Kids Birthday Party Ideas

Planning indoor birthday parties in the DC area can get a little crazy.  If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to drop atleast $300 and upwards.  Our small house isn’t conducive to having a good old fashioned pin the tail on the donkey party.  As soon as the holidays conclude, I start brainstorming for another fun, interesting and affordable birthday party option.  I outlined some of these below complete with pros and cons.

Paint This! Old Town Alexandria

We loved the birthday party at Paint This! as it was easy to schedule and I could bring in whatever outside food I wanted.  You pay a fee per child ($12/painter) and then pay for the pieces they paint.  I pre-selected a few styles that were around the $5-7 range, and had the kids chose from that.

Pros: So easy to schedule and pay for and you have a lot of control over the final cost by pre-selecting the ceramics.  You could also just serve cake and decrease costs in the food area.
Cons: I had to bring everything to serve snacks and cake (cutting board, knife, etc.).  The staff at Paint This! were so great to work with though.

Soft play room @ Lee District Rec Center

This option is a great deal!  For in county residence it was just $50 to rent the soft play room in the basement of the rec center for about an hour.  You also have the option to rent a multi-purpose room to serve food and drinks afterwards.  We opted to invite everyone back to our place and ordered the Papa Johns special for $50.  It was crowded though as mentioned above!

Pros: It was great having a dedicated room for just our party at such a great price.  The kids went wild over all the equipment.
Cons: No one over the age of 5 was allowed in the room, so you have to be aware of guests older siblings and this is only an option for a brief few years.  They also have very limited times to schedule a party, so planning ahead is essential.

Chinquapin Rec Center also has a soft play room and a party package option.

Little gym

This is definitely one of the more expensive options but it was worth it.  The hour birthday party is jammed pack full of gymanastic and tumbling activities.  The staff at the little gym literally take care of everything, and they are also very engaging with the kids.  We did a double birthday here about 2 years ago and it was a huge hit.

Pros: I loved that they provide plates, napkins and cups and helped with passing out food/cake .  They also have a few themes to choose from, so you can create a unique party experience for your kiddos.
Cons: The cost is the worst part, and you have to provide the food in addition to the Little Gym cost, driving up costs even more.

Trampoline Park

We did not schedule one of the party options offered by Flight Trampoline park in Springfield as my daughter just wanted to take 4 friends, but their party options include tons of perks that allow you to just show up and JUMP. 

Pros:  Pizza and tableware are provided in the cost as well as the uber fabulous socks. 
Cons: They have a sliding price scale for party times with weekend slots being more expensive.


A few other ideas to highlight:

• Ice skating party at Kettler Ice Skating Complex and Martha Washington Rec Center 
• Laser Tag @ Ultra Zone Falls Church
• Chuckie Cheese