Where was the best place you ever had a kid' birthday party? And what did you do. I've had them at my house, and I don't know if I can pull it off at home again. The thought of leaving the mess somewhere else is REALLY appealing to me.

How old are your kids and are they boys or girls?

I don't know where you live but I had my 10 year olds last birthday at a place called "Pump It Up" Pump It Up - Welcome

We had kids of all ages & there parents & EVERYONE had a blast. The parents were able to play with the kids & all my kids & guest said it was the best party they had ever been too. It's a huge room full of inflatable slides, obstical courses, big rings to "box" in.

We got to "free play" for either an hour or an hour and a half...(which was plenty, we all ever exhusted after that) & then we go into the party room, where the birthday child gets to sit in this huge blow up king's thrown & open gifts. I supplied the cake & juice boxes & a few bags of chips. What I loved about it was during the free play it was only out group there, no others were allowed inside the area untill we left & went to the party room & there were people who worked there supervising & they set all my food up for me & cleaned up all the mess & OMG...we had a MESS.

Pump it Up here too. Lots of fun, no mess. Happy parents and kids.

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I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version the of truth.

we had ours at a place called Bounce for my 8 year old and 6 year old. It's like Pump it Up but much cheaper. Kids loved it AND we got 30% off a birthday cake at Cold Stone (next door). Can't beat that

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I've had them at the bowling alley before. That was fun. The parents can stay if they like, too, or just leave the kids.

I don't like to have them at places like Chuckey Cheese or Frankys. The "guests" seem to run everywhere, and I think the idea is to celebrate WITH the birthday boy or girl.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I've done McDonalds, bowling alley, skating rink, the pavillion at the park, and at the swimming pool.

My favorite is the movie theater. In our area, $10 a kid gets them the ticket and a kiddie pack. Some do a tour of the snack bar and up in the projection room as well. They have a private room for presents and cake, and the kids sit quietly for 90+ minutes without you having to entertain! Perfect if your child's birthday is around the time of a movie opening.

We will be seeing the Bratz movie in a few weeks for DD's 8th birthday party.

For my son's 10th birthday we had his party at the Carolina Hurricanes game. We live about 2 hours from Raleigh - we took DS, his two best friends and had SIL, BIL & niece meet us at the game. The party pack was for 8 so it worked perfectly. We got a parking pass for prime parking. We got to the arena about an hour and a half early - the host took us up to the party room where we had pizza and ice cream cake. Even the host received a Stanely Cup ring when they won the Cup in 2006 - he passed it around our group so we could all check it out. The mascot came in with an incredible goody bag for the birthday boy - a backpack stuffed with a t-shirt, minature Stanley Cup, glass, commemorative puck and a hockey stick. All of the guests got pom-poms, a mini megaphone and a poster.

Best of all they lost our original tickets in the nosebleed section and we got VIP seats - actual chairs on the mezannine - the girl who sang the national anthem sat by us. During one of the breaks they put DS's name up on the jumbotron to wish him Happy Birthday. If you have a sports team anywhere nearby check out the possiblity of having a party there - it is a little pricey but this was a once in a lifetime party for our son.