By Torey Vanek
Our daughter is turning three in March so we recently started brainstorming about what to do for her birthday. We immediately crossed off having something at our house because of space constraints. We knew we would have 12-15 kids plus parents so all of a sudden it is 30-40 people for the event. Last year, we held her party at MyGym in Kingstowne and it was a great experience because we all showed up, the MyGym staff took charge, there was a set time frame, all the kids had a great time and we left without having to worry about clean-up. This year, we want to do something food related because Hadley has gotten so into helping us cook.
My internet searches revealed that several local restaurants do kid parties! Both zPizza and Uno’s have ‘Make Your Own Pizza Parties’ and Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream in Old Town will host a dessert party.
After visiting different locations, we picked Uno’s because the preferred date was available and they have gluten-free pizza!
Here is a starting list of options for kids parties in the area:
The National Zoo: Kids get a walking tour of the area that interests them most plus a party room with all the table settings and goody bags.
Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington: This local nature center has themed parties that include snakes, turtles, rabbits or frogs. Kids must be 4 years old but they get to see animals up close and personal.
Long Branch
Chinquapin Rec Center: You can have a swim party or use the soft playroom depending on the age groups and the prices are really reasonable!
MyGym in Kingstowne: They host birthday parties on both Saturday and Sunday and the staff has fun activities for multiple age groups. You can bring food and cake and they supply the invites!
JW Tumbles: Another gym-type party option for a range of age groups.
Gymboree: There is a location in the West End that has music and activities parties on the weekends.
Tiny Dancers: There are now three locations in Northern Virginia that offer fairytale themed parties for 3+ age groups.
zpizza on Richmond Highway: They offer a tour of the kitchen and a pizza party for up to 15 kids. There pizza is delicious so I bet the parties would be fun too!
Uno’s in Kingstowne: This location does not have a private room but they do have a great section that can be blocked off for a party. They have gluten-free crust too if you have guests with allergies.
Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream: You can host a sweet dessert party at this cute ice cream shop in the heart of Old Town!
Pop’s
