3 year old sounds like mine with the love of My little pony. She turned 3 in May and we had a bowling party. I brought in My Little pony cake and balloons and she loved it!

Don't know how a birthday girl would feel about this (as opposed to a birthday boy), but this idea is absolutely appropriate for your situation, and from what I was told by a guest (not the hosts of the party, so you may want to inquire) it's FREE.

Frisco Fire Department throws birthday parties for kids. From what I hear, the firefighters interact with the kids, teach them about fire safety (stop, drop and roll) and then the fire dog comes out for them to all take their picture with, then they tour the station, then you have your cake.

Not the My Little Pony theme, but I think that would be a great thing to at least look into.

I'm glad your family is safe and together to celebrate your daughters' birthdays. Continue to be blessed.

We've had a fire station birthday before. Just schedule a tour of the local fire station. You can ask if they have a room for you to use for cake and presents, or head over to the park. And we've gone to McDonalds for birthdays and bought happy meals for the kids, and brought our own cake and plates. Also, don't feel embarrased about having a party at your place. Less stuff means more room to play. You can have a carnival style party where the kids play different games (ring toss, pin the tail on the pony, musical chairs). Spread a table cloth on the floor and let the kids eat on the floor. I'm sure everyone understands your situation, so smile and say something like "We have lots of room for love, but not so many places to sit!" I've always told family and friends that if they have come to see my house, then they have come for the wrong reason and will be very disappointed. Have a great time celebrating your daughter!

What about a tea party, with all the trimmings? At some of the antique malls, they actually have a tea party/luncheon area that you can reserve/rent, sometimes with period clothing that the participants can wear during the event, boas, 20's-40's hats, etc. You could take each child's picture in their 'finery', maybe even with a polaroid camera so that you can send a good picture home with each child of themselves in costume, separately, and with the birthday girl, a little-girl's best fantasy of a tea party. Only invite 3-4 little girls, to keep it small and cozy. Not sure what this would cost, but the one I went to seemed very reasonable. Check into it, at least. All it needs to be is something SHE will remember (or not, ...though pictures will help). One gift after the fact could be a little album with copies of all the pictures taken during the party.
OR, if you have a friend with a nice porch or deck on their house, maybe you could hold the tea party there, and hit the dollar stores for little special things to wear, a $1. boa, a $1. fancy hat, party favors you find there.
Serve cookies and tea, in a tea set with tiny cups.
Kids that age have no expectations, are easily pleased just to be made to feel special, and their friends the same. It's best not to continually try to one-up the last party, which raises their expectations unnaturally over time. My brother and his wife raised their girls to expect a special party only every other year, with a quiet, family-style simpler part in between, while the sibling is having their special party that year. (The child gets to pick the restaurant, food served, and gets one or two special gifts, no invited guests, low-key.)

When my twin girls turned 3, we had their party at Cici's. Here's the cool thing- KIDS 3 AND UNDER EAT FREE! So, almost the whole party got to eat for free. I even got permission to hang a pinata and that covered the entertainment and gift bags. The whole party including party favors ran me about $50.

A.,

I am so sorry to hear about your house and the resulting lung problems. My suggestion is to ask family or friends for help. I know I wouldn't think twice to help a friend out by giving her baby a decent birthday party. Don't be afraid to ask for help. I will keep you and your family in my prayers.

-L.

I have a friend who paid $25 to rent a room at her local public library. The party was great and all the guests brought the child books as gifts. One of the librarians even read the kiddos a few books as a storytime activity. You could still do the My Little Pony theme. Good luck!

Community or recreation center might have reasonable room rates. Church or library will be cheapest, but the rec center usually has space. Irving Bible has a big indoor playground they rent now for birthdays, but I think they charge more than $25 for that.