Birthday Extras

Hey Folks,
So, my daughter turns 6 just after Thanksgiving. We were planning on doing a small party, here, before we go to Disney (on Dec 7), but that’s kinda stressing me out. We’d have to do it the weekend of Dec 1 or 2, which is JUST before we go. I’m sure we’ll be swamped with other things.
In addition, she’s just started Kindergarten, so her friend list is kind of light this year. Preschool friends, she hasn’t seen since May, and she’s just starting to make some better school-age friends.

I was thinking, since we’d be at Disney so close to her birthday this year, that it might be better to do something special, there, instead of a party here.

What kinds of things are available? She’s not super into princesses, so something like BBB is not a great choice. We have a morning at Disney Springs. If I could choose, I think she’d LOVE to do the Void with Wreck-it-Ralph or REALLY she’d love to do something at Amorette’s Patisserie. Would either of those be options for a 6 year old?

Are there other add-on things that we could do for her?

The Void is for 10 and up I think because of the weight of the VR gear as I was debating for my 9 year old.

I bet something special at Disney would be a great substitute–maybe I’ll try that for my turning 8 yo whose bday is 3 days before we leave.

sigh. Yeah, I think both the Void and the cake decorating are for 10+
So are most of the tours and things. She’s at this weird age where she’s too old for some of the younger-kid experiences, but not old enough for the big-kid stuff. She WANTS to do the big-kid stuff, but nope. Not yet.

You don’t have love Princesses to do BBB. Its basically just getting your hair and makeup done. I think a 6 year old girl would love it.

You can also celebrate her birthday at every restaurant you go to. Many of them will do special things for her birthday. Get her a birthday pin when you arrive at your hotel as well.

What about the special tea at the GF?

There’s one just for kids I believe, but there’s also the afternoon tea. Would that be something special for her? I guess it depends on each child.

Or if she’s more active, what about something at FW?

Or hire a boat and take her out on the lake.

Or the Pirates and Pals cruise for kids , I think there’s one from the YC and one from the Contemporary.

Or the Pirates League makeover if BBB seems too girly.

Or a day or half day doing either SOTMK, the Pirates one at MK p, or the Agent P game at Epcot? Or Wilderness Explorers at AK. Time just doing that rather than trying to limit it to 30 minutes in between everything else.

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I wouldn’t necessarily skip a party at home just because the “guest list” isn’t overflowing. Some of my best birthday parties were with 2 or 3 of my closest friends rather than the ones with 10-15 of kind of friends. I realize things have changed and now parties are these “must outdo the last one we went to” in society, but I still think a small gathering of true friends should overrule the flashy and showy and superficial.

(Of course, I also think a simple fun time with some simple party games, cake, and ice cream is a fabulous party. Probably good I don’t and won’t have kids - I’d probably embarrass them to death not being willing to participate in the one-upmanship of kids’ parties I see online.)

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Definitely get a birthday pin; the CMs will all wish her happy birthday, any characters she meets will make a deal of it, and she might get a free birthday dessert (at least at TS locations). I think a CM would be a good idea. Even if she isn’t really “into” princesses, eating in the castle could be a pretty special treat for a DD6 - but there are various CMs that are not Princess-centric as well. You can also get “party packages” delivered to your room that have balloons, treats, decorations, plush toys, etc. (depending on how much you want to spend).
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/floral-and-gifts/

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We only do three birthday parties that involve inviting friends with our kids as they grow up (first is at age 10). Usually, birthdays are just a family affair for us, so I really like the idea of somehow doing it at Disney itself with the family.

I do agree with you! It’s better to have a small gathering with just a few friends. That’s what we usually do with both our kids. We are definitely not the “keeping up with the Jones” type family. My problem, this year, is that her “best friend” changes every day, so I wouldn’t know WHICH 2 or 3 kids to invite.
Right now, this is just in the “thinking about” stages. I’ll definitely have to ask her what she thinks.

Some of the cruises, dessert parties, or tours might be fun. I don’t want to make the whole trip about her birthday, so an event of some kind would help limit that, a bit. Also, I’m hesitate to make it super expensive. We don’t usually spend a lot on the kids for their birthdays… now, on the other hand, if we make it her present, too, maybe we could do something a little pricier.

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We have a family tradition, every other year you get a party and every other year we go on a special family trip for the child’s birthday. When they turned 13 we do one last big party and then they get to choose money or party for 16th, 18th and 21th. We do a small family party every year though.

Of the suggestions offered already, I love the in room party and the afternoon tea idea. Another thought is to get her a special birthday shirt to wear and make a big deal throughout the day at the park you suspect she would like the most (have them sing to her at a festive restaurant, let her pick a special souvenir, etc…)

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My twins had their birthday during our trip in 2016. We did a small family party the weekend before. On their birthday, we decorated our resort room. We also made sure to get birthday pins, so they had plenty of small, special experiences in the parks.

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We usually do small parties with friends but for presents, we are pretty minimal–we give one present of something small they want or sometimes a needed sports item so they can have a box to open, but the main present is a family experience gift. Sometimes it involves a weekend trip for the whole family but to do something special that said kid is interested in (zoo, water park, etc) or sometimes it is for a subset of the family (Disney on ice tickets for son and mom, NFL game tickets for oldest and dad, escape room for two older kids and parents, etc.). It just depends on the kid and what we can come up with at the time. This has been one of our favorite family traditions for years. We don’t make the extent, the duration, or the price of the experience equal between kids each year–we just tell them it will all even out eventually. This year, though, we are cheating and calling our Disney trip DS8’s experience present as he turns 8 a few days before we leave. Maybe we will add on a special experience there for him specifically (I mean besides the entire trip LOL).

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