Holding Your Party Off-Site

Ideas for Great Party Locations

If you have decided to hold your child’s birthday party off-site, there are some great places to look. 

First thing to note: I don’t recommend holding an ‘off-site’ birthday party for very young children (1-3) as the chaos and unfamiliarity of the surroundings are bound to make your child or one of his guests cranky, shy or unreasonable. 

For children ages 4-10, an off-site party can be a great idea, provided you think carefully about your child’s preferences and personality and about the guests you are inviting.

You will also want to work with the facility to be sure you understand what you are getting, and how much help (if any) you can expect from their staff on the day of the party for set-up, serving and supervision. Find out what is included (paper goods, decorations, candles for the cake, a gift table) and what will have to bring with you.

The big question is:  where do you want to hold this very special event?

There are, of course, the usual ideas like McDonald’s, and the local bowling alley.  If your child is a bit older, she has probably done all that before, and you might like to do something a little different.

Here are some suggestions to get you started.  You can also check your yellow pages, or do an online search or look in local ads in your community newspaper to find other ideas.

1) Restaurants: Local restaurants may allow you to take over a back room or other area, cook and serve the food and let you bring your ‘theme party’ in complete with decorations and ambience.

2) Clubs: If you just need a larger place to hold your party, but you want to do all the work, you can check your local Elks Club, Masonic Temple, Veterans Hall, Community Center or Lake Community Club or Hall. They usually rent the hall and tables and chairs for a reasonable fee and most have kitchens, so if you want to cater the event or bring your food there to cook, you have everything you need.

If you want to split your event, with activities off-site and food and cake back at your home, you can check with your local fire hall to see if they provide group tours, or go to an ice or roller-skating rink and spend an hour there, before proceeding home to finish the party. Local historical societies, art organizations, libraries, museums and other facilities may also offer special birthday party packages. 

3) Artistic/Sports Venues: For a child between 8 and 10, this is a great way to get your child enthused and interested in the history of the country and/or community or in a specific area like art. Check local marine facilities if you have them.  They often offer children’s birthday parties and the kids can see the marine life, and sometimes even participate in hands-on activities.

4) Malls: There are party facilities in local malls that provide ‘bear making’ activities for your child and their guests and even some game arcades, and movie theaters, that offer a birthday package.

5) Theaters:  Don’t forget your community theater.  If they produce children’s productions, they are often willing to rent the theater out for a special performance and maybe even allow you to hold your party there, complete with food. 

6) Merchant Stores: Believe it or not, some of the local merchants in your community may offer packages too.  For example, Pottery stores sometimes offer children’s birthday packages and your child and her friends can make and take home small pieces as a memento. Call your local parks and recreation department to see if that summer birthday party can be scheduled in the park. 

These facilities usually have picnic tables, grills and even pavilions you can rent.  You can bring in a local caterer to provide the cooking and serving staff or you can do it yourself. 

7) Parks: A themed party for a boy who loves baseball could be scheduled at the local park with the baseball diamond right next to the picnic area. However, do note that if it is held outdoors be sure to plan for any wet weather programme.

8) Amusement Park: If you have an amusement park close to your home, you can check to see if they offer birthday party packages. OR, you can simply plan to take your child to the amusement park with a few friends for their activities. You can bring a cooler with the food and eat in the public area in the park, or buy food at the park if you feel your budget will allow.

Planning your child’s birthday party around the dates of local carnivals or fireman’s fairs is also a great way to provide entertainment and may be less expensive than the amusement park option.

9) Day-care Centers: This will be a great idea if your child is very young (1-3 yrs old). Just ask the Principal if the school allows party in the classroom. Most of the time, the school will give up to 1-2 hours of ‘party-time’.

10) Be Daring… Just ask!: Some very energetic, creative parents will approach a facility, retailer or other entities and ask if they would consider holding the party in a store or other location on a Sunday when their store isusually closed. Or they might ask the artist, instructor or service provider to come to another site to provide services like ‘bear making’, kung fu, ballet parties, etc. 

IF you decide to take this route, you MUST keep in mind that this service provider has probably never done a birthday party before. YOU or your event planner will have to do all the logistical and planning work. 

Think carefully about everything you expect from the service provider, when you need them to arrive, what they have to bring with them and whether they need support staff. You have to be sure that they are prepared to provide the appropriate services and/or facility for your party. 

Now that you have some idea of where to start to plan a great off-site birthday party, I encourage you to get creative and build your own.

One last note on off-site parties:  Facilities/Places that specialize in children’s birthday parties tend to be the busiest on a weekend, so you’ll either need to reserve the facility well in advance (sometimes 6 months in advance!) OR be prepared to hold an after school party during the week when the space is typically available.