Cold-Weather Birthdays

Pumpkin Pie's birthday is about a month away; Nipper's is at the beginning of January. And so, the planning starts, along with my envy for all you folks who can plan for outdoor birthdays in the spring and summer.

Now that I'm on my 8th year of planning these things, I've had plenty of time to research birthday party options:

The Rough and Tumble Party

Gymnastics places around the county will rent their space for birthday parties. Parties at Silver Stars in Silver Spring and Bowie start at $305. MarvaTots off Randolph Road in Rockville is slightly less expensive at a starting price of $250. Of course, you could have the tumbling come to you, via the Tumblebus. Cost: 275.

The Sports Theme

Would you rather some other kind of sports theme, preferably at a lower cost? Well, try the bowling lanes at White Oak (minimum cost of $80). We hosted a party there once and have been guests at several others. The kids always have a blast. Another new find, thanks to mom Joan, who had to make a last-minute switch to an indoor venue recently: Extra Innings in Laurel. Parties start at $110.

Science and Nature Themes

These are the choices of both my boys this year. The Audubon Naturalist Society charges $200 for members, $250 for non-members. Mad Science starts at $240.

Bringing the Theme Home

Given that I'm not working right now, I'm not really into spending a lot to celebrate a kid's birthday. In fact, even when I was working full-time, I really wasn't into that. And so, we've traditionally brought the desired theme home in some way. There was the Frog and Toad year, when we read "The Button" and sent the kids on a scavenger hunt around the house looking for things (goody bags: Frog and Toad books). Last year, Nipper wanted to honor his two favorite animals: red-eyed tree frogs and cheetahs, and so hubby made frog and cheetah balloon animals that we hung around the room. And we played games like "frog, frog, cheetah" (yes, duck, duck, goose renamed). I managed to make the best looking frog cupcakes ever for that one. The rock theme involved finding geodes to crack with the kids and making homemade catapults  (paint stick, spool and duct tape) to launch ping pong balls into a basket. A friend has successfully hosted two Lego parties by buying bricks at the Lego store (Note to readers: The Lego Store is hosting a grand opening at Anne Arundel Mills this weekend). Kids pick topics to build from a hat and keep their topic a secret. Once all is built, there's a big guessing game around the table of what the challenge was. Party favors: What the kid built. Another past success: making play dough from scratch, playing with it and sending the stuff home

And so, not surprisingly, I'm now researching science activities to do with a bunch of 7 and 8 year olds and nature activities for 5-6 year olds. Suggestions anyone?