Disclosure: I am a brand ambassador for McDonald’s. I will be compensated for this Tips for a McDonald’s Birthday Party for Kids post. All thoughts, opinions, and ideas are my own.
Are you shocked that my sweet Scooter Britches is already FIVE? Yep, me too.
I know all of us mamas are not in the same camp when it comes to birthday celebrations. Some of us like to keep things simple and low-key. Others like to make a big fuss.
Well, just call me fussy because I LOVE big birthday celebrations! I adore the fact that each year, my girls have one day that they get to call their own and all of our outside attention narrows down to them.
Because their birthdays are only about two weeks apart, they have a big double birthday party on a weekend that falls between the birthdays. This means, I really try to make their own days special. I want their day to be about them – letting them pick one special activity to do and one place to eat their birthday dinner- even if their birthday falls on a school day. Basically, they get two parties, I guess – a bigger, shared party and small family party. This year, Scooter Britches has to wait two weeks after her birthday for her party. Two weeks is a long time for a little girl, y’all.
Firstly, SB wanted to watch the My Little Pony: The Movie. She has only been to one other movie at the theater, and that was last fall when we went to see Trolls. Little One will probably not go see a movie until she is four either which is why she didn’t get to go with us to see My Little Pony. She will barely sit still five minutes to watch a show at home at this stage. She is busy, busy at all times.
Unfortunately, I failed to get any pictures at the theater. Just know that she managed to sucker me into buying her a little plush Rainbow Dash pony as soon as we walked in. It’s hard to tell a kid no on his or her birthday, isn’t it?
Soon, we were soon headed to the next stop of the night. SB’s restaurant choice was McDonald’s, of course!
A Small McDonald’s Birthday Party with the Family
Was there any doubt we would have some type of McDonald’s party? The girl loves those Golden Arches. Remember how she had Daddy take her and Lo to McDonald’s for a daddy-daughter date last month?
The Hubs picked up a few cupcakes and met us there with LO. I thought it was sweet how LO sang the birthday song to SB several times unprompted when we first got to McDonald’s.
The girls have gotten to where they order their standard Happy Meal favorites – a Cheeseburger for LO and McNuggets for SB.
The Happy Meal toys right now are in promotion of My Little Pony: The Movie so the two different birthday outings worked together perfectly. This is a great thing I have noted about McDonald’s Happy Meal toys. They Happy Meal toys often match up to whatever new big kid movie is at the theater. This works out perfectly for a movies and McDonald’s birthday outing!
We had lots of fun at SB’s McDonald’s birthday party with the family!
After a round of fun in the indoor Play Place, we headed home so SB could open a few presents.
At the end of the night, when I tucked SB into bed, she said she had a great birthday which made this mama’s heart so happy!
Planning a McDonald’s Kid’s Party – with Invited Guests
If you were around as long as me, you well remember a McDonald’s birthday party in the 80s was the happening thing. In fact, it seems most parties I attended in the 1980s were at McDonald’s! I love the idea of bringing that trend around again!
One thing to remember is not all McDonald’s locations offer the same services. During my time as a McDonald’s ambassador, I visited many different McDonald’s locations – in Arkansas and out of Arkansas. One thing I noticed is that only some of the locations have an indoor Play Place.
The indoor Play Place is obviously a huge attraction when planning a McDonald’s party for kids. Also, some locations do have an outdoor Play Place. This might be ideal for you, depending on your area and your typical weather. For others, planning around the weather might be too stressful.
Some states, like Texas, have their own McDonald’s birthday party planning website with detailed information.
Questions to Ask
To start with planning a McDonald’s kid’s party, you probably need to find out the answers to these questions:
- How much does a birthday party at McDonald’s cost?
- What are the McDonald’s party package prices?
- What does a McDonald’s party package include?
- Is there an indoor Play Place or a Mcdonald’s party room?
- Is there an outdoor Play Place?
- How long will the McDonald’s party last?
- Are there any McDonald’s birthday party booking fees or deadlines?
- Are there any special McDonald’s party supplies (party hats, etc.) or decorations included with the party package?
- Can you decorate the McDonald’s party area as you please?
- What are the McDonald’s Play Place rules (like socks only or height requirements)?
- Will there be a party host or hostess?
- Are there any printable McDonald’s birthday party invitations?
- Is there a McDonald’s birthday party cake or should we bring our own cake?
- Is there a separate party room at McDonald’s?
To get started, find a McDonald’s in your area that has a Play Place. You can do this by visiting the McDonald’s website. Under the “show more” filter, check “indoor Play Place.” After that, you will want to contact the store manager to ask the above questions. Also, you can go to Google and search for “McDonald’s Play Place Near Me.”
Have fun planning a McDonald’s birthday party!
Be sure to also check my post on a nostalgic play date at McDonald’s!
Also, if you are into birthday parties like I am, be sure to check out my other kids’ birthday party posts:
Movie Theater Birthday Party (Frozen Party)
ricci
Happy Birthday to SB!!! I love that she loves My Little Ponies and McDonald’s so much!!
Sonya
Happy Birthday, SB!!! 🙂 We went and saw My Little Pony the movie and my kiddos loved it. They are huge My Little Pony fans. I understand why SB got scared there were some scary moments. My kids couldn’t watch The Secret Life of Pets. As soon as the pets mentioned killing humans they were done and asking for me to turn it off.
Amadna Farris
I Love Birthdays!