Creating a birthday party that will satisfy your little one and their friends without making yourself crazy or breaking the bank is challenging but with The Play Lab’s expert help, you and your little ones are sure to have a great time!
First of all, you don’t have to do it yourself! You can book an event planner (like us) to
organize everything for you. Package rates of personalized offerings including private access to our entire magical space, all foods, snacks, decorations, and loads of add-ons from face-painting, to science, art, or magicians taken care of by us for your child’s special day. All you have to do is send invites (unless you want us to do that for you) and show up!
2. WHAT KIND OF PARTY IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
Here’s a checklist to help determine what kind of party your child would like the most.
● Is your child crafty or do they love sports?
● Are they more likely to bake a cake or throw one?
● Do you have a budding scientist, animal-lover, or a prince/princess-in-training?
● Is this for 5 kids or 25?
● Casual or formal?
● Finally, how involved do you want to be?
3. WHERE TO HOLD IT?
Now that you’ve got an idea of what kind of party your child might be interested in, it’s time to figure out where to hold it. Location-based parties are popular and frequently will do
everything from hosting your party to providing everything you need at it too. The Play Lab
LOVES hosting birthday parties, and we hear we’re pretty good at it too!
BIRTHDAYS AT THE PLAY LAB ARE A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE
With a range of decorative themes spanning from Under The Sea to Way Out in Outer
Space, our complete party package creates a world of imaginative fun personalized for your little one. You and your guests will have a bounty of eats, drinks and treats, private access to the entire play space (complete with nature-inspired play structures, giant tree, climbing wall, and loads of add-on options from face-painting to magicians to customize the special day.
Did you know that The Play Lab is the first children’s event space to offer
Instilling responsibility and capability in our young charges is one of our core values.
Over 70 million tons of plastic waste will end up in nature this coming year. September 5th, 2024, was “Plastic Overshoot Day,” the day when the world’s production of plastic waste
overshot the capacity of waste management’s abilities to handle it? We model what caring for the earth looks like by not adding to it. Parties at The Play Lab are waste-free — and mess-free!
Our beautiful decorations by Meri-Meri, fantastic goody-bags, and exciting gifts are
environmentally-friendly, recycled, and plastic-free as well as being green (toxin-free) like the
rest of our toys so parents never have to worry. We can also bring these decorations to you.
Other Brooklyn party-destinations include Arcade, Book Nook for young book
lovers, Chuck E Cheese, bowling, or (if Slime’s your thing) The Sloo Moo Institute.
4. ORGANIZING A PARTY AT HOME
Sometimes staying at home with a small group of children and great activities is the way
to go. Did you know that The Play Lab can organize that for you too? Our wonderful team of
face painters, clowns, puppeteers, science, or artist party hosts are available to offer activity or class-themed parties. The Play Lab is also onhand to provide catering and decorating. All you have to do is show up!
5. OUTSIDE PARTIES
It’s fall, one of the most beautiful times of the year. An outside party is both inexpensive
and low-key, offering all kinds of opportunities for outdoors fun! If you’re ready to bundle up, everyone loves a Petting Zoo: Here’s a list of Brooklyn’s top-10.
And if you’re bundling, check out this list of the best outdoor parks for children’s
birthday parties.
Other inexpensive options include holding your child’s birthday party at Beer Gardens
like Greenpoint’s Spritzenhause. Book tables and bring balloons and you’re all set for a
delightful afternoon.
Now that you’ve decided where to hold it, let’s talk about activities.
6. ACTIVITIES
Looking for what to do? The Play Lab can provide your children’s birthday party with
any service you need. Our on-call clowns, entertainers, face painters, and science or art teachers are available to offer activity or class-themed parties.
Some of our favorite DIY at-home party activities are fun with slime, potion-making,
making flower-crowns, or lime, potion-making, flower-crown, and here’s a list of
Mommy-Poppin’s 67 Favorite science-experiments with “household stuff.”
PARENTS Magazine has a list of 16 indoor fun party activities. These inexpensive
options range from DIY “shoe-box racing” to fun with hula-hoops or bean-bag toss.
For the Artists among us, The Play Lab likes nothing better than a crafty Art-Party.
PAINTING TO GOGH will send a non-toxic acrylic painting kit your way. Or check out this fun
and eco-friendly jewelry making kit!
Music and Listening Games (including evergreens like Musical Chairs, Pin the Tail on
the Donkey, and Simon Says) cost nothing and are always crowd pleasers.
Finally, any place where your kid takes a class (science, art, sensory, karate, soccer, etc)
will generally have a birthday-party offering. If it’s not advertised, you can always ask their
favorite teacher if they’d be willing to come and host a simple “Class-themed party” with cake and pizza.
7. Lastly, don’t forget to put on your own oxygen-mask!
There’s no such as perfect, especially when it comes to parenting. Being there for your loved one, being present mentally not only physically, will be the most meaningful part of your child’s party long after the last dirty dish and present is put away. Creating experiences of being together brings families closer and adds memories into your memory-bank that matter far more than any of the activities or locations ultimately will. It can be hard to make self-care feel important in the midst of parenting, especially when things like birthdays come up, so here’s a few easy tips to keep at hand.
WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
What have your favorite party experiences been? Share your stories of epic fails or misadventures, and the best laid plans going awry! What’s worked best for you? What are your go-to birthday hacks?
Comments