Second Birthday Party - Wichita,KS

My son is now 13 and the 2 or 3 times I tried to have a party it was just not worth it. Didnt bother at 1 or 2 other than a messy cake and grandparents since he had no clue. After that, we just made birthdays a family or friend thing (so he knows it is not Christmas too!) When he was 3 we stayed at "Grandpa's Farm" bed and breakfast for a few days and he got to help gather eggs and pet animals (he was really into farms that year), and we went horse riding and drive thru zoo on mini-vacation. The last few years I have let him pick 2 friends and I drive them around for the day - movie, swimming, bowling, etc. Just let him pick a few different things he wanted to do and make a day of it. Costs about as much as a party :) but they have a lot more fun! ANd I like that he doesnt get a million presents, makes the few he gets mean more to him.

I think birthday parties for children younger than preschool age are really for mommies and daddies and friends and family. A 2 year old doesn't understand the significance of the day & all these preparations for themed parties are lost on them. All a 2 year old really needs is some balloons, cake & some presents to make it a special day!
Grandma D.

I think you have the right to establish your own tradition. We usually only have family at parties, especially when the kids are so little. If you don't have family that is able to come, there is nothing wrong with just making his day a fun one in your own way.
I don't know anything about Great Wolf Lodge, so I can't help you there. The T-Rex cafe sounds good. It seems like something my two year old would enjoy.
I think he's too little to want and enjoy a party. When he is older, he will tell you that he wants one when he wants one.

My thought is to go ahead and ditch the party. Since he is turning 2, the only folks to really appreciate the little guy's milestone is you and hubby. I think The Great Wolf Lodge and T-Rex Cafe are wonderful ideas.
Hmmm...maybe I'll pitch something similar to my kids!

i think you're right on with ditching the party! lol. i'm glad i'm not the only one who feels this way. my son just turned 3 and has just now finally started to really get excited and "get" the whole party thing. T-Rex or Wolf Lodge might be great...just depends on your little boy. around 2 - 2 1/2 is when my son started getting scared of things, this past 4th of July he was terrified of the fireworks, where the year before, he loved them. just something to think about, but i definitely agree that there is plenty of time to have a huge bash, later when he'll get into it more. have fun, that's the most important! happy birthday to your lil man!

M.,

Ditch the party and White Wolf Lodge and save the money (and the headaches) towards the holidays! My son just turned 2 at the end of August and I can tell you that there is no way he really even new what his birthday meant. Our family is all out of state, so we just did a small cake and birthday song about a week later when the grandparents were visiting for labor day. Honestly, I don't get all the fuss and expense that goes into young children's birthdays, but I know that the pressure gets greater as they start seeing what their friends are doing for their own birthdays as they get older. What I'm saying is...take the pressure of yourself for now because I have a feeling we have a lot more stress to come : )

~ Jen

Will he know that you did not give him that 2nd party probably not. I think that we should get back to the basics of parties. milestone are 1-5-10-13-16. It would save alot of parents this headache. It should be family and perhaps a best friend to gather and do something fun.
soo do not feel guilty.... just enjoy the day with him....

**I** wanted to ditch the 2nd birthday party for DD, who just turned 2. DH won out & we had a party afer all, but it was a REALLY low-stress thing. We had it at the carousel museum in Leavenworth. The carousel itself rents out for $65/hr. unlimited riding/unlimited people, and they have a very nice kids' party room that's $50 an hour (but that's really 2 hrs. b/c you get 30 min. setup & cleanup in additon to the actual hour of the party). We ordered pizza to be delivered there, brought cake, individual ice cream cups, & water bottles & we were set. The gift shop even consulted w/ me on favors & had them ready to go when we arrived! The best part, though, was that the carousel was fun for ALL the kids - infants to 14, and all the adults there rode too. So, it's a fantastic solution to entertaining a wide variety of ages.

That said, if you don't WANT to do a party, don't! He's not going to know the difference.

I think the Great Wolf Lodge and the T-Rex cafe are great ideas. At 2 that is going to be way more fun. I also don't think a party is always necessary, but it's more important that they feel speacial and get to do something fun. My oldest turned 8 over the summer and requested at day at Six-Flags wtih a couple of buddies instead of a party. We had a great time, better than a party. Do what is going to be fun for you all! Good luck and God Bless!

At 2, the bathtub is just as much fun as Great Wolf Lodge. They have 1 little shallow pool for tots, but only go if YOU are wanting to go for yourselves. You'll just be following him around as he stomps on a waterspout and slides on 1 slide all day. The BEST age for GWL is 5 and up, when the kid is big enough to ride the slides without falling through the middle of the inner tubes.

M. I did this for my kiddo and it was PERFECT!!! Take him to TRex BEFORE you check into Great Wolf Lodge (otherwise it will just be too overwhelming)...let him have his nice lunch and get his free sundae (we even let ours do the build-a-dinosaur since it was his birthday)...then take him over to Great Wolf. I thought my kid would drop after a few hours but that wasn't the case at all! He went until they closed the park and was ready to go at OMG it's early the next morning! There are plenty of things for them to do at Great Wolf...the baby pool is zero entry and up to 2' with mini water slides and a water works thing to play with...you can also go with him to the other pools and lifejackets are always available and free!

You are NOT cheating him out of anything! If anything, he will probably remember the T-Rex and Great Wolf thing even more! I did this while DH was deployed because having a party was just too much for me to handle...my kids were 2 and 3 respectively (now nearly 5 & 6) and it is STILL the most talked about party and they keep asking when they can do it again!!! Go for it!!!

BTW- if you REALLY want to do something a little more over-the-top for your kiddo...go down to the waterpark and after you get initial pictures with him, sneak back to the room and decorate the door and insides with some balloons and crepe paper! He'll really think it's awesome! You can bring your own cake along and one of the stores on the first floor sells ice cream so you can even have ice cream and cake after dinner! Way cool and cheaper than Great Wolf will charge you for the birthday package! Have fun! It'll be a GREAT time! I promise!!!

M. B. I hope I don't sound too "I know it all" about this subject but I have raised 3 grown children and one who is now in 6th grade. None of them remember their first birthday parties. Its fun to see them open their gifts and right around two they begin to associate the wrapping paper with "something for me". This is really fun for all the adults who attend but ultimately he probably won't remember his party until he is around four years old. My youngest does remember things when he was even in the crib and I know other now older adults who have recounted very young memories but all that I have heard about were really the everyday things they remember. I think that this is when they are still trying to connect what is going on around them with routine, lifestyle and do's and don'ts. Maybe it is that birthday parties are so seldom (one time a year) that to them they are not yet connected to what they know so its hard to make sense of them in their little understanding. Just my opinion. However I will say I too was anxious about organizing events and was somewhat surprised that after all the anxiousness I experienced trying to give them these special experiences so young they just didn't remember. Hope this helps. I know I did benefit from the practice of planning the events but make those small to start out with and don't stress yourself out it will be the stress he remembers. C.

Hi M., I think either way you do it will be great, wheather you have a party or you go to the t-rex place. by the way, I don't know if you have been there yet or not but that place is awesome! We took my son there for dinner and he loved it!! He can't stop talking about it and he keeps telling me that he wants to go back and we went over two months ago. I don't think it really matters if you don't have a big party for him with his friends. He is just turning two and we really didn't do a huge thing for my son when he turned two, we went to the park with my dad, brothers and my two nephews. We had a great time and a lot of fun and it wasn't a big thing. I think your son will be happy with what ever you chose to do. Good luck! God bless you and your family!

when my son turned 2, we had cake at our new house (closed days prior). he got a cake after dinner with us, my mom (happened to be in town), his godmother and the next door neighbor little boy (just for cake). He got one present from us, one from grandma and the ones in the mall from everyone else when they came. This might make me a terrible parent, but he was happy with the cake and he and his one friend played...no muss no fuss and he was happy. Come 3rd b-day we had 8 friends over (actually 5 plus sibs) and they went to the pool and played toys with pizza and cake...I did NO organized anything. Same thing for 4, he loves it and I really do nothing but order 2 pizzas and a cake. If nothing else, maybe you'll feel better about whatever you do now!! :-)

If he is turning two, you are not cheating him by skipping the party. He certainly won't remember it and two year olds do not have the social capacity to really have a playful birthday like a five, six or seven year old would. Taking him to the T Rex cafe is a great idea if he is into dinosaurs. If not, take him to a zoo or somewhere else he enjoys. When my youngest turned two, we had her party at the local park, invited a few family members and had a great time. My daughter spent most of her time on the playground and enjoyed that time more than eating cake or opening presents. At two, they just don't 'get' the whole party concept, yet.

Let him take 2 of his best friends with you all to the lodge Fun fun fun!!

I'd ditch the party. My daughter turned two in July and we didn't do much... took her to see a movie and ate at Chick-fil-a and just made her feel special. At this point the party is more about the adults than the child; your son will not remember it at all. I figure next year we'll do something. We also haven't done much for Christmas in the past but will this year. You are by no means cheating your child out of anything!

For my daughter's 2nd birthday we just had our friends and their kids over to our house. We had sub sandwiches, chips, mostacolli, crackers and dip and cake.

Can you tell me where the Great Wolf Lodge and T-Rex cafe are? Sounds like a great place to take my nephew when he visits!

Good luck with the party!

You'll have plenty of birthday parties to throw when he gets older. I think these early years are great for small family gatherings or just your immediate family...much less stress on the child and on you! I would say that, for a two-year-old, a family outing like T-Rex would be fun. (However, when my son was 4, he wouldn't go in the place because of the huge T-Rex growling and moving at the entrance!) I haven't been to Great Wolf, but it seems like it might be more enjoyable when he gets to be a little older. Good luck whatever you do! I don't like party planning either, so I completely understand your worries! I will soon be needing to plan my son's 7th birthday in December, and I'm thinking about doing it at our house! Which means I'm in charge of figuring out the activities...which scares me!

Whatever you decide, try to remember to be in the moment and just relax and enjoy it!

He is going to turn two. That is a big milestone in your eyes, BUT if you plan a big banging party and spend a ton of money.... you really would be just wasting your money. He won't remember it in the long run. Just have a home made party. Bake a cake and buy plates in his favorite cartoon characters. Blow up balloons and have pin the tail on the donkey (tacked at their level, of course!). He will have a great time. And if you have a camera, take plenty of picks for the memory book. Does he have any friends? Invite them and their parents. You will not cheat him out of anything, because like I said, he won't remember it anyway =)

Go to the Lodge. He'll love it.

For our daughters 3rd birthday we stayed at a hotel in wichita and went swimming. It was a fun family thing. Everyone enjoyed it.

I wasn't going to do it but then I saw pictures of when we had her sisters 3rd birthday at pump-it-up. At the time that seemed like a good idea and they did have a blast. But, in retrospect, did they really need a $175 birthday for their 3rd birthday?

M., I think you should plan an activity that will be fun for your family, whatever that might be. If your thing isn't planning parties, don't stress yourself out planning one---it won't be near as fun a memory for your family! I do love planning parties, but can really see why you would choose something else. Just choose something special for your little guy and have a fantastic day!

M.,

RELAX!! You have nothing to worry about! Your ideas of going to Great Wolf Lodge and the T-Rex cafe are wonderful ideas! You are not cheating your son by doing so. Think about it, how many two-year-old kids actually remember their second birthday?? I'm sure there are a few, but not many. Nothing says you can't all enjoy some time away with a trip to GWL or T-Rex. Not to mention, you'll have great photo-opps by going there. Your son will have plenty of parties in his lifetime, so go have fun on your trip!!

Have a great time!! ls

Good Morning M., I think the Great wolf Lodge is a great idea. Little folks really don't understand all the goings on for b days.

I love B days, and have always baked cakes and decorated for everyones b days. Fixed special dinners that they asked for etc.. the last few years they are really hard to have partys for. Our eldest son doesn't care much for his sis in law ( not many do ) so there is always tension there. So this year I am not giving our sons or daughters in law, gr kids party's. I am taking each gr child on their special morning to Build a Bear and letting them choose their special cuddly friend and dress them.
Even our 9 yr old gr son loved doing this.
When they are little like this they really don't mind what we do, they just like getting presents or at least ripping off the paper and playing with the boxs. :)

I myself had a party at 7, 13 and 40. I even stopped making my own cakes....lol My last one for myself said, to the most, wonderful, talented, gifted, caring, funnist MOM in the world!!! lollll Yeah was a BIG cake...lol Hubby and I celebrate our b days together no one else is invited to dinner
Have a great trip M., and do what you want to for your son. If others want to acknowledge his special day they can call of send him a gift..

God Bless you
K. Nana of 5

I would just make your child feel extra special for the day. My daughter's birthday is 3 days after christmas so it's hard to not combine the two but I told myself from the begining not to. For my son's 6th birthday we just did a family thing but I decorated his room after he was asleep with balloons and streamers and he loved it. I also do a theme for them each year even though we aren't having a big party. Good Luck and have fun!!

I did have a 2nd bday party for my son, ONLY because I didn't have one for his 1st bday. His father and I had just separated and I didn't get to make a big deal of it.

Otherwise I would not have had 1 for his 2nd bday. I think people should only have "parties" for milestones. I think you, your hubby, and his grandparents is perfectly acceptable.

By the way, at the party I had for my son's 2nd bday he was crabby the whole time and overwhelmed. He was happier after everyone left and he could play with his toys in peace. Kids!! ;)

We took our daughter to the GWL when she was a little younger than 2. She loved it. There is a pool that is the perfect depth, and a couple water slides that were just her size. The air temp is very warm, and they have life jackets that you can use. We also went with another couple, though, so we were able to go on the water slides while they watched our daughter.

You know what.... I think the Great Wolf Lodge would be a great birthday "party". My son just turned 2 in Sept and we had his party at a park. But unlike you we do have family and friends that we could invite. I would take lots of pics, obviously to capture the memories but also later down the road if/when he wants to know what you guys did for his birthdays you can say "we did ....." I run a home daycare and invited the kids but most of the parents had to work on weekends(I took the day off)so the kids didn't come. But he had cousins and lots of other family and friends and we just had it at a park with a mini train ride. He LOVES trains. Having the family there to share the day was just a plus. Once he starts school and has more friends you can do the whole party thing. After all you aren't just celebrating his birth but the day the 3 of you became a family!!!!! Enjoy the quality time away from everyday hassles :)

I don't know where you are located but in Derby Ks, they have this place called Funtastic(s). It's a gymnastics place with a big inflatable slide, zipline, foam pits and soooo much more. My friend has 2 kids both born in august so she just combines the party. They turned 4 and 7. It was SOOOO much fun for kids AND adults. Plus with you having a oct/nov baby you aren't going to want to have outdoor parties. I think she said it was around $100 to rent the gym. so that might be something to do once he has classmates and not just a few kids.

Just i bit from my experiences, I've had 5kids who were 2 years old once and not one did anything but pout and/or cry through much of it even opening presents was overwhelming. I have 2 kids that b-days fall near enough to labor and memorial days that their friends are not available for parties and they have survived 16 and 7 years without big parties. I think for the 7 y/o I'll start doing an unbirthday some other time.

Hi M.,

You're great to think to have a party, but really he won't remember it. Parents always remember, but your little guy won't unfortunately. It ok, cause it's your fond memories that keep it in the family and that's all that matters. When he's older is the best. Sounds like fun to the Wolf Lodge and T-rex cafe. Have Fun in whatever you choose!