We are not the family that spends a lot on birthday parties for our kids every year. We hold typical large kid parties with friends from school on milestone type birthdays. Here are some ideas when you want to host a big or small birthday party in Tucson.
Kid’s Birthday Party Ideas in Tucson
Usually, we have small family parties complete with a fun, homemade cake like the LEGO cake Quinn asked for last year. Big parties with lots of friends and classmates are fun but can get pricey and I’d rather put the money towards a travel adventure.
That being said we do plan those awesome kid’s birthday parties every few years for an extra special celebration and luckily there is no shortage of fun places to host them!
Kid’s Birthday Party Venues Tucson!
Are you looking for where to have kid’s birthday parties in Tucson? Check out these awesome kid’s birthday party venues in Tucson!
Elevate Trampoline Park
Elliot just had his 12th birthday party at Elevate and had a blast. They offer a variety of party packages with upgrades including a private party space. Click through to learn all about having a birthday party at Elevate Tucson.
There are 10 different Elevate locations including 4 in Arizona, so it could be a great party option even if you don’t live in Tucson.
Other Trampoline Parks in Tucson
There are several other indoor trampoline parks in Tucson including Get Air Tucson, and Defy Tucson. We’ve had a few birthday parties at AZ Air Time (which is no longer in business) and the boys always had a blast. Trampoline parks are very popular kids party locations.
Pump It Up Tucson
Another fun jumping place that isn’t a trampoline park but rather an inflatable indoor playground is Pump it Up. Quinn had his 5th birthday party at Pump It Up and we’ve attended several other birthday parties there as well. It’s definitely a fun place to have a party especially for kids under 10.
There are Pump It Up locations all over the country. This inflatable indoor playground will definitely have enough things to do for all the kids in your party. They even have an inflatable throne (and crown) for the birthday girl or boy! Learn more about parties at Pump It Up.
Funtasticks
Funtasticks is a family fun center featuring miniature golf, bumper boats, go-carts, arcade games, laser tag, rides, and a water park. They offer various party packages depending upon the length of the party and included attractions. My son had a blast at his friend’s laser tag party last year and both of my boys enjoy Cactus Springs.
If you are only hosting a few kids, then consider just paying for VIP wristbands vs a party package at Funtasticks. We found the VIP wristbands provided a better value for old kids wanting to celebrate there.
Another family fun center option is Golf N’ Stuff also offers mini-golf, laser tags, bumper boats and arcade games.
Indoor Playground Tucson
Wild Katz is an adventure playground where kids can be wild! This indoor playground is geared towards kids 13 and under, although parents are welcome to participate. They offer a variety of party packages that include playtime and party room time.
Reid Park Zoo
We’ve never been to a birthday party at Reid Park Zoo but both boys have had field trips there and I know they’d enjoy having or attending a party there!
There is nothing like bringing your little animals to experience bigger animals! Here you can choose from a couple of different party packages that include party areas, food, drinks, carousel rides and of course zoo admission. Don’t forget to add on a live animal encounter! Learn more about parties at Reid Park Zoo.
TRAK (Therapeutic Ranch for Animals and Kids)
TRAK sounds like an amazing place to throw your kids next birthday party. Live animal interaction, handled horse rides, hay rides, and private party professionals. All of these aim to teach children about the love of animals.
And after our amazing petting zoo experience in Indiana, the boys are super enamored with animal interactions. I know they’d love to have their birthday party at TRAK! Learn more about parties at TRAK.
Heart & Soul Kids Activity Center
Elliot had a blast attending a birthday party at Heart & Soul Kids Activity Center last year. They did lots of tumbling, jumping and running around, plus the usual snacks and birthday cake. Learn more about parties at parties at Heart & Soul.
Bricks and Minifigs
Is your kid a super LEGO fan? Brick and Minifigs offers 90 minute birthday parties with 1 hour of build time, plus everyone goes home with their own minifigure!
AMC Theaters
We rented out a movie theater to watch the latest Marvel movie for the boys latest birthday. The boys enjoyed having a private movie theater with their friends. Keep in mind there are different rules with regards to party rooms and outside food. We ended up buying a popcorn and soda pack from the movie theater and then handed out mini bundt cakes to the kids as they left the theater.
Tucson Party Ideas at Home
Of course everything changed in 2020 and that year we had to host a small immediate family party for Elliot at home. It wasn’t the big party Elliot had planned to have with his friends but we tried to make it special. We still had a special Baby Yoda birthday party theme with family singing to him over Zoom.
Make the typical zoom birthday party special by letting the guests do something fun together. If you plan ahead you can drop off supplies (or have them shipped) to each guest’s house prior to the event.
Unique Tucson Party Ideas For Kids at Home
Color Me Mine in Tucson is selling to-go painting kits. Drop off a kit to each guest ahead of time and let them paint their pottery together during the birthday zoom.
Arte Bella also offers painting to-go, including a pre-sketched canvas kit perfect for little ones that need extra structure.
Funny Foot Farm is offering Zoomfaris which are Zoom meeting with their farm animals. This would be a fun addition to your Zoom birthday party.
Four Arrows Garden offers planting parties with kid and grownup selections. It’s available at their location in Vail or at your own home. So it could totally work via Zoom. They will even deliver the kits to your attendees for you. I think this sounds like a fun idea for adult and kid Zoom parties!
More at Home Birthday Party Ideas
Create your own cupcake decorating kits. Just buy the frosting, sprinkles and pre-made cupcakes divide them up into kits before dropping them off for each guest. Local bakeries might sell these pre-made, I haven’t seen any yet in Tucson. The same idea could work for decorating cookies too! Also check with your local donut shop, some Dunkin’ Donuts have been offering donut decorating kits.
Papa Murphy’s offer Mini Murph kits letting kids make their own personal pizzas. Let guests prep their own pizzas and while they are waiting they can reuse the pizza box to craft their own solar oven. Now depending upon the time of the party and weather, guests could make solar oven s’mores after eating pizza.
Another fun idea is to let kids create and decorate their own Rice Krispies treats houses. Just pre-make the decorating kits ahead of time and drop them off ahead of time to guests. They are fun to make year-round, not just around the holidays.
If you have attendees spread throughout the country, you could pick up arts & crafts kits or LEGO building kits and have them delivered via Amazon to each guest. This idea lets you customize your child’s birthday party activity.
Board games with friends via Zoom is also a new trend, although getting enough copies of the same game to everyone might be difficult. A virtual scavenger hunt might be a fun alternative.
I’ve seen fun birthday party parades lately, where guests pop out to drop off a gift and pick up a fun treat. One friend booked a snow cone truck for an hour and guests ordered their own snow cone when they stopped by during the parade.
Do you have a favorite Tucson venue for parties?
This post was originally published on July 7, 2016
Desert Chica is my place to share a peek into our life and the easy and inexpensive costumes, crafts and desserts I like to make.
Leave a Reply