“NOT another one this week” I complain silently as I find yet another invitation to a birthday party of screaming six-year olds.
There’s been an on-going rush of these parties at my daughter’s school ever since we came back from the Christmas holidays. I’m struggling to keep track, buying gifts for kids I hardly know, and trying to plan ahead with other parents as to who will bring them there and back.
Not only is it tough on the agenda-planning, it’s tough on the wallet as well. I spend roughly 10 leva on a gift (not more, it’s a matter of principle) and this makes for more than 200 leva a year. And any parent will tell you that their kids don’t play with HALF of their toys, so it’s kind of frustrating buying things that will end up broken at the bottom of the drawer in a month or two! The whole point of gift-giving seems to be the un-wrapping part...which at age six they seem to do very well!
Since I’m in the middle of this chaos, I figured I might as well share with you my thoughts about were to celebrate these parties in Sofia. I know from hard research (having had to go to several of these places myself) that there are at least seven places to hold a children’s party, the first choices being SofiaLand and Patilantsi.
· SofiaLand has a couple of quite large rooms with air-filled rubber castles and “jungle-gyms” where the kids play, run, jump, slide until they fall asleep over a birthday cake either provided by SofiaLand (not extremely tasty) or by yourself (hopefully better). The easy access is maybe why a lot of parents opt for Sofialand, although you have to pay for parking when you pick up your kids (which I find quite annoying!). There is also a gift store, if you should forget to buy a gift (but it’s more expensive than normal). Age group: Three to 10 years old.
· Patilantsi is another good choice, but maybe better during the summer and autumn; since a lot of their arena is outdoors (it turns into a fun-fair). It is maybe more physically challenging for the kids, and their “jungle-gym” is bigger. Even my 12-year-old finds it fun and is lobster-red in his face when finished! The trampoline area is also good with the bigger kids. Again, be careful of buying the “package-deal”, their burgers and fries and cake etc. The kids don’t eat them! I have even heard stories of the animators (in a hysteric attempt to have “fun”) emptying the “happy-meal” basket over the kids’ heads, and fries being thrown everywhere. The only good thing is that it’s not YOU who will clean up this mess! The only down-side is that it’s in Mladost, but you can always combine it with a quick grocery visit to HIT or BILLA....Age-group: Four to 12 (if the kids are childish...)
· Another choice, although smaller in size, is the relatively new Nik Art Studios in Lozenets. Here the kids are guided through a sample of party games by an animator (speaks English and French). There is no “jungle-gym” here, but plenty of creative ideas. You can buy their sandwiches, but you bring a cake and drinks. This is probably the cheapest way of doing a birthday party outside your own house; two hours of fun (with sandwiches) is about 100 leva, and there’s nothing to clean up! Age-group: Three to 12.
· McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts, can be other options for small parties, although the space in these places is limited and the kids can’t move about in the same way. At least they get a menu they like...but it doesn’t suit all ages. Age-group: Five to nine.
· If your child is very physical, why not try Kokolandia and send the whole gang climbing in the trees? But you have to wait till the snow melts...Kokolandia moved last year to a wooden area near Hotel Moskva, and has several tree-climbing routes, as well as a new climbing wall. You can bring a picnic or buy things there, but mostly it’s all about climbing and daring. Perfect for that age-group when nothing is interesting anymore, but don’t bring too many kids, since they have to wait in turn to jump on the huge trampoline. Age-group: Eight to 14/15.
So, what do we do with those teenagers? I have no easy answer, maybe a “disco” either at home, or if you have some contacts, try a real one, borrow it for a Monday evening and “make believe”. Or go bowling. The boys in my son’s class have started inviting their guests bowling parties. It’s fun, it’s physical, it’s social, and everybody is together. One place to try could be Galaxy Bowling near Studentski Grad. Other ideas that I haven’t really tried out include; Paintball, Paragliding (!), skating at Slavia Sport Centre, swimming (Kempinski or Princess Hotel) and carting.
This being said, it’s now my turn. This weekend I’m the poor devil who’s organising not only ONE but TWO birthday parties! I guess we were not very clever at planning our babies, but with six years between each child, it’s absolutely fascinating that my two kids should have their birthdays only four days apart.
And after a lot of thought, I have chosen to do the BIG EVENT at home.
I am not hiring a clown, or having a Party Organiser preparing games and entertainment. This is not only because of the cost, but also because I believe there are so few times when the kids can make up their own games and rhythm; they are entertained and scheduled from early on, and never learn to organise themselves. I dream of those old days when having a birthday party was simply a matter of inviting a couple of kids home, having a cake, playing, maybe outside, and then going home; without the pressure of the loot-bag (the compulsory surprise bag after each party) and having to entertain 20 children all the time (as well as their parents!).
I still haven’t grown accustomed to the Bulgarian way of celebrating children’s parties yet; I don’t invite the whole family, together with siblings and aunts and teachers and what not. But, I do think it great fun when we go to a Bulgarian birthday party and the adults are served beer and wine while the kids play.
So, I’m doing my parties at home. I guess it’s a matter of old habit and being a masochist. Still, after last year’s experience I had sworn I would do the parties at SofiaLand or Patilantsi, or somewhere like that. Let’s just hope it snows really hard for Saturday, so the kids will play outside... Hurrah!
There’s been an on-going rush of these parties at my daughter’s school ever since we came back from the Christmas holidays. I’m struggling to keep track, buying gifts for kids I hardly know, and trying to plan ahead with other parents as to who will bring them there and back.
Not only is it tough on the agenda-planning, it’s tough on the wallet as well. I spend roughly 10 leva on a gift (not more, it’s a matter of principle) and this makes for more than 200 leva a year. And any parent will tell you that their kids don’t play with HALF of their toys, so it’s kind of frustrating buying things that will end up broken at the bottom of the drawer in a month or two! The whole point of gift-giving seems to be the un-wrapping part...which at age six they seem to do very well!
Since I’m in the middle of this chaos, I figured I might as well share with you my thoughts about were to celebrate these parties in Sofia. I know from hard research (having had to go to several of these places myself) that there are at least seven places to hold a children’s party, the first choices being SofiaLand and Patilantsi.
· SofiaLand has a couple of quite large rooms with air-filled rubber castles and “jungle-gyms” where the kids play, run, jump, slide until they fall asleep over a birthday cake either provided by SofiaLand (not extremely tasty) or by yourself (hopefully better). The easy access is maybe why a lot of parents opt for Sofialand, although you have to pay for parking when you pick up your kids (which I find quite annoying!). There is also a gift store, if you should forget to buy a gift (but it’s more expensive than normal). Age group: Three to 10 years old.
· Patilantsi is another good choice, but maybe better during the summer and autumn; since a lot of their arena is outdoors (it turns into a fun-fair). It is maybe more physically challenging for the kids, and their “jungle-gym” is bigger. Even my 12-year-old finds it fun and is lobster-red in his face when finished! The trampoline area is also good with the bigger kids. Again, be careful of buying the “package-deal”, their burgers and fries and cake etc. The kids don’t eat them! I have even heard stories of the animators (in a hysteric attempt to have “fun”) emptying the “happy-meal” basket over the kids’ heads, and fries being thrown everywhere. The only good thing is that it’s not YOU who will clean up this mess! The only down-side is that it’s in Mladost, but you can always combine it with a quick grocery visit to HIT or BILLA....Age-group: Four to 12 (if the kids are childish...)
· Another choice, although smaller in size, is the relatively new Nik Art Studios in Lozenets. Here the kids are guided through a sample of party games by an animator (speaks English and French). There is no “jungle-gym” here, but plenty of creative ideas. You can buy their sandwiches, but you bring a cake and drinks. This is probably the cheapest way of doing a birthday party outside your own house; two hours of fun (with sandwiches) is about 100 leva, and there’s nothing to clean up! Age-group: Three to 12.
· McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts, can be other options for small parties, although the space in these places is limited and the kids can’t move about in the same way. At least they get a menu they like...but it doesn’t suit all ages. Age-group: Five to nine.
· If your child is very physical, why not try Kokolandia and send the whole gang climbing in the trees? But you have to wait till the snow melts...Kokolandia moved last year to a wooden area near Hotel Moskva, and has several tree-climbing routes, as well as a new climbing wall. You can bring a picnic or buy things there, but mostly it’s all about climbing and daring. Perfect for that age-group when nothing is interesting anymore, but don’t bring too many kids, since they have to wait in turn to jump on the huge trampoline. Age-group: Eight to 14/15.
So, what do we do with those teenagers? I have no easy answer, maybe a “disco” either at home, or if you have some contacts, try a real one, borrow it for a Monday evening and “make believe”. Or go bowling. The boys in my son’s class have started inviting their guests bowling parties. It’s fun, it’s physical, it’s social, and everybody is together. One place to try could be Galaxy Bowling near Studentski Grad. Other ideas that I haven’t really tried out include; Paintball, Paragliding (!), skating at Slavia Sport Centre, swimming (Kempinski or Princess Hotel) and carting.
This being said, it’s now my turn. This weekend I’m the poor devil who’s organising not only ONE but TWO birthday parties! I guess we were not very clever at planning our babies, but with six years between each child, it’s absolutely fascinating that my two kids should have their birthdays only four days apart.
And after a lot of thought, I have chosen to do the BIG EVENT at home.
I am not hiring a clown, or having a Party Organiser preparing games and entertainment. This is not only because of the cost, but also because I believe there are so few times when the kids can make up their own games and rhythm; they are entertained and scheduled from early on, and never learn to organise themselves. I dream of those old days when having a birthday party was simply a matter of inviting a couple of kids home, having a cake, playing, maybe outside, and then going home; without the pressure of the loot-bag (the compulsory surprise bag after each party) and having to entertain 20 children all the time (as well as their parents!).
I still haven’t grown accustomed to the Bulgarian way of celebrating children’s parties yet; I don’t invite the whole family, together with siblings and aunts and teachers and what not. But, I do think it great fun when we go to a Bulgarian birthday party and the adults are served beer and wine while the kids play.
So, I’m doing my parties at home. I guess it’s a matter of old habit and being a masochist. Still, after last year’s experience I had sworn I would do the parties at SofiaLand or Patilantsi, or somewhere like that. Let’s just hope it snows really hard for Saturday, so the kids will play outside... Hurrah!
