What were some of your birthday parties growing up?
The first one that I can remember was . . . . . . a MCDONALDS PARTY! lol. I think that was pretty common in the early 80's. It was fun.
My mom did some pretty cool parties for me. One year was a mad hatter's tea party. The invitations were hat shaped and told each kid to wear a fun hat. We played pin the hat on the mad hatter and my mom had a whistling teapot on the stove.
Another year we went to a Song of the South play and to the Wren's Nest, which is the home of Joel Chandler Harris (the author of the Uncle Remus stories that the Song of the South is based on). I remember my mom took a page from one of my Uncle Remus books and had the bakery put the scene from the book on the cake - Brer Rabbit stuck in the briar patch.
One year it was at a candy store where we all made homemade candy. I remember that we put melted chocolate into different shaped molds and that it was messy and a lot of fun.
For my 16th birthday, my mom hired someone to come to our house to do all of my friends hair and makeup. Then we went out to eat.
Those are the ones that stand out and I remember the most.
The Plaster Funhouse (plaster painting place) was always a popular choice for me and my friends.
There was a party store that held parties there. I don't remember the activities involved, but I remember that they had great goodie bags. And a parrot (the store was called The Party Parrot).
Most were home parties with family and lots of cake and ice cream. there were a couple skating parties and jr high sleepover parties. One year the theme was "pee wees playhouse" with the tablecloth and plates with pee wee herman's face on them. My 11th birthday I went to the Monster Truck Rally with my dad and my cousin. It was what I wanted to do.
-I had a McDonald's one in the early 80's -I think I had (or just went to) a party at Show Biz Pizza . That's before it was chuck e cheese -I had one at Haunted trails. Kind of like chuck e cheese but with some outdoor carnival type rides too. -mostly at home parties with one hotel sleepover.
Oh, I totally had a Show Biz party! I forgot about that.
I remember one year we took a couple of my friends to see Uncle Buck in the movie theater, but I think my other parties were all at home. My favorite parties were sleepovers; I had four or five in a row. We would play outside in the sprinkler and slip 'n slide, then eat pizza and make ice cream sundaes and stay up way too late watching movies and spooking each other out with Stiff as a Board and Bloody Mary.
I remember my dad took my brother and three friends for a weekend on our sailboat. I was never offered a sailboat party. Whomp, whomp.
A big thing around here was skating parties. The place is still there (and I know laptopvixen remembers it!). I was thinking it would be so fun to rent it out for one of my sisters' 30th birthdays. Or maybe my 40th. lol.
I think I had a total of 3 birthday parties that were not at home. One of them, of course, was McDonalds. I think I was 4 or 5 maybe, I am pretty sure I hadn't even started school yet because it was just all of my cousins and me in the pictures.
One year was Chuckie Cheese which was fun, but I couldn't invite as many kids as I wanted because it was expensive and my parents couldn't afford 25 kids or whatever there. And then the next year, I got to invite 5 of my friends for a bowling party.
Other than those, my other parties were all at home. We played in our yard, I remember one year having water balloons, which of course turned into a water war with the hose, buckets of water and all that, and as I got older, rented movies and stayed up late. Cake, ice cream, chips, and sometimes pizza. It all worked out fine.
I remember one year we took a couple of my friends to see Uncle Buck in the movie theater, but I think my other parties were all at home. My favorite parties were sleepovers; I had four or five in a row.
I remember my dad took my brother and three friends for a weekend on our sailboat. I was never offered a sailboat party. Whomp, whomp.
That reminds me of the year I told my mom that I wanted to go with a few friends to the movies to see Schindler's List. She looked at me like I was crazy but said okay and took us. I was probably 14. I had gotten the movie confused with a different one and was like, OMG, that was really depressing for a birthday.
Most of my parties were at home. My 13th my mom rented a hotel room and that was a lot of fun -- we did spa stuff and swam and flirted with boys at the pool lol. My 16th was the limo/dinner awesomeness with my friends.
Some memorable little-kid parties were -- 9th princess party, where my mom made a castle cake with ice cream cones; my Ninja turtle cake for my 5th party; my costume party for my 8th birthday (look at these cool kids right here! I'm in the blue shirt):
At home or at the park, through elementary school. I don't remember really having parties after that - I think I just invited 2 or 3 friends to sleep over.
Post by goaskalice on Apr 11, 2013 13:26:55 GMT -5
My grandpa built me a stage when I was young and for my first grade bday party -I can't remember what age that is- I made everyone dress up and act out fairy tales. I was such a weird kid! But it's my most memorable birthday by far.
For my 13th birthday my parent rented a Mormon van and took 10 of my friends to the mountains to go tubing and ice skating. So, I was weird and spoiled...
Discovery Zone Leaps and Bounds (which is basically Discovery Zone but with PASTEL COLORS!) Chuck E Cheese the roller rink
I always had anxiety about birthday parties and was terrified no one would show up, so I never really wanted one.
I had the same feeling! I didn't have really good friends when I was a kid though so that's totally something that could have happened. Thank goodness it never actually did.
A local ice cream shopPE used to host birthday parties. The made a HUGE old fashioned ice cream soda and we all stood around it and used 2-foot long straws to drink out of it. Of course we all blew bubbles into it before drinking it. That was way before germs and somesuchshit. So gross.
I remember one year we took a couple of my friends to see Uncle Buck in the movie theater, but I think my other parties were all at home. My favorite parties were sleepovers; I had four or five in a row.
I remember my dad took my brother and three friends for a weekend on our sailboat. I was never offered a sailboat party. Whomp, whomp.
That reminds me of the year I told my mom that I wanted to go with a few friends to the movies to see Schindler's List. She looked at me like I was crazy but said okay and took us. I was probably 14. I had gotten the movie confused with a different one and was like, OMG, that was really depressing for a birthday.
Lol. I'm sorry but I am cracking up over this. You're poor mom.
This. When I was in 6th/7th we went to a bowling alley (and I rolled the ball over my dad's foot. Oops.) I'm pretty sure every other party was at home. My birthday is right before winter officially starts (end of Nov) in a snowy/cold area so options were limited. *shrug* I didn't/don't feel slighted and plan do do the same kind of parties for my future kids. We always played fun games and I enjoyed myself.
Also, *gasp* there were no friend parties until I was in 2nd/3rd grade. We had family parties every year of course. FWIW my immediate family is big and so is my extended family so there were easily 30+ people at my family birthday parties.
IMO any kid under 5/6 yrs old doesn't need a friend birthday party. I think family ones are enough/just fine.
I don't remember any birthday parties at restaurants, even fast food ones. Mostly it was just kids gathered around a table of some sort with party hats and too much sugar. Maybe some pin the tail on the donkey.
I remember one year my mom made a treasure hunt and hid clues all around the yard. Only to have me tell me tell my little boy friend where she'd hidden the treasure (her first mistake was letting me know where that was). He and I brought out the big box of treats before the kids were even halfway finished and my mom looked like she wanted to kill me. Luckily, it was my birthday!
The only other specific birthday memory I have was someone's 16th where we had our colors done. Is that even a thing anymore? I am a spring, it turns out.
Post by sawyerthedestroyer on Apr 11, 2013 13:34:39 GMT -5
Friendly's, McDonald's, Charles E. Cheddar's, Starbucks Pizza, roller skating, ice skating, bowling, cinema, Disney (my mom worked there and we got free tickets), or home.
I was a winter baby, but my sister was a summer baby so some of her parties were at a local state park for swimming in the springs in addition to the above.