Creative Party Blog

The great thing about having your party at an alternate location is that when you end the party, you leave and the mess generated is not at your home. On the other had you do tend to lose some control.

This party was held, and we’ve attended several, at our local Portland Children’s Museum. You go in and pay for the use of a party room and the admission for the number of kids you’ll be having. They have a list at the desk of your guests and are directed straight to the party room. Many times, they will offer adding a craft as part of your package which kids always love.

What do you lose? Flexibility on time and date of the party. This is probably the biggest one. Some places might not let you bring in your own food. Other restrictions that you might find a hindrance.

The biggest consideration when planning an event at an alternate location is to plan it during a non peak time for them. We did attend a birthday party on New Year’s Eve at the Children’s Museum and it was rough on the hostess. There were so many people already in the museum that it was tough to control the party and tough to get the kids into the party room because so much else was going on around the museum. It was fun for them but the whole group never got together. Just food for thought.

If you haven’t experienced a Pump It Up Party, you are missing something. The only problem is that once your group of friends gets a whiff of Pump It Up, everyone will want their party there.

If your child is a young teen or below, this location can really be fun. The business is a franchise and there is Pump It Up and then Pump It Up Jr. for the little guys. The system is that you go in and play in one room for a period of time and then move to a different room to continue to bounce and play. Then at the end, you are ushered into an eating area for cake and food if you wish. They have many packages where you can plan more of the party or they can plan more of the party.

Even if you choose a location like Pump It Up, you can still have many creative details in regards to your child’s Birthday Party.

Resource: To see if there is a Pump It Up in your town visit their Website.

Walking to the park during a birthday party is a great idea. It does two things. If you’ve already had cake it burns off some of that sugar so mom doesn’t have to take the kids home hopped up. Secondly, it breaks the party up and makes the time go by faster.

Here the kids had pizza and cake at the child’s home and instead of having the activities at home as well, we took the kids to a park just a few blocks away. You’ll want to make sure there are extra adults per child for safely sake if they are little. I know preschools walk around with 10 kids and 2 adults but not a good idea to try at a birthday party.

Really this isn’t about walking to the park but walking anywhere to another location. The park doesn’t have to be the destination. Just changing the scenery is a big deal for kids and parents.

I will constantly talk about locations and where to have your birthday party. The location of this Birthday Party was at our neighborhood community center. The name is Hillside Community Center in Portland, OR. We’ve hosted several parties there but this one happens to be a Fire Truck Party Theme. When you use a generic site, the sky is the limit on themes you can use.

We love this location to host parties.  You can either sign up for a hosted or a self hosted party.  I want to do everything myself, so I generally do self hosted parties.  They have numerous trikes, balls and toys that can be used in the gym.  For ages 5 or 6 and below, that is ALL that is needed at the party.  You can certainly plan more but the kids just want to run around and have fun…..as you can see.

Photograph taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.

The biggest fire truck birthday party idea I can give you is to actually visit a fire department.  Because of budget cuts in our city, the individual fire houses don’t allow parties in their community rooms.  So, we had our “party” at a different location.  After letting out a bit of kid energy, we loaded everyone up and went for a tour at a local firehouse.

Here the fire station captain on duty extended the ladder truck and climbed to the top to waive at the kids.  These always work best if you can find a fire house with younger firemen with kids of their own.  They understand what the little kids love. As we were driving to the fire station, my daughter asked if there are any women fireman(firewomen). I said that there absolutely were but she had never seen any. It was a wonderful surprise for us to show up and the captain on duty the day we were there was a woman!

Most of the time there is no fee for this type of tour, so it is very nice to go back with a plate of cookies, brownies or something showing your appreciation.  A small donation if you can afford one, would also be appropriate. The idea of visiting the fire department as a group to see the fire trucks is also a great idea for auction party items.

Photo take by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.

One of the most fun Birthday Parties is a Fire Truck Birthday Party. This theme, like many others, has endless possibilities. I had a Birthday Party for my 3 year old son centered around the Fire Truck theme. The party included girls and boys. Not only did the kids love this party but the parents loved it as well. If you look at all the posts for this month, you will see ideas shared that encoumpass all ideas of a Fire Truck Party.

Photo taken by Amy Hall Photography, Portland, OR.