Birthday Party/ Baptism for a Three Year Old

Hey I., I've been in Torrance for the last 15 years.

As far as local parks go, Columbia park (190th and Prairie in Torrance)is usually pretty good. It's very large.
You can get catering from El Pollo Loco or Togo's, both of which are very close by. I don't know about a jumper for a 3 yr old, but if you will be having older kids, they may enjoy it. THere is a bathroom, and a lot of playsets.

Another good one is 'Rocketship' park in South Torrance. It's up on the hill, close to PV, and has a lot of playsets, picnic areas and is usually a little less crowded. Amazing view of the South Bay too. Only drawback is it does get a little windy.

Another option, especially if you will be having a lot of kids, is Kids Concepts on Hawthorne in Torrance. They do the whole thing, pizza, cake, party room, and have a huge indoor play area. Chuck E Cheese is OK, but tends to be very crowded and noisy.

Hope that helps. Email me if you need any help... I've been to/done a lot of parties here.

My girls (now 13 and almost 11) have been to lots of parties and of course had their own starting with their 3'rd. I agree with the mom that said they are easily overwhelmed at that age. My oldest had a jungle themed party and I went way overboard with games (ring toss on elephant trunk, pin the tail on the monkey, etc.) activities (making masks, pinata) and even the food - they made their own mini pizza's and it was just too much, there were a couple of kids that had meltdowns and much to my chagrin, they all ended up in my daughters bedroom playing dolls. When my youngest turned 3 I made it a color crayon themed party and bought color crayon cutouts at a teacher supply store to hang all over the room, crayon shaped drinking cups with lids, cake decorations shaped like crayons, and helium balloons at a party supply store that I tied to everything. The cake was 3 layers with a different colored icing between each layer and on top. Place settings were colorful with different colored plates, napkins and silverware. I kept the food simple - hot dogs with colorful toppings, like grated cheese, mustard, ketchup, etc. and I kept it down to only 1 game - Twister and 1 activity - each child got a box of color crayons and a coloring book. They still finished out the party playing in her room, but there were no meltdowns and I had learned that to a 3 year old this is their idea of "most fun". When it was over I still felt like I had put a lot of effort into making it a memorable birthday but I had learned from my mistakes with my oldest that 3 year olds don't have big expectations.

the parks around here are great for a party, especially the ones with the water attractions. I would steer clear of a jumper in the summer though. It gets way too hot in there for the kids. In my experience the kids may jump for a couple of minutes and then they can't handle the heat anymore. Plus heat stroke is a serious risk that you are running.

I have found that the smaller parks with the water attractions are perfect. you can keep an eye on the kids and they have fun. You can call the parks department and reserve tables as well. Another thing that I did last year that worked out great was we had our sons party at the Black Mountain rec center. The pool has a shallow area with slides for the smaller kids and the bigger kids can go on the larger slide. Plus there are lifeguards for the safety of the children. A lot of the rec centers are building the same sort of attractions.

Both of the above are very reasonably priced. I have also got in the habit of handing out a dollar store water toy, like a squirt gun or something like it, instead od goody bags. I got tired of goody bag loot being left behind and they cost more than the $1 a child. The suirt guns are a huge hit at the water park and keep the kids playing for hours.

Hi I.,
It sounds like your plans are just fine. I agree with the others, replace the jumper for some games. I did the pillow case race (short distance), wheel barrel races with the parents, and pin the tail on the donkey. I also took advantage of the opportunity to have all the family together and had a photographer there to take everyones family & group portraits. I know you will all have fun no matter what you plan.

C.

I live in Hawaii, and parties here involve the whole family of everyone who gets invited. Needless to say, what starts as a party with 7 friends turns out to be 60 people!! My advice is to keep it as simple as you can... Not too big (kids can get so overwhelmed and not really know what is going on, then melt down) The jumpy castle would be great, have it in a park near a play area with which she is familiar, then if needed, she can retreat to the relative calm of the swing set!! I recommending saving the present opening until after the party. She will enjoy it a lot more when there is not the pressure to be overjoyed with each gift. Try not to have too many things where she "needs to perform", say, the need to greet each guest, or sit nicely for the crazy clown guy while he does weird things in front of her (my kids HATE clowns, magicians, etc.) Since you want her to have fun, set up the fun and let her run wild. Maybe you could have an auntie or daddy be in charge of her while you play the happy hostess. Good luck!

I like the park and the bouncer idea. I am up in northern cali but that Discovery Park sounds great. I worked part time for a caterer that did barbecues at parks in Sacramento. I imagine you could find a company there. You may not even need the bouncer if you go to that park. I really like having it and my daughter who had one at her 3rd bday loved it and still talks about it.She loved jumping with her dad after the kids left too! I had her baptism reception at our house and had party food. She was an infant then. I would definitely ask her what she wants for ideas. Anothe idea would be to take her and a friend to Build A Bear or Chuck E Cheese. Have fun planning!

Dear I.,

Your plans sound great, except you could leave out the jumper. For safety's sake . She and her friends are a little young for that, it seems to me, anyway. Happy Birthday party. C. N.

Hello,
My name is J., I teach Fusion BellyDance for children and also do creative dance classes for childrens B-Day parties.
If you are interested in doing something like this for your daughtres birthday call please call me at ###-###-####. I will help you with your planning!!

Many Thanks,
J. ;-)

Depending on the area you live in, there are a lot of parks that are really nice. Desert Breeze just opened up that new area in their park w/all the water activies, Henderson has one too and there is that dinosaur park in north las vegas I think it's Aliante? If you call Balloon Supply and Design House they can give you numbers to clown's/balloon twisters. their number is ###-###-#### They are really a wholesale company, and they only sell their products to persons with a business, but if you ask them for phone number to balloon twisters and clowns they have the names & numbers of the people who buy from them and do private parties

the park is perfect to celebrate both her birthday and baptism. infact thats where we always have them at.. make sure the city allows jumpers, clowns, etc... before you hire them. i know my son had a water balloon fight at his party when he turned 3. the kids had fun and they can't throw the balloons that hard. if you live in moreno valley area i know a person who cater's mexican food and he-she is great and supplies everything. let me know. i can give you there info and more ideas if you need some. i have been to tons of kids parties. more importantly have fun that day its all for your daughter

Do you have a place called Pump It Up in your town? They have bounce houses, slides, etc. full of air. They also bring in pizza and soda. Its quite a fun place for all ages, even adults can get in on the fun. R.

Hi-Well she is 3 years old so try not to overwhelm her. I have 2 children and have tried all kinds of birthday parties. Since we are about to hit some really hot weather, I suggest something inside. Kids are easily distracted and unfortuntley she will not rememeber this big event. Keep it simple, keep it fun and keep it safe. Chucky Cheese and Peter piper pizza have great parties for the kids.At the end they clean up for you! My children are 7 and 10 and I have thier birthday parties at our home now. We have an above ground pool and have swimming parties.I provide lunch, games and other activities. Pin the tail on the donkey , musical chairs are all games kids love ,wether its for my 10 year old or my 7 year old- all thier friends ( and all party goers)still love them too. I also do the pinatas because I have not found a child yet that doesnt get excited about them, plus thats the goodie bags too! If you dont have a pool get the small wading pools or one of the fun sprinkler games. If you are just set on a party at a park I reccomend Discovery park(dinasour park) at Aliante and 215. It's clean, well maintained, patroled by security and it has a jungle Gym and small water park. You can also order a jumpy and they gave many different themes like Castles, Princesses, Dora etc. My last suggestion is ask your daughter what kind of party she wants. It may give you a better idea. Hope your party goes well, and have fun. Dont forget your sunscreen. : )

the funniest thing.. today was my daughters 1st birthday and i took her to the Long Beach Aquarium and had a TERRIFIC time! and she is only 1, so she was somewhat interested in it all, and somewhat not, but being that your little girl is turning 3 (right?) i think she will have a blast :) they have huge tanks of fish and sea lions. they even have touch tanks with sharks and sting rays (they cut off the stingers to make it safe for children). it is a very child-friendly place. when we were there today, there must have been at least 20 other parents with strollers, too. it was great! i definitely recommend it.