Party Guide

KC Parent’spartyguide

• fresh ideas • terrific themes • great venues

Kansas City Zoo

Let the Kansas City Zoo host your child’s next birthday party. We guarantee a wild time for every guest! We are currently offering birthday party options on weekends. Zoo admission and rides wristbands are available as an add-on. You are welcome to provide your own décor, food, and activities. Visit KansasCityZoo.org/birthdays to join us for a celebration like no other! See display ad on pg. 32. Have your child’s favorite character come to the birthday party! Choose from Raya, Elsa, Anna, Rapunzel, Moana, Elena, Ariel, Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Jasmine and Snow White. Also, inquire about our Super Girl, Wonder Woman or Bat Girl parties! Watch the magic unfold as the children go on an adventure that includes a story, games, music, a makeover or face painting and a treasure hunt. See display ad on pg. 32. 816.830.4841. PrincessAtMyParty.com RoKC

Celebrate your little climber’s birthday with RoKC! Enjoy your two-hour party for 10-15 climbers with your own birthday party attendant and private climbing instructor! Parties are available at both our Olathe, KS and North KC, MO locations. Party also includes rental gear and a private party room for cake and presents, feel free to decorate it to fit your theme! Every birthday deserves the gift of adventure. See display ad on pg. 35. ClimbKC.com Tick Tock Escape Room

At Tick Tock you’ll find exciting adventures filled with secret agents, eccentric billionaires, space travel and ancient Egyptian mysteries. Bring friends and family to experience our one-of-a-kind escape rooms. Then, you can celebrate your achievements in our party room. We design our rooms using cutting edge technology and innovative game design principles to ensure you’ll have an unforgettable experience, only available in Overland Park. Book online or call for details. See display ad on pg. 33. TickTockEscapeRoom.com Urban Air Adventure Park

Urban Air Adventure Parks in Lenexa and Overland Park continue to be voted Best Kids Birthday Party Place year after year. It’s the perfect place for indoor stress-free birthday parties for all ages. More than just a trampoline park, Urban Air has something for everyone. Let the kids fly through the park on our sky rider, take on our climbing walls, or reach new heights on our trampolines. Urban Air. Let ‘em fly. See display ad on pg. 34. UrbanAirLenexa.com, UrbanAirOverlandPark.com

Visit www.kansascityzoo.org/birthdays to plan your party today!

Princess Partyat my

Have your favorite princess at your party!

Parties Include: Story Games Facepaint Music Prizes & More

Rachel Johnson

rachel@princessatmyparty.com 816.830.4841

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birthday planning secrets: tips from savvy moms

Planning the perfect birthday party for your kids may seem a herculean task, but it doesn’t have to be! Follow these party planning secrets approved by savvy moms to make your kids’ birthday parties the best yet—with minimal stress!

Brainstorm Ideas with the Birthday Kid

Sometimes your expectations are much higher than your child’s. Danielle Hewitt, a mom of three from St. Joseph, MO, suggests brainstorming ideas with your child. “When I started brainstorming with my daughter about her birthday party, I realized she wasn’t wanting an extravagant party. She came up with a great idea that was easy to put together and budget friendly. It ended up being her favorite party to date,” says Hewitt.

Thank You Notes

While your child is opening gifts, instead of taking time to write a list of gifts and givers for thank you notes, simply snap a quick photo of the birthday child, guest and gift opened. It will be a quick and easy reference for thank you notes. You could even print the photos out to use as personalized thank you notes.

Digital Invites

Keep it simple with invitations! Save the time of finding addresses and addressing each invitation. Send digital invites via text, email, Facebook event pages or websites like Evite. com. You will also save money on printing, envelopes and stamps! Just keep in mind you might need to follow up with guests if you don’t receive a response to your invitation. Parents are busy, and invitations can easily get lost in their email or social media pages.

Scoop Ice Cream Before the Party

KC Parent editor Margaret Sarver’s favorite party hack is to line a muffin pan with cupcake liners and place scoops of ice cream in each liner before the party and put back in the freezer. Pull out the muffin pan when serving cake and, voila, no mess!

Prevent Leaks

Serving ice cream cones? Place a small marshmallow in the bottom of each ice cream cone to prevent leaks and sticky hands.

Prep the Night Before

I like to prep everything for the party the night before. I put up all the decorations, pick up the cake and balloons, prepare food and drinks and have everything for the activities ready to go. By prepping the night before, you can enjoy the party day, and you will have time to run and grab a last minute item you might have forgotten before the party starts. Create Individual Party Packages for Each Guest

To save the hassle in passing out craft supplies for activities, put together party kits in a plastic bag beforehand. The bag will have everything each guest will need to complete the craft or activity. Make sure you assemble a few extras in case someone didn’t RSVP or a younger brother or sister would like to join in the fun!

Invest in a Plastic Pool

A plastic pool isn’t just for splashing around. It can serve so many purposes for a birthday party. Fill it with plastic balls for a ball pit, water balloons for a balloon fight, ice to keep drinks cold, sand for a digging activity or Orbeez for a sensory activity for little ones.

Recruit Help from Your Kids

Let your kids be involved in the party planning process. I love letting them put together the goody bags for their friends. It keeps them busy and checks one thing off the party planning to-do list!

Let the Activity Be the Favor

Instead of creating favor bags, do an activity that allows kids to take home what they made. Hewitt’s daughter’s party activity was creating different doit-yourself fidget toys. All the kids went home with a bag full of all the toys they created. Other examples include painting a ceramic piece, decorating cookies or cupcakes or tie-dying a pillowcase.

Ask for Any Special Allergies When Guests RSVP

Make sure none of the children have food allergies when the parents RSVP. We have a family friend with a peanut allergy, so we try to make sure all the snacks and the cake are peanut allergy friendly, so he can eat what everyone else is eating.

Where fun TAKES FLIGHT!

With attractions that cater to any level of adventurer, there’s something fun for everyone.

Both locations now open UrbanAirLenexa.com

8554 Maurer Road • Lenexa, KS 66219 • (913) 359-5800 UrbanAirOverlandPark.com

14401 Metcalf Ave • Overland Park, KS 66223 • (913) 298-0626

Easy Drinks

Provide a variety of drink options, but make sure they are individual serving drinks instead of drinks that need to be poured into cups. Hewitt says, “Water bottles and Capri Suns work perfectly. They’re easier to pass out, you will have less spills, and the cleanup is easier.”

Simple Tablecloths

If you’ve planning a messy activity, do yourself a favor and buy some plastic tablecloths. When the activity is over, you can throw away the tablecloth and everything on the table at one time. You will be saving your table from the mess and saving on cleanup time.

Regan Lyons is a girl mom and freelance writer. She lives with her husband, Cale, and daughters, Atley, 7, and Ensley, 1, in St. Joseph, MO.