Written by Michele Wheat
Kids birthday parties can be a very stressful time for the parents due to all of the planning that goes into making it the perfect celebration. You would think a backyard party is the way to go but that can be very tiring for the parents that have to do the set up and clean up. To avoid the stress, we have compiled a list of alternative locations for a party.
Bowling Alley
Bowling is one of the top places to hold a birthday party because it's one of the cheaper options, but super fun for the kids. If you have a big group, they can split up and go in different lanes/choose their teams. You can even let the employees know if the kids want ramps and/or bumpers depending on their skill level or comfortability. In addition to bowling, most bowling alleys have pizza and drinks for when kids are waiting for their turn to bowl. Depending on the place, there may even be a game room for the kids to play in when they are done with their game/in between turns.
Swimming Pools and Waterparks
Do you have a community swimming pool or waterpark in the area? This is a fun destination for summer birthday parties since kids love to swim! If your kid has a Fall, Winter, or Spring birthday, the alternative would be to take them to an inside water park. This can be a little pricier option depending on how big of a party you want and what waterpark you choose, but it would definitely be memorable for the kids. This won’t create much stress on the parents because there will be life guards watching and keeping the kids safe.
Indoor Trampoline Park
Want to tire the kids out easily? Consider a trampoline park. With many activities on these trampolines, the kids will be entertaining for a while. Many trampoline parks have foam pits to jump into, dodgeball constantly going, and an open jumping area for kids to do flips and tricks. Sometimes indoor trampoline parks have other activities that don't include trampolines, like rock climbing or obstacle courses.
When you sign in, kids will receive a wristband to wear to show that they are allowed on the trampolines. Because the wristband is on their wrists, it's easy for the workers to identify who can jump vs who isn't allowed.
Movie Theater
Is there a new movie coming out around your kid’s birthday? If so, take your kid and their friends to go see a new movie they have been waiting to see. It’s a great way to keep kids occupied for a couple hours without making a mess at your home. Some theaters even allow private screenings if you want the theater to yourselves. Movies are so much better seen in the theaters!
Indoor Bounce House
Kind of like a Trampoline Park, but a building full of huge inflatables and obstacle courses will have the kids go crazy. They can be as loud as they want and go down the huge inflatable slides as many times as they want. You can rent out a room to hold your party in for eating, opening gifts, and eating cake. This keeps the party inside so you won’t need to worry about the weather.
Roller Skating Rink
This is always a fun place to go for a kid’s birthday since not many kids do this often. It is a way to teach kids something new if they’ve never roller skated before. However, the kids don't need to worry because skating rinks have walkers for kids that are learning to help them balance. While listening to fun music with cool lights, the kids will have a great time. There are usually some arcade games for the kids to play too when they want to take a break from skating. When they win tickets from the games, they can turn them in for prizes. Some prizes kids love are candy, stuffed animals, bracelets, and tons of other little toys.
Arts and Craft Studio
If your kid is into arts and crafts, this is the perfect party for them. There are usually arts and craft studios locally where kids can paint vases, plates, and other fun things like that. It’s a way to bring out kids’ creativeness and paint pottery. Or there may be a painting class you could do at a local painting studio. This is where a painter will guide the class in painting a picture. Each person does their own but everyone ends up with the same picture. 
Laser Tag
If your kid is a little older, I am sure they would love to go laser tagging for their birthday. This is a lot of fun for the kids to play a couple of games running around in the dark laser tag arena having fun with friends. Rent out a room for the birthday related activities like cake, food, and gift opening.