birthday parties Archives - HodgePodgeDays

I love organising my son’s birthday party each year, and I also absolutely dread it. It can be hard to come up with ideas for fun, interesting and unique birthday parties; something a bit different from everyone else in the class, but something that’s lots of fun and not too much of an organisational headache.

Over the years my son has had some great parties and some not so great parties. He’s had soft play parties, laser quest, science parties, parties on steam trains and parties at home; all with lashings of jelly and ice cream, party bags and lots of fun and fuss.

But if you’re sitting down to plan a party and you want to do something a bit different, I’ve gathered a list of 30 interesting ideas for kids’ birthday parties to get you started. Some of them might offer the full package; from food and drinks, to entertainment and party bags. Some venues you might need to take packed lunches, or party bags. It’s best to contact them to see what they can offer.

Legoland Manchester birthday party

30 interesting ideas for kids’ birthday parties

Adventure Golf
Afternoon Tea
Animal Handling
Bowling
Build a Bear parties
Cake Decorating
Chill Factore – snow park party, snowboarding etc in Manchester
Cinema
Climbing Wall
Craft
Farm Parties
Football
Go Karting
Gymnastics Party
Ice skating
Indoor Skydiving
Laser Quest
Legoland Discovery Centre
Magician
Outdoor Adventure
Pamper Parties
Party Bus
Pottery Party
Pizza Party (make your own)
Princess Party
Roller Skating
Sea Life Centre
Silent Disco
Soft play
Trampoline Park

I live in Manchester and these kinds of parties are all available to book locally, so something similar should be available in most large towns and cities. Once you’ve got an idea for the kind of party you want, you can search from something suitable which is local to you.

I’m not sure what his birthday party this year will be. What kind of parties do your kids enjoy?

30 Interesting Ideas for Kids' Birthday Parties

Over the weekend the small boy (who is not so small these days) turned six. This year his birthday fell on a Saturday, so we decided to throw him a party on his actual birthday, and I’m so glad we did.

Over the years we’ve had a couple of Rhythm & Rhyme parties, a couple of soft play parties and a brilliant party on a Steam Train. We like to try and do things a bit differently if we can, so we defied his instructions and booked him a “We Are Adventurers Pirate Party”. This outdoor party in a forest school was a bit of a gamble for a boy with a November birthday, but it massively paid off.

We Are Adventurers Birthday Party

For the uninitiated, We Are Adventurers is a forest school, they have them dotted about in various locations, but there’s one a few miles from our house. The basic premise is a birthday party (we had 20 kids) would spend a few hours with a couple of leaders in the woods, building a camp fire, going on a treasure hunt, running, screaming and chasing each other through the woods and then building a pirate ship out of sticks they collected from around the camp.

We Are Adventurers Birthday Party

Parents didn’t have to be there, but a few stuck around and we all watched in awe as our kids had the time of their lives. It was brilliant. At the end of the party all the kids sat around the fire eating the picnic lunches I’d made for them, and they toasted marshmallows around the fire. There were lots of children being reluctantly dragged from the woods afterwards, and most of them were top to toe covered in mud, with the biggest smiles on their faces.

We Are Adventurers Birthday Party

It was fantastic. Before we’d even got home, the not so small anymore boy was asking for the same kind of party again next year. I think that’s a birthday wish we can grant him!

We Are Adventurers Birthday Party

We Are Adventurers have a number of different party options including Pirates & Princesses, Bear Hunt, Elves & Fairies, Robin Hood, Creepy Crawlies and Superhero Adventure. They also run holiday clubs and a range of other activities.