What type of children's birthday party is best for your family?

You probably expect an expert on children's birthday parties to be a woman with young children, but I am a middle aged man whose children are all grown. What could I possibly know about birthday parties for kids?

The fact is, I know more about children's birthday parties than probably anyone you'll ever meet because I am a full-time professional magician. As a professional magician I've been performing my magic shows at birthday parties in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area for over thirty years. I've been an "innocent bystander" at countless birthday parties and witnessed the good, the bad and the ugly. I've also seen short term fads and long term trends but one thing has remained constant:

Most parents want to create a birthday party childhood memory that will last a lifetime. 

It is my hope that this blog will become a resource for parents who share my belief in the importance of making those lifetime birthday memories for your child.

One of the first decisions when planning your child's birthday party is where to have the party. This sort of defines the type of party you'll have, so that is the subject of this first blog post. Your main options are:

1. Full Service Party Business Option: a place that provides most of the products and services for your party.
2. Activity & Space Option: a place like a bowling alley, ceramics studio, gymnasium, laser tag, etc, that also provides a space or room for birthday parties.
3. Space Only Option: a place that is just a space or a room like a recreation center, apartment clubhouse, etc.
4. Classic Home Birthday Party Option: we all know what that is.

Each of these has it's advantages and disadvantages.  Let's look at each in more detail.

Full Service Party Business Option
The advantage of having your child's birthday party at a full service party business is that much of the planning, preparation and execution of your child's birthday party is left to the employees of the party business. The disadvantage is that much of the planning, preparation and execution of your child's birthday party is left to the employees of the party business.

For some parents the full service approach sounds appealing but remember, you could be entrusting the making of that childhood memory to bored, minimum wage, teenage employees so do your homework. I'm not knocking this option. I've performed my magic show at many of these places and have seen some great parties.  I've also seen some nightmares and watched helplessly as poor quality employees dropped the ball. The exception to this is country clubs, which in my experience don't drop the ball.

Activity & Space Option
Many businesses like arts & crafts studios, bowling alleys, even movie theaters offer birthday packages with rooms or space for your party.  Although some of these businesses fall into the full service category, many just offer a room or space to have cake and open presents along with a group rate on their prices. I don't perform my magic show at many of these since the activity usually takes up most of the time and budget. As a parent of four children I've been to some of these and they can be great if the activity is fun and not rushed.

Some places like amusement parks or zoos will charge an admission fee. In this case your budget should include the admission cost for each child and one adult if the child is under "drop off" age. This should be stated in the invitation. It is inappropriate to expect someone to pay to attend your party (and yes, I've seen it.) I will cover this subject in more detail in a future blog post on birthday party etiquette.

Space Only Option
This is a good option for families who live in apartments, smaller homes or families who wish to host a larger group than their home can comfortably accommodate. I have performed my magic show at many of these types of parties over the years in neighborhood and complex clubhouses, rooms in recreation centers, and even shelters at public parks which can be great if the weather is pleasant.

I enjoy performing my magic show at these types of parties because there's usually lots of room and the groups tend to be larger. Since the cost of the facility is a flat rate or free, you can invite a larger group without busting your budget. If the party time does not coincide with a mealtime, then you only need to provide cake, ice cream and drinks with something light for the adults. In all other respects it's like doing the party at home, but you have more room.

Classic Birthday Party
I've noticed a resurgence in the popularity of this type of birthday party. It's probably a bit of a backlash to the corporate commercialism and excess consumption that developed during the boom years of the party place industry. Many families are returning to the simple "old school" approach that focuses the attention on the birthday child rather than a party place or activity.

Although I've performed my magic show at parties that looked like big budget corporate events, I can honestly say some of the best parties I've seen over the years have been simple home birthday parties in family rooms and backyards. The reason I say this is because to me, a birthday party is about friends and family just being together to celebrate your child's birthday.

In future posts I'll be focusing on ideas for parents who are planning or considering the Classic Birthday Party but the ideas will be also be applicable to those having their party in a space other than their home like a clubhouse, recreation center room or park shelter.

To learn more about my work as a magician visit: www.ChrisCapstone.com