Birthday Party for Our 5 Yr Old (Turning 6) - Virginia Beach,VA

When mine got to that age where they wanted friend parties, I always limited the number to no more than the age they were turning (in your case, 6) however, it's your call.

How about a bowling party? Both my kids and their friends had a blast with that! Call a bowling alley to see what they offer - usually you can get a package deal that includes drinks and they should allow you to bring in cupcakes. With one, we did a lunch and ordered pizzas there, with the other, we just had an afternoon with cupcakes.

As far as the invites go, I would definitely avoid giving them out at school. You should be able to get addresses from the school to send them that way.

I've seen that usually they will invite all the boys or all the girls from the class. Does your school have a directory with addresses that you can buy? We had one distributed a few months ago. Otherwise, talk to the teacher about putting the invitations in the backpacks of the kids who are invited.

Some we've been to are at the park district, and we've been to several at bouncy places too. We've also been to ones where you paint your own pottery and that is fun and we're going to one next weekend at a chocolate shop (Yummy).

The general rule is whole class, or all the boys only.

First pick where you want to have the party.
- bowling parties - in Manassas, @ $200 for 2 hours, 1 - 2 games per kid, pizza, drinks.
- bounce house - @$300 for 2 hours and @ 25 kids
- pool party @ $150

You will need to decide soon as places book quickly. For invites, the location will have some for you to hand out.

Hi A.,

We had our son's last party at the Virginia Beach Field House and he loved it! It's great for boys and the girls love it also! They can pick their activities and the party package includes pizza & drinks. We usually invite the whole class because not everyone comes and no one feels left out.

I haven't done a friend birthday but the ones my daughter have been invited to vary. Some invite all the same sex, some invite only those they are close to, and one invited the whole class.

Its really up to you, but I think its important not to make anyone feel left out.

As far as venues, I am sure if you look into it there are many possibilities. A popular one around here is the bowling alley. Good luck!

We USUALLY invite the whole class. We have never had everyone show up. This year IF we do parties we will do the same thing. We'll either have one large party for everyone, or not have any at all. My kids will be 5, 7, and 9 between March and June. We were thinking of a pool party, but we don't have time!! So I don't know what we'll do.

So yes, I'd say invite the whole class, typically no more than 10 show up.

We have done movie theater parties, jump house parties, bowling parties, etc. All work out great!