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My gym or gymboree or kidville is great for that age... better than the moon bounce places b/c its more toddler-friendly and focused.

Johanna loves to bounce/jump/run. A friends of hers is having a birthday party there next weekend, so i guess we'll see how it goes. If she's not interested I'll think of something else. I definitely don't want to just be home though :-/

Johannasmama wrote:I guess I already set the bar high. We had a huge bash for her first birthday. I'm pretty big on birthdays. I've already figured out that her third birthday will be an indoor circus lol.

First birthdays are special somehow. Second birthdays are not. Sounds like you want to go all-out, which is certainly your decision but definitely not necessary. My own daughter at 2 would have preferred a party at someone's home rather than a new situation, and she hates bounce things so that would be a total bust for her. If you have it at a place like that, maybe you could have a back-up activity for the kids who don't want to do the gymnastics or bouncing or whatever. 2 is still pretty young.

I would do a my gym/little gym party, if it was me. Or at the trolley museum.

Johannasmama wrote:Ok. I was thinking of having it at Pump It Up or Joyful Jumps, so I guess I'll stick with that. Thank you ladies!

I went to a 3rd bday party at pump it up with my 2 year olds - I would say it's too much for a 2nd birthday. The room is noisy and the younger kids were too scared by the stuff to try jumping. I'd wait on that one.

Ok. I was thinking of having it at Pump It Up or Joyful Jumps, so I guess I'll stick with that. Thank you ladies!

My daughter is turning two in February and I have been stumped on birthday party ideas too. While I don't want to go over the top I do want to make sure the kids have a good time. An at home birthday party seem to be more casual but it also ends up being so much more work than renting out a kids party space.

So far I think we'll keep it simple & save some fun ideas for when she's a little older. So it'll be an at home party with different craft activity stations set up. Drawing, legos, cupcake decorating, etc. Have a nice theme and it will go a long way.

We're also going low-key because we realize we'll have a lifetime of big birthday parties ahead of us....why not go easy while you still can?

My DD is turning two next month and we are doing family only, which for us is still about 25 people. We are doing an Elmo/Sesame Street theme because she is so into that. We'll have it late afternoon with cake/cupcakes/balloons and maybe some other light decor. And we will cook dinner-type food because we're ethnic and that's how we roll. We also had a big bash for the first; we probably had 75-100 people there. It was crazy and we loved it, but we decided to go more low-key this time. She will enjoy it no matter what we do or who's there because she will be the center of attention. We might put on some music and let her go to town, but that will be it.

I guess I already set the bar high. We had a huge bash for her first birthday. I'm pretty big on birthdays. I've already figured out that her third birthday will be an indoor circus lol.

Have the party at home. Provide balloons and cake or cupcakes. Everything else will be gravy to the 2-year-old crowd! Keep the party fairly short (1.5 hours is fine). Providing additional food is also recommended, and what that is will depend on the time of day you have the party. The kids will have fun playing with her toys, and if you know a college kid who plays guitar or something, hire them to do a sing-a-long with the kids. Otherwise, just play some music and let them do their thing, or set up an EASY craft/art project for them to do. Do not have your child open any birthday presents at the party. Keep in mind that the bar is pretty low for a 2-year-old's birthday, so don't go crazy over this. If your kid likes a particular color or animal or whatever, you can use that as a decorating theme. Don't stress over goody bags. You can skip them at age 2, or just give everyone a balloon as they leave. There are tons of threads on this site about parties for toddlers. Have fun!