Elaborate kid birthday parties—I see a lot of them through our blog. They are the things childhood fantasies are made of. They impress and I totally enjoy the eye candy. But imagine my surprise when I discovered an already busy mom doesn’t always have to go over the top to give her little guy a special birthday party that will make him happy. My revelation? It all starts with pizza…and a mouse.
Or maybe it starts with the mouse…and pizza. Either way, I can tell you an off-site birthday party where a kid can be a kid, works!
Chuck E. Cheese is offering bigger and better birthday offerings so for Rowen’s birthday, that’s what we did this time. The kids had a super time and I didn’t have much party prep or a mess to clean up afterword—win-win!
Rowen chose the popular “Chuck E. Super Fan” theme but new birthday party themes include “Party Like a Rock Star,” “Sports, Sports, Sports” and “Dressed in Pink”.
You can feel the energy pulsing as soon as you walk into Chuck E. Cheese. A host or hostess greets you and gets things underway. Colors, music, and games offer a kaleidoscopic backdrop for birthday excitement and our group was ready to do it all!
While my husband showed our active group around the space, the hostess helped me quickly set up our reserved table.
Before the party, I made a laminated “Rowen’s VIP” name tag for each boy and added a parachord lanyard so each guest felt like part of “the tribe”.
You can save and print these images to make your own!
To personalize Rowen’s party, I chose to include my own colorful paper plates and table service. I wrapped the utensils in napkins, tied them with baker’s twine, and popped them into the black, handled buckets I brought for each boy.
Pre-party, I had stuffed them with colorful paper shred and a “thanks for celebrating” medallion. I knew Chuck E.’s provides goody bags with bigger and better toys so I just opened their bags and transferred the toys to our buckets.
The kids immediately dove into their buckets and started playing with their favors. They had a blast running around the tables, “shooting” each other—boys!
Game tokens for the activities are part of the birthday packages. So, tokens went into my coordinating mini sacks decorated with a “Let the Games Begin” medallion. It was great for holding their tickets.
The Chuck E. Cheese birthday packages include three different price levels and with my Mega Super Star choice we enjoyed delicious pizza, soft drinks in collectible cups, colorful cake (yummy and with sprinkles—so fun!) and Dippin’ Dots ice cream.
And if you’ve ever wondered, yes, Chuck E.’s also offers salads, wraps, wings and a variety of sides and sweets and several pizza flavors. There is even a gluten-free, personal-sized pizza.
In addition to the games and Chuck E.’s performance, a pull-string piñata loaded with tokens and extra tickets gets everyone scrambling. Rowen especially liked trying to grab even more tickets in the Ticket Blaster—with Mom’s help!
Another new feature is the VIP birthday party where you get the whole party area to yourself for 90 minutes before the restaurant opens. That means no overwhelming crowds, which I know matters for some little ones. It’s a safe, contained play space for your party and the Happy Birthday show plays exclusively for you.
The new Chuck E. Cheese online reservation system makes it easier than ever to book your child’s birthday party. Make VIP Birthday party reservations here.
According to Rowen and his mom, whether you personalize your kidlet birthday party or let Chuck E. do it all, a Chuck E. Cheese event is a fun and convenient way to make happy birthday memories–without the mess!
