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25 AMAZING BIRTHDAY PARTY LOCATIONS
25
By Katy M. Clark
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Amazing Birthday Party Locations
Your child’s next birthday is fast approaching and you’re wondering where to hold the party. Perhaps the thought of having it at home makes you break out in a cold sweat. Maybe it is simply not an option. And with all the Covid restrictions, it is harder than ever to know where to go. As the mother of two kids, now a teen and tween, I’ve spent over a decade attending or hosting birthday parties at over two dozen spots. There truly is a place for everyone and every budget. Check out this list of 25 amazing locations for your child’s next birthday party and get ready to celebrate! (But keep in mind, some locations MAY be limited due to the pandemic.) • Take your group to a local sporting event, such as a minor league baseball game. • Visit a zoo or petting zoo. • Go to a swimming pool, water park or splash pad. • Try the local park where you can rent a pavilion as home base while the kids run around. • Think about special events in your town. Piggyback your party on an outdoor summer concert or a viewing of the holiday parade. • Go to the movies. • Take a walk or hike at a nature center or botanical garden, where you can learn about the outdoors and celebrate with a picnic. • Have a party at the fire station. Our local fire station offers short tours for kids, lets them climb on the trucks, and passes out free firefighter hats. Be prepared that the party could be cut short in the event of an actual fire! • Visit an orchard in the summer for fruit picking or pick pumpkins at a pumpkin patch in the fall. • Most children’s museums welcome birthday parties. • Craft stores often let kids pick a craft and include supplies and a guide to instruct kids in making the craft. • How about Build-a-Bear Workshop? • Visit a laser tag venue. • Go to the bowling alley. In our town, the bowling alley offers an affordable package that includes two games of bowling, shoe rental, pizza and a drink. Just show up with a cake or sweet treat for the end. • Scale the highest heights at an indoor rock-climbing center. • Celebrate at a mini golf venue. • Try a martial arts studio, where kids can play games and learn age-appropriate skills. • Go roller skating at a roller rink. • Jump over to a trampoline park. • What about the Humane Society or a cat cafe? Don’t forget to check for allergies first! • Have the party at a bounce house or inflatables venue. • Gymnastics clubs and gyms let you rent their space so kids can run, jump and play to their heart's content. • Try an ice kating party. Many ice rinks offer party rooms and packages that include skate rentals and public skating for every child. • Book a group session at a paint-ntake studio. • Celebrate at any indoor play place, such as those found at play cafes or fast-food restaurants.
Finally, perhaps you are able to have a party at home, but are just too worried that your house isn’t big enough or exciting enough. In my experience, some of the best (and cheapest) birthday parties I ever hosted were in our home. The home parties pleased kids and parents alike!
Katy M. Clark is a writer who celebrates her imperfections as a mom at ExperiencedBadMom.com.
CHILDREN'S HANDS-ON MUSEUM OF TUSCALOOSA
Summer is a great time to experience the Children's HandsOn Museum of Tuscaloosa! Voted Best Museum for the past 6 years, CHOM encourages children to Explore, Create and Discover throughout our three floors of fun. Museum exhibits, STEAM theme Saturdays, CHOM at Home, birthday parties, holiday celebrations, and the BEST field trips are all waiting for newborns through age 13.
www.chomonline.org (205) 349-4235 Hours M-Sat 9-4:30
MISS KELLEY'S SCHOOL OF DANCE
Established in 1983, Miss Kelley’s School of Dance has been offering a variety of competitive and recreational classes to students in Trussville and Oneonta for almost 40 years! Facilities include large studios with full length mirrors, ballet barres, surround-sound systems, large video screens and sprung wooden and marley floors to prevent injuries. Instructors are dedicated to creating a safe, family friendly environment in which the students have fun while learning the proper skills and technique needed for advancement. Miss Kelley’s believes in the importance of choosing wholesome music, costumes and choreography. Classes are live streamed so that parents may observe their child at all times, or a dancer can join in from home! Subjects offered for ages 2 1/2 and up include tap, ballet, pointé, lyrical, contemporary, clogging, hip-hop, jazz, musical theater, mommy and me, acro, colorguard, and dance line prep. Summer classes and camps offer courses not regularly taught during the year. Family discounts are given and everyone is always welcome to try a free class! You may find out more information by visiting www.misskelleys.com.
ww.misskelleys.com TRUSSVILLE 202 Ted Martin Cir, 205-655-7776 ONEONTA 105 3rd Ave E 205-625-6791
BIRMINGHAM ZOO
The Birmingham Zoo is proud to be one of Alabama’s top tourist attractions. With approximately 550 animals of 180 species, including sea lions, rhinos, elephants, and endangered species from six continents, the Birmingham Zoo’s 122-acre site is the perfect place to visit any time of the year. With animal activities like feeding the lorikeets at the MyEyeDr. Lorikeet Aviary and the guest favorite Red Diamond Express Train, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. The Birmingham Zoo lives through its mission of Inspiring
Passion to Conserve the Natural
World every day by supporting conservation of rare species both locally and globally in a variety of ways. From participating in the rehabilitation of sea lions off the California coast, to surveying the Cahaba River for North American river otters, to cutting-edge elephant research right here on Zoo grounds, we are committed to conservation. A portion of the proceeds from every admission ticket and Zoo Membership goes toward the Zoo’s conservation efforts. Be sure to bring your family and friends over to the Birmingham Zoo and meet the neighbors!
VULCAN PARK AND MUSEUM
Lone Pine Mine #3 Is Open
The local iron industry that our beloved Vulcan represents would not have been possible without lots of mining. VPM is lucky enough to have an old iron ore mine on site. This small mine produced soft red hematite, which was loaded onto railcars and shipped down into the valley to local furnaces and foundries to create iron. Although the mine has been closed since the early 1900s, thanks to many sponsors, VPM has officially opened the mine entrance so visitors can peek inside and get a small glimpse into what it was like to be a miner in the early days of Birmingham.
Share Your Love of Vulcan
Show your support of Vulcan Park & Museum with the purchase of our new ‘STAND WITH VULCAN’ specialty license plate. This tag will provide valuable funding to support Vulcan Park & Museum’s mission to preserve and promote Vulcan as the symbol for the Birmingham region, to advance knowledge & understanding of Birmingham’s history, and to encourage exploration of the region. $50 at VISITVULCAN.COM.
