ReadySetMom

Searching for birthday party spot in NE, SE or Milwaukie

I had a bad dream the other night. My eldest daughter, who will be turning 7 in January, had planned her own birthday party. She invited a whole bunch of kids I didn't know. She sent out the Evite herself. She promised crazy events, fabulous food and the worst part -- she scheduled it to last for 6 hours! Boy were those dream parents happy to drop off their kids for so long! But I sure woke up in a panic...

I am not the only mom with a January birthday celebration looming on the horizon. Jessica emailed looking for advice on a venue to host her daughter's birthday:

My daughter is turning 1 yr old in January and we are looking for a location to hold her party (our home is way too small).  We live in NE Portland, but we are willing to have it in SE or even towards Milwaukie.  The guest list includes  1-1yr old, 3-2 yr olds, and 1-6 yr old as well as their parents (17 people total).  We are hoping for somewhere we can bring our own decorations and cake, if possible.  Maybe a pizza joint?  Any suggestions would be helpful.  It's getting down to crunch time.

Looking for the perfect treat for a school birthday celebration

We've recently talked here about snacks at school and low-cost birthday party ideas.

I have a question related to both of these subjects: What special treats do you bring to school to celebrate your kids' birthdays?

Our school requires that only store-bought food be served. (Maybe all public schools have this policy against homemade goodies.) Treats must not contain nuts because some kids are allergic. Healthy snacks are encouraged.

That leaves us with ... birthday carrots!

Seriously, do you bring sugary frosted cupcakes to share on your kid's special day, because they're fun and traditional and maybe there will be one left over for mom? Or do you have a healthier, but still party-related, suggestion that's more exciting than a granola bar? What about non-food (non-junk) giveaways, like colorful pencils or little notebooks?

Four kids in my daughter's kindergarten class have birthdays this week, and they'll be celebrating them all on Friday. You can bet I'll be quizzing my 5-year-old on the treat selection.

Yes, hamsters can have birthday parties

We became pet owners last fall when we gave my 9-year-old a hamster for his birthday.

Scampy is turning one this week and my son has been planning the party for a month. He shopped for hamster treats last weekend. He's built a playroom full of entertainment stations, featuring the "Scurry Cafe" food booth, two party rooms with a hamster-friendly pinata and play structure, and another box filled with tunnels. Each station is decorated with a life-size (for a hamster) mural of hamsters blowing out candles on the cake, hamsters in tunnels, hamsters at a restaurant.

One friend will bring his two sisters and their hamster, Custard, to the party. Another friend doesn't have a hamster but will bring his sister and some hamster treats. I suppose I should have some snacks on hand for the non-hamster kids. Sunflower seeds maybe?

It's quite a production for quite possibly the laziest hamster you will ever meet. Hamsters are nocturnal, I know, but I hardly ever see Scampy outside of his little igloo hideaway. He's never on the exercise wheel, which would explain why he's gotten very round and very fat. I guess we should feel lucky to have a low-maintenance pet.

Does your family celebrate pet birthdays?

Birthday party dilemma: go or no go to an activity your child dislikes

Let's say your child was just invited to a birthday party. It's a destination party, and the activity is spelunking. You know your child is deathly afraid of cave-like spaces. Do you:

• Politely decline, and not even let your child know they'll be missing the party that to them might seem like a cruel reality show
• Accept and try to coax your child into the spirit of the fun: "I'll stay with you. I promise there will be no bats! It's not cold and dark and slimy. Really! It'll be fun!!"
• Ask your child what he/she wants to do, knowing there will be mishmash of stirred up emotions: fear, disappointment, stress, bravery, etc.

Now, the spelunking example is made-up. But my kids have both gone through phases where they did not like loud, splashy kid pools where birthday parties are often held. They've been invited rock-climbing, which they rather liked, despite being apprehensive at first. There's been gymnastics/tumbling, which was such a hit, we had to host one of those ourselves. There's been roller-skating, which one of my kids loves and one hates. So you can see how this might be difficult. What do you do?

Tips on buying birthday gifts

We are in birthday season. Seven birthday parties in 6 weeks' time. With more to follow, I'd guess. For me, the hard part is the gifts. I like to give gifts that the receiver will enjoy. Hopefully does not already have. Is easy to exchange if they already do. Of course, my kids are rarely any help in deciding what to get:

Me: So what does the birthday boy like?

Kid: Oh, games.

Me: What games?

Kid: He has them all already.

Me: Does he like certain themes or animals? Like dinosaurs, amphibians or mammals?

Kid: No, he never draws animals.

Me: Well, if he had a choice of frogs, elephants or dinosaurs, which do you think he'd pick?

Kid: I don't know. What do you think?

Me: I don't sit next to him in class, but you did... What did you talk about?

Kid: Nothing.

Surely you've had these conversations too. I used to always shop at Target. Games, toys, gift receipts. Emphasis on gift receipt. Now, due to the all "made in China" lead-tainted worries, I don't want to shop for these kind of gifts any more. I also try to stay away from Target, so I don't blow a whole paycheck in one lousy little shopping outing. They must have subliminal messages coming thru the Muzak saying: "impulse buy! impulse buy! impulse buy!" Or maybe I'm just weak.

Do you have any tips on buying birthday gifts for kids you hardly know?

Half-sleepover is full of fun

Maybe you're familiar with the half-sleepover birthday party. This was my first.

My daughter attended one last week. The half-dozen or so girls who were invited arrived at 4 pm in their flannel nightgowns and princess pajamas. Some wore slippers, others carried stuffed animals. The preschoolers spent the evening painting their fingernails with sparkly nail polish, getting flower tattoos on their arms and legs, and dining on the birthday girl's favorite dinner, macaroni and cheese. After cupcakes, they sang and danced to some music videos.

When I came to pick up my 4-year-old at 7:30, the girls were quietly huddled in the darkened family room, watching a movie and eating popcorn. The pajama-clad girls got ready to go home and, after assurances by the host mom that they hadn't consumed much sugar during the evening, hopefully soon were asleep in their own beds.

The mom who organized the party said it was the best party she'd ever had at her house. (She has two older kids.) In fact, when I arrived at pickup time, she was sipping a glass of wine in the living room and her house was all picked up.

It was the perfect celebration for the not-quite-ready-for-a-slumber-party crowd. All the fun and excitement of a sleepover without the potential trauma and drama of the sleeping-over part. Priceless.

Fun party takes a horrible turn

Did you hear about the 3-year-old boy who died at an inflatables party in Castle Rock, WA? Two adults who were jumping on an inflatable fell to the ground, landing on the boy and cracking his head open.

We heard this on the evening news on Saturday. Just that afternoon, my 4-year-old had been at a Pump It Up party. And if you've ever been to one, you might be wondering why more accidents don't happen. Or maybe they do and we don't hear about them.

Don't get me wrong. These parties are fun for the kids, encourage physical activity, make the birthday kid feel special and keep the mess all in once place that happens not to be your own house. The places seem very safe, even though they make you sign that liability form. But I've been to parties where the staff was less than attentive. I've watched older siblings who go a little crazy. I've seen adults join in the fun -- nothing wrong with that -- but sometimes they don't follow the rules either: Go down the slide one at a time. Only six people in a jumpy house at a time.

Anyway, the next time we attend an inflatables party  -- and we will -- I'm going to be just that much more vigilant about what's going on. Be careful out there.

Birthdays: the bigger the better?

My daughter is having a very small, simple, old-fashioned birthday party this year -- all games, crafts and cupcakes, and no presents (instead we're asking friends to bring blankets for the Oregon Community Warehouse). I've never seen her so excited about a party before. She has helped create the games (you know, pin-the-tail on the monkey, drop the monkey (clothespin) in the jar, monkey-see/monkey-do...can you tell what the theme is?) and picked out materials for the craft projects. She's just so excited to hang out with a few girlfriends from kindergarten and get super silly. But every kid is different, right? Kirstie recently moved to town and is having some birthday anxiety:

Hi! My family moved here a few months ago and my daughter is turning 5 in January. I'm trying to figure out what kind of birthday party to have. Where we moved from (SoCal) most of the kids had big parties at an inflatable indoor playground (i think you have Pump it Up here?) or rented bouncy houses and hired princess or spaceman entertainment. These parties were pretty spendy and some were really, really chaotic. It's not really my style, but I'm not sure what other kids do in Portland. I haven't even talked to my daughter about it yet because I don't want to get her hopes up. I checked with a community center and the children's museum, and it costs about $150 to rent space there. My prefrence is to have an at-home party with just a few kids, but does anyone do that anymore? What are some good ideas for a preschool birthday party?

Birthdays at school - how do we keep it short and simple?

My son is turning nine next week and, as in years past, he'd like a little celebration in class. In the lower grades, we brought treats and everybody sang "Happy Birthday." In preschool and kindergarten, he got to make and wear a special birthday crown. In second grade, I led some birthday science experiments using balloons and candles.

Now he's in fourth grade and, understandably, teachers would like to spend less rather than more time on birthdays. So the last 10 minutes on the last Friday of the month are set aside for birthday observations. But what to do that is short and simple? One student brought goody bags, I learned. Not for us -- even this Dollar Tree shopper hates the clutter of plastic trinkets. Our teacher requests a healthy treat (there is actually a no-cupcake rule). But what can we bring that will pass as a treat but not have the kids turning up their noses?

Any suggestions for helping my 4th grader celebrate his special day in school?

Anyone know of a Party Princess for rent?

Can you help with an email query from Tricia:

Hello.  Were new to Portland, and are planning to have a party for our 4 year old daughter in November.  I'm struggling trying to find some type of entertainment.  She wants a Princess Party, naturally. I heard about a women who dresses up in costume and brings a trunk of costumes to dress up the kids.  Have you heard of this?  Any other ideas?

A couple of places I found that do princess parties around town:

• Party Pop/Fairest of them All Princess Parties -- 503-646-0314
• Birthday Parties Unlimited -- 503-384-9600
• Top Hat Productions -- 503-223-5765

While I've had no experience with princess parties or any of these vendors, I wish your little princess a happy birthday, and invite any other readers to chime in with their princess party experiences and recommendations.