Ideas for 5 Year Old Boy Birthday Party

Check out a local museum. If you are in the Hampton Roads area there is the Children's museum or the Air & Space Museum. You get a room for the party and use of the museum. The VASC also has packages with science demonstrations, etc. Provide cake and drinks and you're good to go.

prefect time for a party at the park, then you let them play at the play grounds do cake or what not and it is a lot less messie there then it is at your house... hope the idea helps.... You could do a train theme for the cake and table clothes.....

We did My 5yo son's party at Pump It Up. Now, we don't go that big every year, but when we did this one- It was awesome! What i didn't count on was the ease of the end of the party- What i thought was more money than I wanted to spend, was SOOOOOO worth it when we could just gather up our child and stuff and go home! No mess to clean up a my house, no mess to clean up there, no party stragglers, or out of control kids in my home. So worth the base money we paid! Do a cake and a drink and call it a day- The kids have so much fun bouncing around and going crazy- so worth it. Just Bring your own food to save on the total cost. Have fun!
There are other places like this around- Kids Swim First, Bounce Zone, Roli Poli's, etc. You show up- have slammin' interactive fun and leave........What more can you ask for?
Good luck!

Lowe's and Home Depot do like little workshops to build a boat or birdhouse, whatever... You could always call them and ask if they would do it for a party. I know I've heard it being done before!

Hi~
I always recommend Burke Lake Park in Fairfax Station. They have a covered enclosed pavillion for parties - they include tickets to the carousel and miniature train ride as well as baloons and ice cream. I think they also have a lunch option where you can get hot dogs and popcorn for everyone, too. It's not very expensive, and a whole lot of fun. The carousel could use a little updating, but it works, and the train has recently been renovated... it looks like new. It looks like a little steam train and runs around in a little loop through the forest by the lake... very nice. My boys really like it. Here's the website: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/burkelake/

Good luck. My oldest turns 5 in June. He's already had a party at Burke Lake, and wants a Tale of Despereaux party in our backyard this year. I'll think of something, I guess! ;) I really have fun planning a backyard party, so I'm not scared. ;)

~J.

It depends on where you live, but contact your local Parks and Rac department. They almost always have a large room somewhere for rent. In my county you can rent the gymnastics building for a lot, lot less than going to one of those bouncy house places. If you can do something like that, then just bring pizza for everyone and a cake and maybe a pinata or something. Doesn't have to be fancy, just has to be fun for a five year old and as I'm sure you've noticed, they can have fun with just about anything.

I'm not sure of the costs but check with your local children's museum. They often have train exhibts and party rooms so it would be easy to do a train theme, plus there are plenty of activities to entertain everyone.

Look into renting space at a local rec center. If the weather's decent, the kids can play on the playground equipment, if it's not they can be inside and you don't have to worry about them destroying your house.

My girlfriend took the kids to a firehouse once and it was a big hit.
They did have to go home for ice cream and cake, but she didn't have to do any games or entertaining--just greet, leave, and eat.

Some fire stations rent out rooms and include tours/rides.

Here's an example of a station (not a local one for you unfortunately) that offers this service:
http://www.marylandlinefire.com/bday-comm.html

It may give you an idea.

*****

Here's the station in Ellicott City that you may wish to contact:
BIRTHDAY PARTIES

Have your child's birthday party at
Ellicott City Volunteer Fire Station #2.

Boys and Girls, ages 4-8

For more information, call
###-###-####

My son's birthday is also in April and falls during Spring Break every year. One of the easiest parties I planned was a "Party in the Park". I invited his friends to a popular local park to play. I didn't even have any games set up, although you could and it would be quite easy (ball toss, treasure hunt, obstacle course) and inexpensive. It was scheduled for a time where I didn't have to provide lunch. They had a cupcake and juice box and a small goody bag. The parents were thrilled to get out of the house where they could burn off some energy in a quiet setting where the kids interacted. Some of those bounce places are loud and the kids don't really play with each other. And things like the bowling alley, while fun, still require some effort from parents when the kids are a bit younger. This was easy, laid back and CHEAP! I designed the invitations myself and printed them off at home.

Looks like you have gotten some great ideas! Hope your son has a very wonderful birthday!

Several of our local fire departments will host children's birthday parties for a small fee. The kids get to see the firehouse and fire trucks and actually have their party there. We had our son's 4th birthday party at a county rec & parks building. It was very economical and there was plenty of parking, tables and chairs, a kitchen and restrooms. We hired a puppeteer to come for 1/2 hour, but we could have just done some games ourselves instead. By the end of April the weather may be warm enough to host outside. You could consider reserving a pavillion or picnic area at a local park that has a cool playground or other attraction. Just decorate a few picnic tables with table cloths and balloons. There is also a nature center near us that will host kids' birthday parties. The folks there give the kids a presentation about wildlife and they even go on a short hike in the park. We live in Montgomery County, Maryland. Feel free to contact me directly for specifics if you are interested in any of these ideas.

Dear M.,
Having birthday party at a park can be fun if there's a playground nearby but then you can't always predict the weird Spring Northern VA weather, ya know one day cold one day beautiful. Also some places you do have to pay to 'rent' picnic tables. You might find a playground/park with picnic tables off the beaten path, that way you don't have to pay thr rental fee etc. Also dpending on how many kids you want to invite you could into one of the bouncy places in Manassas or Ashburn. There's one where we had a 'mini classis' party for 15 kids and they had a blast! The cheapest we found was at Pump it Up in Manassas off of I-66 for $170. Their website is www.pumpitupparty.com All we had to do was show up, they provided invites and goody bags. Also there's a place called My Gym thats fairly cheaper than Gymboree. Visit www.our-kids.com for a list of parks in your area or indoor party places. Good Luck and have fun
P.

I don't know if this is feasible for your house but last year, we had a Diego Animal Rescue party in our yard. I got the idea online and it was wonderful. We painted shoe boxes green and hid stuffed animals in them (I bought them at the dollar store and used old ones from my kids) then hid the boxes around the yard. Each boy got a pair of binoculars and a compass (oriental trading) and a hat to decorate. Then they went in search of the animals. We set up an old picnic table to be our "animal hospital" and my older daughters were the vets. It was a blast and the boys had a super time. It was super cheap and actually very easy to do.

You can have the party at a park to keep the mess out of your home and the cost is 0. A good idea is to only invite the number of kids as to the child's age (so up to 5 guests for a 5 year old) and plan the party for 2 hours. Get a cute table cloth maybe some balloons and set up near the playground. I always make my own cake to save some money too. You can get great ideas on bettycrocker.com or just google the type cake you want to make. For example you can google train cake or rocket cake since he likes those type things. If you are not trying to be that creative just make a simple 13x9 cake and buy some action figures or those candy letters with a theme at your grocery store and stick them on. Cupcakes are easy and great option too (no plates or knives or forks to worry about). Another great thing boys like that you can do at a park is a pinata. Party city sells them in all types of shapes and sizes. Having the playground there also helps get all that sugar energy out of them before heading home:) Hope this helps.

Depending on where you live, how about inquiring at a local fire dept for a tour...We have a Fire Museum here in Baltimore and for a donation, they host birthday parties and give tours of the truck and equipment. No set huge fee. You can bring cake, pizza or just snacks and juice boxes...easy yet so fun!!!!

Absolutely head to a park, with a shelter as back-up, in case the weather turns bad. Lots of running room, and if you find one with a wooden train-shaped climbing area, even better! Shelters sometimes need to be reserved so check with the parks and planning group in your area. You can set up ring toss games,pin the tail on something, hang a pinata for the kids to bash, etc, have loads of balloons at the ready, a cooler with ice cream and a cake to serve. If you use a paper tablecloth like those available at Costco and bring markers, the kids can even decorate it for the birthday boy to take home. (you serve the cake and ice cream on one and throw all of that away and re-set the table with the one to decorate). Young boys use up activities at astounding rates, so having the park play equipment will be helpful to keep everyone busy and run off some energy. You will arrive to a clean home, with the tablecloth to use for dinner and a happy worn out child! have fun.