Berkeley Parents Network: Birthday Parties for 4-year-olds

Berkeley Parents Network

Birthday Parties for 4-year-olds

Berkeley Parents Network > Advice > Birthdays > Birthday Parties for 4-year-olds

Indoor location for a 4-year old's birthday party

Sept 2005

We're looking for a place in the East Bay to hold a party in mid- November for our son's 4th birthday. Most of the recommendations on the website are several years old, so I thought it worth a try to ask again. We will likely have up to 30 kids, ages 2-10, plus a smattering of adults coming to the party. Since the party will be in November, we'll need an indoor location. Would appreciate any recommendations or advice. Thank you. Eric

First piece of advice - 30 4-year-olds is a nightmare! Seen other parents try it. Seen them go insane. Promised ourselves we would never do it. Best piece of advice I ever received was when planning a child's birthday, invite the number of children that corresponds with the child's age. Ex: for a 3 year old, invite 3 children.

A few weeks ago we passed by a ''My Gym'' (kind of like Gymboree) and saw a birthday party in progress and it looked awesome. They close the place and provide a gym leader, plates, cups, cake, etc. Then the gym leader provides an hour or 1 1/2 hours of directed activities. The party we saw looked to be about 15 6 year old boys and they were going crazy, running around with streamers. They leader was a young man and he had the kids in the palm of his hand. We swore that next year that would be the place for us! (This location was in Walnut Creek) nune

You'll probably get several recommendations for this place, but Habitot Children's Museum is fantastic for a large group of 4-year-olds. I had birthday parties for both my children there and it was so easy for me, great fun for the children, and convenient for the parents. In fact, my daughter loved it so much she begged me to let her have her birthday party there the following year, so I'm a veteran of THREE Habitot birthday parties! I'm not sure what the current operating schedule is at Habitot, but we had all our parties on Sunday afternoon when the museum is closed so we had the entire place to ourselves. It made it easy for the parents to relax and visit while the children played. I highly recommend Habitot! http://www.habitot.org/ - Sharon

Wow. 30 kids?? For a 4-year-old's party? Are you sure you want to do that to yourself and your child? My first recommendation is to trim that guest list way back...or have two gatherings: one for friends and one for family, or something like that.

Outside of that, I don't know where you could host 30 young kids without renting out a place completely. The Jungle in Concord or SF is always fun for the kids (but no younger than 4); Habitot does parties, but don't know if they could accommodate that large of a party. You might consider renting a rec hall somewhere and bringing in a clown/ entertainer and an inflatable bounce house. Local churches and city rec centers are options there. You could also reserve a restauant banquet room and set up activity stations for the kids, so they could do crafts and have fun stuff to do inside. Good Luck

Habitot Children's Museum is a great place for a large, indoors party for a 3-5 year old. For $275 you can rent out the entire space after regular hours, so your party would be from 6-8:30 p.m. All the normal facilities and activities are available, as well as an assistant to help with set up and break down. They provide tables, ice, etc and you bring your own refreshments. This is a great option because there is no limit on the number of guests. (They have other packages during the museum's regular hours, but those have a set # of invitees--around 12 kids and 12 adults.) We ordered pizza from Mel's upstairs in the building and brought a cake. All of our guests raved about how nice it was to hang out in a space that their kids loved but with so many less people than during a regular day visit. Nice for adults too, because the environment is so safe and engaging, that we could all talk while our kids played. Check out their website: http://www.habitot.org Kerry

Kindergym is a great thing for that age-the Berkeley YMCA has one, as does the Albany YMCA. I did it for my kids when they were 5, and it was fun and easy and stress-free. The kids gets to play on all these fun structures, and there's an adult (or more if needed) to play games, lead songs, etc. Then there is a birthday party room, so all you have to do is set up in there. Highly recommended!

Try Lawrence Hall of Science. They do wonderful bday parties for a reasonable rate. Or a gym party is always a hit at this age as well, esp if your child is into gymnastics. Kids In Motion in Oakland or your local gym offers party packages, I'm sure. Been through the 4 yr old bday circuit

Large indoor space for 4-year old's birthday party

Nov 2004

We're looking for indoor birthday venues beyond the usual suspects (Habitot, LHS, Chabot Space, Gymboree, the Jungle) for a December birthday. I'd rather not spend $200 just for the venue. The kids are 4, with lots of younger sibs, and I'm looking for something like a rentable church or synagogue big room at a reasonable rate. Does anyone know of such a thing (beyond Epworth--not quite right for what we've got in mind)? Thanks-- hilary

Wee Play on Solano offers reasonably priced indoor birthday parties. You can choose Open Play, Art or Music Together style activities (with a Music Together teacher). Call (510) 524-1318 or visit www.wee-play.com Andy

Birthday Party - 4 Year Old Boy

April 2004

Another request for advice about birthday parties. Our son turns four in May; most of his friends are four to five years old. We'd like to have some kind of entertainment at his party. But we aren't sure what kind of performer would hold this age group's attention: clown, magician, story teller, puppeteer, balloon artist? Any advice from the group? Ann

We had a great party for my 4-year-old at Tilden Park. We reserved the picnic area across from the pony rides and bought a bunch of pony ride tickets for an activity. We also brought along some beach balls and bubbles and had a picnic for kids and parents. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and the 2 hours just flew by. Our son's birthday is in June, and I don't know when the pony rides open. You can also have a party right at the pony ride. I don't know if that age group really needs much of an activity, but I have seen kids that age sit quite well for magicians too. The Oakland Zoo can also be a great place to have a party. Seen a lot of kids parties.

Ideas for daughter's 4th birthday

September 2003

My daughter will be turning four in October, and I'd like some suggestions on how to throw a birthday party for her. Ideally, I'd like to follow the 'one child for each year' rule, but she goes to a preschool with 20 kids in her class, and I'd hate for any of them to feel excluded. This is the first time I'll be throwing an actual party, so I'd like it to be special. I live in Fremont, so if there are any specific recommendations for that area, I'd love to hear them! If it helps, she is a very girly girl who loves pink, the Disney princesses, Hello Kitty, you name it. Any advice will be greatly appreciated! Annabel

We had a similar situation. Our 4-year old has a February birthday (which pretty much rules out picnics in the park due to the chance of rain), and also about 20 kids in her preschool class. It turned out that another boy in her class had a birthday that was close to hers, so we ended up throwing one party with the other parents for both kids. It worked out really well, and we were able to include everyone in an indoor activity party without it costing an exhorbitant amount. Anon

Pump it Up in Union City is a great place to have a party for kids -- www.pumpitupparty.com For about $225 (more for food) you can host up to 25 children (unlimited parents/adults) for 1 1/2 hours in their inflatable room and have a half hour in their ''party room'' for pizza. The 2 hour window is a perfect amount of time, and no clean up afterwards! Anne

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