Here’s what it’s like to have a birthday party at Gymboree.
Having my son’s birthday party at Gymboree ended up giving me the greatest gift: watching my son smile.
But make no mistakes about it, the day was all about him. From the second he walked onto the mat his face lit up as he began running around with delight. And as all his friends started to arrive, all the adults could tell that he was absolutely in his element.
Why Throw A Gymboree Party?
There is no doubting that we love Gymboree. My son is so comfortable there, knows the familiar routine of the classes, yet enjoys the way every two weeks the equipment is set up different so that he can explore and play. He loves the large space to run around and looks forward to his new favorite part, saying “Hip Hip Hooray!” at the end of class.
We went to a birthday party for one of his friends at Gymboree prior to settling on a place for his. I liked how it was a perfect combination of an Open Play (when there is no structured class) and songs, games, and the familiar bubble time, etc. Then it was time for pizza and cake.
After going to a few other birthday parties at “play cafes” I knew that Gymboree would be the perfect fit for my son.
Despite it being familiar and a place where he really loves and thrives in, it still felt new and all about him on his special day.
The best part as a mom was that everything was taken care of for me. A teacher led the kids to activities like small games and all the songs. That meant I didn’t have to play hostess as much and enjoyed my son at his party, chatted with friends, interacted with the other kids and spent time with my family.
We ordered pizza through Gymboree, and they handled the paper products. All we needed to bring was the cake.
What I Did Differently
Even though that is the case, I still wanted to have a theme and do a little decorating. Since my son loves the moon and stars, I chose Two the Moon and Back theme. We used the table provided at Gymboree to decorate, using his newborn photo, a collage of recent pictures with the theme, sparkly silver stars, star and 2 cookies from Jersey Cookie Girl, and of course the silver T W O balloons. Centered was his cake, which was vanilla with chocolate mousse with vanilla buttercream from Piece A Cake in Staten Island which was to die for.
Adding these small touches made the party my own, allowing me to still do the fun planning and decorating, but without being overwhelming, or expensive.
My son wore a sweatsuit that was stars and moons from Gymboree, with a 2 moon shirt made by Mocha Mommy Designs on Etsy. He was comfortable, warm for the brisk November day outside, and the shirt was soft, made of good quality, looked great on and was true to size.
We expanded a little bit on Gymboree’s offerings. This included decorative straws for our theme and galaxy napkins purchased at Target. We also came with an extra box of Honest Kids juice for those who prefer organic or really thirsty and a case of water for kids and adults.
Gymboree also provides invitations and the party favor. We opted to create an e-vite. I chose the design from Kaya Designs Co. My mom also wanted to give the kids something a little extra, so she ordered more party favors and I put them together. We chose mini play dough with star, moon, and clouds (cookie) cutters to make the shapes.
The Party
His teacher asked my little one’s favorite songs and activities done at Gymboree. The kids all ran around, climbed, jumped on the air long and even enjoyed a book. Of course, there was bubbles and a dance with Gymbo. I was able to really enjoy my son and interact with him, as well as watch the kids play together. Having the party at Gymboree took the stress away from the day, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
Final Thoughts
There are only so many years little ones can enjoy a party at Gymboree, and being 2 is the perfect age for a party there. He was old enough where now he has friends and hosting at home would’ve become too crowded and stressful in terms of cleaning, cooking and providing entertainment. We didn’t spend an arm and a leg (it wasn’t expensive, fair, but not cheap), and I believe I would’ve spent the same on just food alone if we rented a room in a restaurant or catered from Moe’s.
Keep in mind that only kids 5 and under can play, so we did have to make sure older ones were told they were on big sibling duty. I think the older our kids get, the easier it is to throw a party at a play place instead of at home or a hall. Gymboree provides that safe, fun and familiar space for my son to celebrate turning two.
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