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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Chuck E. Cheese - Making Birthday Parties Fun and EASY @chuckecheese

In the five years I've been planning kid parties, this was the EASIEST and MOST FUN we've had yet... and I even made the cake! I even had party guests comment about how fun it was and they were REALLY interested in having parties just like ours.

Our eldest son turned 5 on Christmas Eve, so we always work really hard to keep his birthday special and separate from Christmas. It was so easy to do with Chuck E. Cheese, and they were open all day on Christmas Eve.

The fun and games to be had at Chuck E. Cheese!  
I started by reserving my party time online.  I chose an early time, and got 100 bonus tickets for choosing an off-time.  Once my reservation was finalized (I paid a $30 deposit), I received a call from the Chuck E. Cheese party planner/coordinator at our location.  She was so helpful and thoughtful!  We talked through the party and figured out exactly what I needed to do in order to be ready.  She also called again the day prior to the party.

In most cases, you won't have to really do anything except decide what you want at your party (food, party favors, balloons, etc).  In my case, I wanted to make the cake myself and bring ice cream and a few extras to add to the party favors.

The Candyland Brownie Cake I made for Logan's 5th Birthday!
To see how I made the Candyland Brownie Cake (and the wonderful recipe) click here (coming shortly)

The staff at Chuck E. Cheese made this the easiest party I've ever thrown.  They helped me carry things to the table and set up, then helped keep the party on track, and coordinated bringing out and serving the food and the birthday celebration (Chuck E. coming to our table, singing, cake, etc).  They even made sure everything was going great the whole time we were there, then they took care of the cleanup!

I think my all-time favorite part of this party was that my normally EXTREMELY shy son was so at ease with the staff and Chuck E. that he got up with Chuck E. Cheese (normally he will hide behind me, so this was an unknown territory for us) and even danced with him and did the Ticket Blaster all by himself!  People were AMAZED!  It just goes to show how much fun he had!

As a bonus, Christmas Eve was quieter than normal weekend days at Chuck E. Cheese and we got to stay at our table until we left as there were no parties scheduled after ours that needed the space.

Their website also has great activities and printables, as well as a great coupon page!  We will certainly be doing more events and celebrations (as well as just having some plain old fun lunches/dinners and play) at Chuck E. Cheese!

One other huge plus in my eyes are the security measures Chuck E. Cheese has taken to ensure kids safety: Kid Check.  As you arrive, your hand is stamped with a number that matches the kids you enter with (so make sure you are the one who will be leaving with your kids!).  They will NOT let you leave with a child whose stamp does not match your own.  There is someone at the entrance at all times.

Have you had fun at Chuck E. Cheese?  I hope you'll leave a comment and tell me about it - feel free to leave a link too if you've posted about it!

~ Wendi


*Disclosure: I received some guest passes to help facilitate our birthday party in exchange for sharing our experience with you.  My thoughts and opinions are 100% mine. :)

13 Comments:

Hillary Glaser said...

This place gets such a bad rap for no reason! I used to take my nieces and nephews here all the time. Granted, they're much older now but that doesn't stop my 18 year old nephew from taking his younger cousins there. We always had a great time and Chuck E. Cheese! Great post - I hope your son had an awesome birthday (it looks like he did)!

Linette said...

We had one of my son's birthday parties at Chuck E Cheese. The kids had a blast, and my son loved it! Of course it helps that his absolute favorite food in the world is pizza:-) Love your Candyland cake!

Sadie said...

Wow looks like Chuck E Cheese has improved since I last visited! I have a birthday coming up soon for my 6 year old. Just might take her there now! :)

Shabby Chic Mom said...

my 2.5 year old loves chuck e cheese! he sure knows what a token is LOL.. always a great time! You can find deals online before you go too!

Actingbalanced said...

We haven't done a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese but I love to take the kids as soon as they open on a weekday - It's great because the kids can run in a secure environment and they have the place virtually to themselves :)

Congrats on a successful and stress free b-day party!

Wendi said...

Heather - I forgot to talk about the security - it is GREAT! They make sure the kids only leave with who they came in with. It is really great.

We also ended up getting around 300 free tokens between reserving online, buying gift cards ahead of time (promotion at the time), and the off-time bonus.

:)

Beck Valley Books said...

Sounds like a great place for a kids party, so much easier when its not at home. The hand stamped security is a great idea

Emily faliLV (@FamilyNLifeLV) said...

Sounds like everyone had fun! What a great cake. Good for Chuck E. Cheese for staying open on Christmas Eve! I bet your son loved it!

Susie Buetow said...

How fun! We had those when the girls were little. Stop over and link this post up to our Saturday Pintrest Party and I will pin it for you!

http://cafescrapper-scrapsoflife.blogspot.com/2012/01/pinterest-favorites-link-up-4.html

Have a great day! Susie

Susie Buetow said...

Thanks for linking up! I just gave you a big fat pin~

reyah said...

I like the cake, its beautiful and its my first time to see such design.

Megan said...

I had my 5th Birthday at Chuck E. Cheese! It was about 27 years ago, but it was still memorable! :)

Diaisha said...

My daughter will be turning 4 this year & we have had all of her bday parties at Chuck E Cheese & I love it. It's so convenient & very easily priced & now she's at the age where she is definitely looking forward to it. Last year my husband said he was tired of Chuck E Cheese but my daughter was not having it

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