I'm having trouble deciding where to do my daughter's birthday party, do you have any good suggestions?

Hooters.

@Mr_M OMG, too hilarious.

Children’s Museum, Zoo, indoor playgrounds that hold bdays (think chuk e cheese but more fun.)
(sorry for my typing, my son is sleeping in my arms)

have the party at a relatives home. its hard to think of a place a 3 year old would like because no matter where you take them they are going to happy and not really care.

Is there an indoor bounce house place near you? Or a park that would allow you to set one up?

oh yes! that would be a great idea. rent a moon bounce hah but it might cost a little cash so you might want to find a place that has one.

Is there a Gymboree near you? I’d go for a place like that.

Well mine turned 3 last year and we had a great party at a place called “Friends” which basically had a floor just for kids with lots of indoor activities. I provided most of the entertainment myself (played puppet theatre and sang for them), my sister brought the cake, and we had to pay 5 euros per adult and 3 per kid for use of the place. They also had a buffet with plenty of cheesepies and chicken nuggets and stuff like that. Coffee was free but other drinks were extra. The whole thing cost a little more than 200 euros ($250), which is good if you think of all the kids there having plenty of fun and I didn’t have to worry about cleaning up the mess later.
I’m sure there’s a place like that somewhere near you and it’s definitely worth it. Worst case scenario, have it at McDonald’s. Even that is better than having it at home.

Seriously? I don’t think any of my siblings/cousins or I got tired of Chuck E Cheese until we were at least 10. Since the weather is getting nicer maybe an amusement or water park would be nice.

I would suggest a local zoo. Kids love them, you can picnic there, including cake, and there will be no clean-up at home.
Most zoos, at least the one in my area, and the one where I used to work, will arrange for a group of kids with special birthday activities.

Where do you live? There is a great place near me in NJ called Ocean n’ Motion

zoo, amusement park, waterpark,

Indoor bounce houses are so fun for kids that age. That’s what I would do.

The rule of thumb for children’s birthday parties is invite one more child than the age of your child. I would do a dress-up tea party at home.

Our Chuck E Cheese is divided into three sections, Toddler, preschool and school age. The little ones have just as much fun as the older ones. It’s great for multi-age cousins.

Can anyone here remember his or her third birthday? I can’t.

@gailcalled That’s actually my first memory! I remember one day, I was at my third birthday party, with my pink stegasaurus cake, and I woke up and I was in elementary school…I’m not sure what happened to those other years, I apparently don’t recall them at all.

@casheroo: Interesting. I have huge gaps also during those early years, also. Now do you know where your party was and who the guests were? Or was it the pink stegosaurus cake that sticks in your memory? Until they were in school ,my kids got asymmetrical cakes baked by me. They always listed to one side and had to be leveled with icing.

@gailcalled The part I remember is looking down at my cake, as everyone was singing “happy birthday” to me, I remember the happiness I felt, and my mother removing the stegosaurus. Apparently it was not edible. But a lot of it is a blur. And I don’t know when it happened, but it was as if that moment happened, and I awoke to being in elementary school..I was at least 7 years old. And then I have sporadic memories from then on.
I’m not saying every child remembers their third birthday, because all I recall is the cake and the happiness. So, when it comes to children and their birthdays..my motto is to make it as happy a day as possible for them. You never know what they’ll remember!

@gailcalled I remeber mine just fine. Children of that age begin to remember all sorts of interesting things.

True; I have lots of interesting memories but they are stills, and I have no context by which to date them. I remember no early birthday parties however. Maybe I didn’t have them.

@classyfied No, no you misunderstood. I didn’t mean that it was “old hat”, I meant it may be too OLD for them to really enjoy. Like bigger kids would have lots of fun there, but maybe a group of 3 yr olds wouldn’t be able to do very much.

Have dress-up clothes, let them bring their baby dolls, have milk and cupcakes out of a plastic tea set.

We used to have these wonderful tea parties on the front porch, or on the back patio. We had a baby shower for a new puppy once; the cookies were shaped like bones, and everyone brought a stuffed dog to the party, and puppy gifts for the guest of honor, who lived down the street.

Family Fun magazine has great party ideas, and great halloween costumes. We had a Dinosaur party one year—I think that was either turning 4 or 5. Everyone came dressed as cave kids, had dino cake, dino party favors. We saved the bigger parties at the centers for school aged events, and not even then. Usually if there were too many kids, mine ended up crying and having a miserable time.

What a lovely age. No more terrible twos, just before the four war. Three is great: she’ll have a blast whatever you’ve decided to do. Balloons, and soap bubbles, that’s my best tip. Enjoy, carpe diem.

Wait til she’s 6, that’s a real blast! Milne said it best:

When I was One,
I had just begun.

When I was Two,
I was nearly new.

When I was Three,
I was hardly Me.

When I was Four,
I was not much more.

When I was Five,
I was just alive.

But now I am Six, I’m as clever as clever.
So I think I’ll be six now for ever and ever.