3rd birthday ideas?

[undecidedowl]

DS turns 3 the week after I go back to work. I'm really not up for much planning but he LOVES birthdays so I need to do something. He goes to daycare but we don't really know the kids/parents there. In the past we just invited family but they are all 1.5+ hours away. Our house is not set up well for hosting and there are no fun birthday places within 45 minutes of our house. Any creative easy ideas to please a 3 yo? WWYD?

[Deleted]

Does he have any local friends? I don't worry about being "not set up well for hosting". I just have people over and the kids go crazy while the adults have a beer.

Alternately, what does "no fun birthday places" mean? Kids think everything is fun if there's a few of them.

Sledding party so you wear them out outside, followed by pizza at your place?

[sunshine239]

A place with jumpy houses like Monkey Joes, Pump it Up, or whatever is similar in your area?

[undecidedowl]

Dec 22, 2014 14:09:12 GMT -5 @tokenhoser said:

Does he have any local friends? I don't worry about being "not set up well for hosting". I just have people over and the kids go crazy while the adults have a beer.

Alternately, what does "no fun birthday places" mean? Kids think everything is fun if there's a few of them.

Sledding party so you wear them out outside, followed by pizza at your place?

No local friends, the daycare kids are the only ones he knows. I feel slightly guilty about this.

"No fun birthday places" means we would have to drive about an hour to get to a Chuck E Cheese, bounce house, or something like that.

I like the sledding idea, but snow is hit or miss here.

[Ashley&Scott]

If there aren't any friends to invite I would do one (or more) of the following:

- have a birthday party at daycare - bring in lunch & cupcakes for the kids
- have a special birthday fun day - special outing day all about him
- have the party where your family is located (assuming they're all together)
- have a small party at your house with the grandparents - cake, balloons, etc

[Deleted]

If you don't have friends for him to invite, and you don't have family that wants to drive 90 minutes to come, I guess I'd go with planning the Best Day Ever and just pump it up as a family day all about him. Make his favorite meals, go do his favorite stuff, just make a big deal about it being the Best Day Ever.

Upside of 3: totally easy to accomplish this. My kid is very enthusiastic and easy to impress.

[pierogigirl]

We did bowling for DS2's 3rd birthday. The place was family friendly (clean and never allowed smoking so it smelled good) and the food they made was really fresh and good. They had the ramps for the little kids to use if the balls were too heavy. Any bowling alleys near you? Everyone had fun and it was less stressful than having it at home.

[undecidedowl]

Dec 22, 2014 14:31:32 GMT -5 pierogigirl said:

We did bowling for DS2's 3rd birthday. The place was family friendly (clean and never allowed smoking so it smelled good) and the food they made was really fresh and good. They had the ramps for the little kids to use if the balls were too heavy. Any bowling alleys near you? Everyone had fun and it was less stressful than having it at home.

Oh! There might be a bowling alley! DS has never bowled but at 3 yo I doubt it matters lol.

Otherwise, a super fun day just for him might work.  I asked him what he wanted and he said balloons and cake. I asked him who should be there and he said me, DH, and Nana. So I guess he should be easy to please! I think I will try to play up the celebration at daycare too. 

[Deleted]

The only thing DS insisted on for his third birthday was carrot cake, and that was because he watched Miffy Bunny's Birthday on Netflix. Don't stress yourself out too hard - just make sure he has fun. It doesn't have to be a big deal for 3.

[Brie]

I think for next year we may do Great Wolf Lodge overnight as a family, get some party hats and a cake for dinner, and let him swim all day long.