I am looking for a location to have a "first" birthday party for my son, who will be turning 6 next month. I have a very limited budget, and am looking for a place that can house approximately 50 people. The type of place that I am searching for would be a recreation center type location--no Chuck E Cheese! My budget is $200. A place for $150 or less would be great. And oh, I am looking for a location in the Washington, DC and PG County, MD area. Thank you in advance for all feedback.
Try a local YMCA or bowling alley.
Hello,
I am not sure if you are a DC or MD resident or not, but you can contact your local department of recreation, find a rec center that is near you and reserve the the rec center thru them. My niece did her son's party at a rec a couple of years ago and I believe it was only like $100 and she had the center for like 4-6 hours. hope this helps.
CS, for 50 people and only a months notice your going to be extremely limited. Even if you find a place that will only charge you $100 for a few hours..that's just for the location. Do you plan on feeding your guest, serve cake and icecream, ballons, etc.? I had a pool party for my daughter a few years ago at the Allentown Splash Park..it had an indoor pool and party area and was reasonably priced. Check out the link below and if interested call ASAP! Good luck.
I'd recommend Watkins Regional Park in Upper Marlboro. We had my son's first party there in July and he had a blast. I'm not sure if it will still be open but they have a train that circles the park, an animal farm, a carousel and a miniature golf course. For my son's party, we paid for his guests to ride the train and the carousel (the little ones) and the older kids played miniature golf. The fees are pretty reasonable. It's like $1.00 to ride the train and I believe $3 for miniature golf.
We rented one of the shelters ($150) and had a cookout. The shelter is near the playground which was also good for the kids. If you don't want to go the shelter route, I believe you can also rent a room at their Nature pavillion, that houses birds, frogs, turtles, etc.
I sound like a salesperson for them. :-)
Anyway, I would recommend them.
Best,
Donna
Try the city of Greenbelt Parks and Recreation, they host parties and it's a resonable price, different themes to choose from and good space for a lot of people.
Funfit Family Fitness in Rockville is very reasonably priced. AND they do a great job!
Thank you all for your advice. I ended up having it at a new recreation center not to far from me. Since I have a family of cooks, I didn’t have to worry about food, just the snacks and party bags. For the most part, the kids enjoyed themselves, and my son was happy. I splurged, a little, on the cake, which I brought from Cold Stone Creamery (the best ice cream cake ever). Once again, thanks for the advice.