NoHo Mom

If I would have known what planing a birthday party in the winter meant before my first child was conceived, I might have planned things a little differently. But it does take me a while to learn a lesson, so I had another child born in December. That makes TWO winter birthdays to plan. I suppose I could move to Florida, where it really wouldn’t matter what time of year my child was born. But then we would have to live in Florida…

We go to those dreamy August birthday parties at sprinkler parks, or October birthdays at apple orchards, and I find myself thinking “How can I have an outside birthday in December in New England?” A sledding party would be fun, if it were in your backyard so you could then serve up food and cake without having to serve it on a hay bale. Last year, when we skiing at Nashoba Valley, I read about a snow tubing birthday parties! Who wouldn’t love that? But, at $32 per person, I would have to get a second or third job to cover the cost of the party. And even then, they could only invite three friends, max.

Consequently, I am always on the search for a a good space for a birthday party. Why not have it at your house, Ms. Cleaver, you ask? Well, since my two older children have birthdays two weeks apart, they like to have a joint party, which I am TOTALLY down for. This means that I only have to go through all the birthday rigmarole once; it also means I need space. So, come November, I started asking around: “Where do folks have indoor birthday parities around here?” Here’s what I got:

Universal Kids. I didn’t go for Universal Kids because I don’t like to be restricted by the number of children we can invite. Here, you can have 12 kids for $150, and then you have to pay $10 per extra child, with a maximum of 15. Now, call me a party maniac, but what’s a party- for TWO- under 20 people?

Hampshire Gymnastics in Amherst. Same issues as above, and it;s more expensive, at $200. But it is gymnastics, which is pretty cool.

Children’s Museum at Holyoke $136 for an hour and a half. 14 kid maximum.

Mad Science Parties which sounds really cool, fore the slightly older birthday boy or girl. $185 for one hour of entertainment.

The perk of paying for a birthday party is that so much is taken care of for you. Often times the cake, the snacks, the f!@#ing goody bags, and even the invitations. But the restrictions…

In the end, I DID end up having it here. We had 15 children in an 1100 sq. foot house. Sheer madness. But fun, and the kids got to decorate the house, bake and decorate the cakes, and best of all… have their friends over at their house. And if and when we move into a larger house, we can have a LARGER party, and you’re all invited.

If you know of any other places in the area that hosts birthday parties, or if you would like to share your opinion of one, please share in a comment.

Tags: birthday parties, Indoor Adventures, Northampton, winter