Ideas for a Simple 6Th B-day

Have you thought of bowling? My kids are 1, 3, and 4 and they all love it. We took the kids for my daughters 3rd birthday and we try to go every couple months. Some bowling alleys have party deals and even if they don't, it's only 3.50 for shoe rentals and anywhere from 2.50 to $4 per game.

Chuck E. Cheese is always a hit. The kids love it, it's reasonably priced and they take care of everything. Kids also have fun at a simple house party with games & a pinata.
K.

I did a pirate theme everyone came in their pirate outfits.I went to the bank and got 50 cent coins, one for each child and other party favors put it in a chest that we made out of a box. I hid the chest and then made a map for them to find it..Hope this helps.

Hi O.~
One suggestion would be a pirate party.
The kids love this theme! Have the kids come dressed up like a pirate. You can decorate the cake with those foil wrapped gold coin candies and call it "Pirate's Treasure".
(you can decorate a cake you make or buy store bought and decorate that one.)If you are real creative you can make a cake treasure chest...I haven't ried yet but I am sure it is possible....use a loaf pan and do some creative cutting and frosting.
Instead of the old fashioned game pin the tail on the donkey, play "pin the eye patch on the pirate"...You will have to make that one but the kids LOVE it!
At my son's birthday, I showed the movie Peter Pan.
If you are into that or want one a little more "scary" show HOOK. It depends on what you are used to showing them. Be sure the other parents know what the movie you show will be.
You can also do a buried treasure for the kids to dig up.
If it rains that won't work but in fair weather it might work.
Good Luck!
C.

We just had our son's birthday party (age 4) by going to the local fire station for a tour, then we came home for cake and ice cream.I got fire hats at the Party Store and we had a firefighter cake. When the kids got home, they just ran around the backyard pretending they were rescuing each other, then we had a firetruck pinata. The big thrill was that the firefighters took them for a ride in the engine, complete with sirens. It was simple, FREE, and so much fun for them.

You have to call them ahead of time and ask about possible dates/times to make sure they don't have training. Also, they can't guarantee that they will be there in case they get a call. Just as we finished our tour, they got a call.

you might also contact the police departments as well to see if they have anything similar.

Go for the Fire Dept. idea. Bring fresh home-made cookies for the firemen and a picture with your family mounted on a colored paper with a thank you note from the kids. Include your address on the front of the card. Firemen post those on a bulletin board and if you ever have to call 911- they will respond faster because they know there are children at that address.

No 6 year old boy would leave without wanting to grow up to be a fireman!! Cool party!

I do the same thing. You might try a bowling alley. They are usually both simple and inexpensive. Some cities also have hidden treasures. Great locations for parties. Check out your local Chamber of Commerce.

My 6 year old son's favorite parties have been the ones thrown in our own backyard. Here are some at home/backyard ideas:

Movie party - Do it late in the afternoon/early evening with hot dogs, nachos, popcorn candy,etc. They could watch your son's favorite movie or screen a New Feature, play movie trivia games (age appropriate of course)

Carnival - Make Carnival games out of things you have around your house. Bowling, rubber duck pool, basketball shoot, etc. Give each kid tickets when they play a game(win or lose) and at the end of the party they turn their tickets in for a treat bag or set up a table of different little prizes and let them choose a couple. Food is simple think of what you eat at a carnival and there you have it. Also you can order from Oriental trading a "how to" book for balloon animals. Basic balloon shapes are pretty simple, you can ask a friend or family member if they can help out with this.

Spring theme - The kids can do a scavenger hunt for bugs, specific flowers/plants, and other earth related items. When they find everything, the can make a craft out of it (not the bugs of course). Maybe have bug boxes on display for the kids to put the bugs in so they can all look at them. For a cake make the Oreo Dirt Cake in a sand pail with gummy worms.

Harry Potter - this was the most elaborate yet least expensive party we have ever had - Most of the ideas for this party I got from www.birthdaypartyideas.com The kids glued jewels onto plastic cups for transfiguration, made Gak for Potions, sat on gold balloons with a small plastic dragon figure (wrapped in a lot of plastic wrap) inside to hatch the dragon for Care of Magical Creatures, Had a table of themed candy and figures for the kids to visit Honey Dukes at the end for their goodie bags. We took a witch's hat and had a sorting ceremony.

I hope I have helped a little. Good Luck.

a magician is always fun for a 6 year old birthday -- they can come to the house or park

My daughter's 4th birthday was a blast. It's in February, but she wanted to do a costume party - so we did. All the kids wore their Halloween costumes and I found a witch pinata at a great discount price. (she was also dressed as a witch). It was a fun day! Good luck, they are still easy to please at that age, so go easy on yourself. M.

Hi O.!

I've done parties at home along with outings with a couple friends. For my daughter's 4th birthday, I baked large plate sized sugar cookies (she helped me) and when her friends came to her party, each got to decorate and take home a cookie.

A bounce house is also a good idea, as well as painting or a small craft they can personalize and take home - which also gives them a memento from the party so you don't have to do any favors.

Does your son have any ideas he's shared with you?

HI O.,
I have two kids myself and last year i had my daughters B-day party at my Gym. It's great 2 hours of fun and it's over! The kids love it and the birthday girl/boy are the center of the attention. They focus on him/her all the time. Its great, it cost about 275.00 and they get to invite 20 kids all you provide is the cake and what ever else you want to give them. I did happy meals for 15 kids. they loved it. My Gym is located in La Verne but, im sure they have my gym in other locations...i hope this was helpful.
i will be having my daughers B-day again there next month.

Hi O.
To have a simple b-day, does not mean you have to have a theme or different place every year. You can have cake and ice cream and open gifts--that is as simple as it can get.
O., I would like to address your advice to teen Moms. You sound as though you were a mature teenage mom, but a lot of teen moms are not. A lot of teen moms (and moms in general) are focusing on pleasing themselves --as you stated in "pleasing yourself" and they are not focus on raising their children like you. They are still partying, and whatever and not focused on teaching their children manners, basic life skills, insuring that they get a good education, or keeping their kids neat and clean and insuring that their children grow up to be productive citizens. I would like to believe that this is a small group of parents but this small group is making it bad for the members of society who are focused on raising their children to have morals,getting an education and contributing to society.

I would like to say to young ladies, to finish school, discover yourself while you are young, fulfill your childhood dreams, enjoy your own individual life before becoming a mother. Then once you are a mother, you can focus on your children's lives and the result of pleasing yourself would involve you developing your parenting skills so that you raise children that will be healthy, happy adults that contribute to society.

O., I hope that is what you meant about teen moms being
happy with their parenting skills. But, also keep in mind that we don't know everything to raising children, but be flexible to take advice from older people that have more experience.

I hope your son, have a great b-day.
S. C

Try a homemade obsticle course, my boys and their friends always loved it. We used colored chalk to draw it out with hoops, chairs and small buckets of water. If you have a big enough area you could have the kids bring scooters or even bikes and set up cones. Just an idea. Hope your son has a wonderful birthday :).

If you are in St George, call the Bear Mill and have a party there.

There are so many cool things to do. You could go to adventure plex in Manhattan Beach, Bowling parties are great like at the Gable House in Torrance, kids concepts in Torrance, Camping in wilderness park is cool, keep them active and have fun.
Tammy mom of two boys

What about the aquarium? Children usually love to look at the fish... especially the sharks!

A swimming party or bowling party is always fun. If he's active, you could do a short bike race or bike obstacle course. If there are any short hikes near your house, you could pack a picnic, give the party goers water bottes or canteens, then hike to a picnic spot. A movie or video night is also fun. If it's warm enough, you could have a back yard camp out, and roast marshmallows for s'mores instead of having cake. If he has a favorite TV show, you could plan around that - an invention party if he loves Jimmy Neutron, a trip to a zoo if he loves Crocodile Hunter.

the big bounce is always good. keeps the kids busy the entire time and out of trouble. we have done that several times at different ages. a pinata is fun too. i do cake and then get the ice cream ready ahead of time by putting it in cupcake papers on a cookie sheet in the freezer. have plunty of juice boxes and water ready. kids dont notice all the stuff we go crazy over. they are happy to have their friends there and of course the gifts. have fun and relax and enjoy!!

Hi Oliva we are artist in Laguna Beach. We have created an art experience for LOCA called Oodles of Doodles. We come to birthday parties with all our paints and paper and the kids can paint and then we mat up the finished piece of art ready to frame. If you are interested you can check out our web site www.Lagoonies.com there you can check out our art. If you are interested you can reach Sean MCCracken at ###-###-#### he is the president of LOCA also you can contact us at ###-###-####. Thanks and good luck, M. from Corbett Gallery

What's wrong with repeating a type of party -- especially if it worked out well and the kids had a good time? Also, since you've had experience with these parties you know what you may need to improve upon.

That said, here are some fresh ideas:
*Party at home but change the activities. For instance an art project or baking or games (relay races, potato sack race, ring toss, etc) or water play, etc. My daughter once went to a home party & they baked and got a cute apron as a party favor.
*Contact your local fire station to see if they would give a tour to the kids. I did that for each of my kids. The fire station was across from a park so we had cake there afterwards.
*Bowling party - maybe save this for when a little older - but to keep costs down skip the 'party package' at the alley & just take the group bowling.
*Miniature golf (same as above - just take a small group & skip the package.)

I think, whatever you plan, it's important to let your kids know that being with friends and sharing the day is most important. Good luck! N.

Have you been to a Pump It Up party? It's an indoor facility full of bounce houses. Their packages include a party room and clean up. All ages will enjoy this. http://www.pumpitupparty.com/StoreHome.aspx?StoreID=60&am... Parties can be really stressful when you have to set up and clean up, so let them do the work for you. My daughter had a wonderful time when a friend had a party there. I hope to do my daughter's party there one day.

S. M
www.ytbtravel.com/mislan

If you have the room. How about a sleepover party?

Hi - my daughter is turning 7 in April and we are having a "camping" birthday. We are setting up tents and sleeping bags, roast marshmallows, tell funny stories around the "campfire," grill burgers and hot dogs, have a simple treasure hunt and then (hopefully) watch a movie outside in sleeping bags if we can find an outdoor projector. I heard you can make cute "Backpacks" out of brown paper bags too. Pretty basic!

O.,
Check out Stencib.com, We make stencils in all different designs that would allow you to select specific designs for kids to stencil on t-shirts. Overwhelming joy is found when little ones create their own fun.
Thanks.
L.

Hi O., I think birthdays are the BEST time ever! I really try and have a special celebration for each year. Last year my oldest Daughter turned 8, we set up a fun bike obstacle course and we timed each child. The winner won a prize and it was fun just getting each child through the course. It was outdoor and we had a small lunch and cake! It was funny because people saw us and it drew a crowd. I live near our local school and asked permission to use their side parking lot, the principal said YES and off we went for a fun celebration. You can see more of that ____@____.com is a wonderful magazine! I've also had gym parties, I held a 50's themed party with music and a costume competition. I've a luau with dancers and fun others but I think the bike competition would work awesome for you! Good luck, have FUN!!!

The easiest party I threw was when I went onto Familyfun.com it is a moms magazine. It has many theme party ideas with food, crafts and games to play. It also has a lot of advice on how to keep the party flowing. Good luck!!! A.

O., more power to you. I think it doesn't matter the age but as long as you love and take care of your children. You sound like a wonderful mother to care so much to come up with something creative for your sons bday. There are still so many places you could take him for his bday. There is the zoo, amusement park, sleep over with some of his friends (let them have a camp outside if the weather permits). Hope you find something fun for him to do on him bday.

O.,

Sounds like you are a good mom and that you have your hands full.

We decided early on to allow the kids to have a birthday parties every other year. We , of course, celebrate with family and god parents each year.

For my sons 6th birthday, (he is now 13)...he had 6 friends over. He was into pokemon at the time so we fit that theme into traditional b-day party games:

Pin the tail on Pikachu
Musical pokemon chairs (pokemon and regular music)
tug-o-bulbasor (we rigged up a tug o war rope with the stuffed character tied to the middle)
Relay races (gramma filled in as the extra person)

The little boys loved it..they got to be a little rowdy and they all loved being blind folded with for pin the tail.
I found a cake mold for a pikachu cake and they all decorate their own goodie bags with stickers and stamps (when they first arrived)

I took a photo of the boys with our son individually and as a group and emailed it to them later in the day...with my sons thank you. Normally I like to make my son write them but that year it was easier because we had to send the photos anyway.

It was fun for everyone..I think because of the small number of kids.

He had friends over afterward and they played those games over and over. It was funny.

Good luck!

C. R

I did this one yrar when my son turned 5. I let him invite 1 friend and we wern to disneyland. everyone went Grandparents included we had a cake the night before. Did not tell him where we were going all he knew is that we were going to do something fun. He loved it. Hope this helps Krissy

go to www.birthdaypartyideas.com, it's a lot of reading but such good ideas! Or www.famiyfun.com.
Do you have a pool or facilty close by that will do parties?
Bike party (comlete with obsticle courses and awards), Bowling, Karate, Laser Tag, Mad Scientist, Backyard camp-out, Carnival, Beach party, Olympics, Clown School. Just go to the web sites given and type in something your son would like to do and you'll get pages of idea of how to create a fun party. Good luck.

My son has always loved the home parties with a jumper (one year with a 5 in 1 jumper combo (expensive) - but he always loves the going away from the house parties too! The roller skating rink is always popular with boys and girls; a Scandia type of place - miniature golf, games, rides, go-karts etc..., those parties are easier because we do less as the parents - we just pay more. You could always have a theme at home party - like where you make a specific kind of craft and maybe that is ultimately your son's present - have it be something he would like - a big airplane or train, a big map (my son loves maps). Micahel's or Jo-Ann's has lots of crafts (& wood crafts) to choose from. A little change up that is good, a cookie cake - or cupcake cake is fun too and still easy to make yourself! Good luck - he will like anything you do. God Bless You!

For my daughter's 6th, we had a community pool party, but the invites said parents must accompany new swimmers and we had lots of parents watching and counting at pool during swim times. However, I always think a bowling party is a good deal and fun for the kids. Everything is self contained. Don't know where you are, but Concourse Bowl in Anaheim has a great program!

Good luck and keep it simple!

ooo ooo ooo i've got an idea. for my son's 5th b-day, i contacted the local fire dept. we toured the place, got hats, and even got a ride (not usual, but you never know). the boys dressed up like firemen ahead of time. we only invited about 4-5 other boys. simple, easy. bring them home and let them play with toys for a little while after and...you're done!!! : )
just a thought...

We usually allow our son to invite up to 5 friends, then we play games like musical chairs, have a pinata, eat some cake, open presents, and call it a day. He has fun having his friends over and we don't make it a lot of work or very expensive. An hour and a half is about the length that I go for, by then the kids are still having fun, but no one is tired and grumpy (including me).

Hi O.,
My son is also turning 6 this month, and for our simple yet FUN birthday party we asked him to pick a beach, so we'll be having lunch with his friends at the beach. Garbage cans and recycling bins are there already, no need to put much emphasis on games because they'll just play. It seemed nice and simple to us.
Have a great party, F.