Seeking Toddler Birthday Party Ideas

For my (now) 5-year-old, when he was 2 we had his b-day at Chuck E Cheese. Other than the fact that it was a ZOO(!!) it went fine. My younger son who is now 2 likes CEC too--the West St. Paul one has a toddler play area, so things are his size.

For my 2-year-old, we went to ChooChooBob's for his party (www.choochoobobs.com). It's a train store in St. Paul, but they have a party room, and several play tables for the kids to play at. That went great--everyone had a really fun time!

I don't know if you have one up there but we (in SE Wisc.) just got a Stone Fire Pizza Co. My husband and I just went last night with a friend of mine and the four kids between us all. The place is huge and have packages for parties. There was something for all of us; the kids were from 19mo. to 12 yrs. old and us grown ups had a ton of fun too.

When my daughter was 2 we attended a party at Chuck E Cheese. A lot of the toddlers were scared of the characters and it was a bit overwhelming, very loud and not very private. They typically have a number of parties going at once and most are for kids who are around 7-9 years old.

You might try JW Tumbles in the Galleria Mall. It's like Gymboree and they setup all the stuff (paper plates, etc.) for you in advance and have a nice set of age appropriate activities they do. You can also order pizza through them but bring your own cake. Also you can arrange for parties at the indoor play park in Edina at Edinbourgh Park (I think it's called Adventure peak). They require more setup on your part though.

If you ever get stuck for party ideas try going on GoCityKids.com. It's a local website with great information on what kid friendly events are going on and local sites. I use it a lot!

How about gymboree? They don't have food but the activities would be fun. My son and I go to classes there, he's only 15 months so I haven't had a birthday party there yet. hopr this helps D.

My son is 2 1/2 and I did his 2nd B-day at Chuck E Cheese, and it went great! It was very easy, and nothing to clean up. It is his favorite place, we go there all the time. We mostly stay in the toddler area, and he goes on the slide and stuff (great place for winter with young kids... its like an indoor playground, and until they discover tokens, it is free!). My son has now discovered the games... and LOVES it! He may not win, but he doesn't know the difference. Skee ball is one of the best, I will just play it with him, and let him roll the balls. He thinks it is so neat. When I have older kids with (usually a 9 yr old if any), they will take him up in the tubes for the bigger kids (I don't let him go alone... kids can get mean up there), and he just LOVES that! Or else an adult can go up there with them too... but I don't anymore, even at 23 it is too h*** o* my knees. If your not sure how your son will do there, try taking him there sometime soon, and see how it goes. I bet he will love it!

Another good place for birthday parties is Pump it Up. I am thinking about doing that for my sons next party. It is an indoor play area with inflatable stuff to climb on, and slides, and a ton of stuff. You get some time in the party room, and then in the play area (and they also have people watch the kids so you don't have to worry too much). That is in Burnsville, off of Cliff Rd. Not sure you would want to come that far... but I thought it was amazing when I went there! I would definitely look into that.

When I was little, we did McDonald's parties, and got food and cake from there, and then the kids all got to play in the play area, and that was really fun too. The McDonald's on Nicollet in Burnsville has a great toddler play area! Don't know of any other's good for younger kids, but I am sure in Minneapolis you can find one.

We also a couple times would rent a hotel room, like a poolside room at a Super 8. Then everyone could go swimming, and there was an open area we could run around on the other side of the pool area. We would have snacks in the room for whenever we wanted them, and that is one of my best memories from when I was younger. And then you can stay there that night (even let him stay up a little late swimming!), and any close friends could spend the night too, maybe with parents since they are so young. You can just buy a cake, order pizza... and all thats left really is fun for the kids... if you want to decorate you can, but they will be so busy swimming they probably wouldn't even notice anyway.

Good luck!

J.

I would do McDonalds it is like 65.00 they feed up to 10 kids cake ice cream and they can play it is great.

M.

I try to keep it just family until they are 4 because it's awful expensive and at that age they really couldn't care less. However, if you do decide to do Chuck E Cheese, do it on a week day. We went to one last Wednesday and there were only 4 other parties there at 6 pm. It was great!
Have fun,
J.

Toddlers Playhouse Ltd. easy and fun parties. packed full of toys, big space, great social gathering space in Lakeview. free parking too. ###-###-#### or website

When my family lived in Houston, TX, we went to a birthday party for my friend's 1 year old son at Gymboree. I don't know if there is a location here, but it is great fun and everything is done for you. Most of all, it's age appropriate. I find that Pump It Up can be far too overwhelming for young kids because of the volume and large equipment. My Gym is a good place to have parties as well, because they can accomodate younger people and they will inlcude goody bags, clean up, etc. Hope this helps...

S.

We did McDonalds playland for my daughters 3 b-day a couple weeks ago and since it was small it was fine!

HI C.-

I just got done planning my daughters 3rd birthday which is Dec 9th,we are having it at a gymnastics place in Chanhassen. But we have been to a couple parties at Pump it UP, which have been great. Edina also has a great center I think called Edinbourgh that has birthday packages.

Have a great day

Andria