Need Ideas for My Son's 4Th Birthday.

For my son's third birthday, we contacted a local fire department. They drove a truck to our house and let the kids climb on it, explore, etc. They loved it and the pictures are fantastic! We bought cheap fire hats for the kids. I made a firetruck cake (there's a cool design for one at Familyfun.com). Look at that website: they have a lot of great ideas for themed birthday parties. My son's friend had a similar party, but they drove the truck to a local park where the kids had a playground etc. to play on.

Funny, I had a similar situation. My younger son was due on my older son's birthday! I mourned his only-childness, but I have to say that seeing them together, I realize how great it is (and has been) for them to have each other. My younger (who had the firetruck come) is now 11 and my older is 14. He took the bus from his school to come to his brother's school fair! I love how they support each other!
E

I just had my daughter's 6th birthday party at Build-a-Bear, then we walked over to Sbarro's Restaurant (in the same mall) for pizza, pasta and cake. It was the easiest party I have ever had. The only thing we needed to do was bring the cake! We had it the Glendale Galleria. Good luck!

Have a bike party. It is all outside so who cares if the house is a little untidy (I'm sure the fellow moms will understand anyway). You can find all the info at familyfun.com. Here's how we did it with my son:

Each cild brought a bike or scooter and a helmet. First, bike decorating. Attach short streamers to the handle bars. Mike a bike racing plate. Cut circles from plastic plates and punch with two hole near the taop. Decorate the circles with fun foam letter and shape. Attach eto cikes with zip ties. I think we also cut zip tie short and attached to one of the spokes for an engine sound. Then have a bike parade around the block. We also made an bike obstacle course-steering through cones and following a curvy sidewalk chalk line, gettin goff the bike to shoot some hoop or do the hula hoop. I served cupcakes (OUTSIDE) decorated like bike wheels with an outside drink staion. Super easy, fun and no mess inside.

Hello M.,

The easiest party I ever did was having it at Pump It Up or Scooters Jungle. This keeps the kids active and they have a blast. They play, eat pizza, do cake and open presents all in less than 3 hours...They do all the set up and clean up.

Hope this helps...!

Keep it simple, and get a good girlfriend to help you, so that you can sit down and put your feet up when you feel you need to, and don't feel like you have to be doing something every second for the party. I ordered an "Edible Arrangement" for my son's party and we loved it. Very expensive, (about $89 for the small one that feeds 10-12), but the fruit was absolute perfection, perfectly ripe and sweet. And we had 12 big people, and half of it left over afterwards. We had the party for him and his other gluten intolerant friends so it was a great treat. But for little kids, it is a way of cutting down on the sugar, and still be really festive. (We did melt some chocolate to dip the fruit in). Not saying not to have a cake if you want to, but the fruit goes well with a gingerbread and whipped cream cake or a banana bread, doesn't have to be super-sweet cake with frosting, sweet drinks, and ice cream. The kids at our party were dairy fee, too. (Fake whipped cream). Less sugar might make the kids less crazy. And, unless your child has certain people (kids) that MUST come, I like the rule of thumb about one child guest per year of the child's age. Any adults you want, (aunts, uncles, grandmas), because they can help with the work. If they think it should be more like a meal than a desert, let them bring the food.

biggest thing: have the party a week or two early!!! the second baby tends to come sooner than the first and it would really be a shame if you're in the hospital and miss the party :) to do easy, go to a park with a play structure. that way, the kids can all be playing and entertaining themselves. get a pinata for the game, and do finger foods like cupcakes instead of a cake, cut up fruits and veggies for snacks, and pretzels or baked chips. do capri sun juice drinks (they have 100% juice and also flavored waters with little sugar in them) and that will eliminate alot of mess from cups and big bottles of other drinks. if you do your party from like 2-4pm, no body expects lunch, which will eliminate that aspect to make it easier for you. good luck!

For my son's 4th birthday we held the party at Pump It Up... one of those places where you can go bounce on their many inflatables. It was GREAT! Not only did the kids (and the parents who jumped) have a great time, but the Pump It Up employees handled the entire party... they collected all the presents and prepared the party room while we all bounced in room #1... they watched the clock and moved us all (and all our shoes/stuff) into room #2 at the appropriate time. While in the second room the PIU employees played organized games with the kids too. Then again they kept an eye on the clock and moved us into the party room at the right time. They sat us all down while we ate, then helped my son sit on the big inflatable thrown to open his presents. They helped him open the gifts, took care of the trash, and kept a list of the gifts received. They got the cake and had everyone sing, then cut and served the cake to all. At the end they handed out the goodie bags. They even helped us outside with all the gifts and helped us load them into the car! It was wonderful, because I could spend my time with my son and our guests instead of running around being an event planner. And our son LOVED it!

If bouncing isn't your style, check out any of the other on-site type parties (Chuck E. Cheese, etc.). The employees help you run the party, and there is no before/after cleaning of your house!!!

Have you tried looking into Scooter's Jungle in the Industrial Center?

Have you ever visited the Zimmer Children's Discovery Museum? It's a wonderful interactive space in which children play, explore and learn. They even have a real airplane and ambulance! This would be a great place to take your son, as it's not too large and wouldn't require a lot of chasing around on your part. Best of all, they do birthday parties too. For more information, feel free to contact me anytime!

D. Markovic
Concierge for Jewish Education
Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater LA
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____@____.com
http://www.jkidla.com

My son turns 4 in August and we have considered the Pump It Up or Chuck E Cheese... my son doesn't go to preschool and would only have a few neighborhood and church friends, so we are also considering having a small party at one of the parks that has a splash pad feature. My son loves those water features and it would be less expensive.

Best wishes and congratulations on #2!!

C.~
www.HelpUstayHome.com