Hellobee Boards

Aw, that's so sad about his party last year! I don't have any ideas but can commiserate since DS's birthday is between Christmas and new years! I long for an outdoor BBQ party for him, lol.

Children's Museum sounds GREAT! We have one here that lets you rent a room and for that you get helpers and the room. You pay for the kids admission, they play and at a certain time, the museum calls the party and they all go in to sing and eat cake.

What about a ymca? They have indoor pools and do kids parties!

Does New England = Boston-ish? The Boston Fire Museum is rentable for birthday parties, I just looked at their website and they're all booked for this year - but something to keep in mind for next year! Or you could do a My Gym party - we went to a birthday party there last year for a 3-year-old and the kids were just thrilled to pieces with it. (http://www.mygym.com/boston/birthday-parties)

@rachiecakes: @blackbird: The ymca sounds good. Do you have community center near you? We have a bunch here and you can rent out rooms for parties, some of them will set out toys in the gymnasium so the kids can go wild.

Or how about a Little Gym/Gymboree?

Aww! I really love the idea of a children's museum outing!

DD's birthday is a week before Christmas and I just booked her party at an indoor play room. We went to a bday party at a Children's Museum and had a great time. The one we went to let you rent out a private room for an hour for food and cake and then the rest of the time you get to explore the museum. And if you choose the semi private option it's less expensive!

I hear you about the toddler birthdays in winter...it's difficult enough as it is to schedule between Thanksgiving and New Years as it is, then you have to worry about snow!

Do you have indoor soccer field houses around you? They'll also be able to host a party, but they are expensive, which sucks for the cancellation aspect.

I think this year I am going to do a small celebration at school with a craft and then do an end of the year party with parents in our yard.

@rachiecakes: what if you do a weeknight and just invite a few people? I have read that an ideal number of guests is the birthday kids age plus one if you want them to actually get to play with everyone. Keeping it small would make it easier to play it by ear in the event of bad weather.

Try calling a bunch of places, we have a few play places that let you do non scheduled "parties" during non peak times and let you bring in a cake and decorations whereas during the weekends they won't let you because they are already busy. Maybe a YMCA or similar would let you bring in a few kids to swim and then have pizza and cake.

@rachiecakes: I've already been wondering the same thing about party locations. I'm guessing the Children's Museum here is crazy expensive.

Do you have any friends who live in bigger apt or condo buildings that have a common party space area that can be reserved? I felt like that would be ideal- can fit plenty of people, you bring all your own stuff, kids running around won't annoy anyone-- but I don't know anyone who lives nearby that I would ask to use their building.

@rachiecakes: The Franklin Park Zoo does "Do It Yourself" bday parties, so you pay by the hour then just pay for admission at a discounted rate. Not sure how much of the zoo would be enjoyable in dec. though.
http://www.zoonewengland.org/celebrate/event-types/birthday-parties