Birthday Parties at Cineplex Odeon Theatres

A couple of weeks ago, my son celebrated his 6th birthday. We had decided weeks before to seek out a relatively simple option for celebrating his birthday. When we saw The Lego Movie trailer, the idea light bulb clicked on. My son was thrilled when I suggested we watch it for his birthday. We called up Cineplex Odeon and booked the party that week. The standard party package includes admission to the movie (birthday child is free), a kid’s tray combo per child, a party host, reserved theatre seating, and one hour in the party room. The premium party package includes all of the above plus additional food from the concession stand.

Overall, it was an awesome party! A good option if you’re looking for a simple birthday party with only a few details that require your attention.

Positives:

• Ready-made invitations that can be picked up at the theatre.
• Since no outside food was aloud, the only thing I needed to bring was birthday cake. They provided all cutlery, napkins, plates, etc. 
• I could have brought in some of my own decorations if I wanted to but they assured me it wasn’t really necessary as the party room was already pretty festive. I opted not to and, in the end, was content with that decision.
• The staff noticed us as soon as we came in, took the cake into their fridge, and gave us a bin for our coats and another for the gifts. They were exceptionally friendly with us and the kids.
• When everyone had arrived, our party host led us to our reserved seats and once everyone was settled, handed out the popcorn and juice to each child (and even asked us adults if we’d like some complimentary coffee). 
• The party leader checked on us several times throughout the movie, asking us if there was anything we needed.
• After the movie, she was there to lead the group to the party room. There was an activity booklet and crayons waiting on the table for the kids. The food arrived soon after and they brought the cake when we requested. The gift and coat bins were also there waiting for us. We really had very little to do!

Negatives:

• The only real negative I can think of is that no outside food is permitted except birthday cake and their food options aren’t too healthy (fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, hot dogs).

Some other considerations:

• A good movie is key: I think this worked out so well in part because The Lego Movie was a hit with all the kids; they were all really into it. No one stirred throughout the entire movie.
• Number of kids – we had 7 kids at the party (including our own 3) and I’m glad we didn’t invite more. It was a bit stressful making sure we didn’t lose any on our way to the party room (even with the party leader’s assistance). Also, the party room is big enough, but not huge. We had just enough room to move around comfortably. I would say the ideal number would be 5 kids.
• I didn’t think an hour in the party room was very long but it turned out that we had some spare time after eating, birthday cake, and gift opening. I wished I had planned a simple party game or 2 to keep them entertained and active at the end.

My son really enjoyed himself. It was nice that he got to share the experience of watching The Lego Movie with a few of his friends. They enjoyed reliving some of the movie’s funnier moments in the party room afterwards. Now if I could only get that song out of my head!

Delta Jones is owner of Just Play Toy Rental, a local online toy rental service that delivers toys within the greater Ottawa area. Check out the website, and you can find Delta on Facebook and Twitter.

Swimming Stress

I posted on our Facebook page the other day, asking parents whether I'm the only one who gets frustrated during swimming registration time. Apparently I'm not alone! We've been kind of lazy when it comes to swimming. I took our oldest for a lesson when she was 4 months old, and then promptly forgot to sign her up for anything after that for a couple of years. In all honesty, I'm not sure that early swimming lessons actually do anything to promote swimming ability. It's kind of like potty training - if they're not ready, then you won't have a lot of success.

However, that's not to say that introduction to the water (and getting wet) isn't a good thing! Our daughter is now 4.5, and making some good progress in her lessons.

But swimming registration? How frustrating!! Our city offers fantastic programming, but trying to register your child for a particular time spot is a nightmare. Online registration opens at 9pm, and the site usually crashes due to overwhelming demand. If you wait even 24 hours, chances are, your preferred spaces are gone. And trying to register more than one child in the same time slot? Forget it!

I completely forgot about winter registration, and ended up getting the last spot available for both my girls - 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning. It's been tough, let me tell you. We're usually up by 7am, but by the time we eat and get dressed, we're often rushing out the door (or late for class).

However, we noticed a benefit to early Sunday morning - small class sizes, without having to pay for "low ratio." So when Spring registration began this past Monday, I couldn't believe that I actually chose the 8:30 spot :) This time, though, our 17 month-old won't be taking part. The water is freezing, and she just doesn't enjoy it much at this age. So 8:30 seems more doable with just one child.

Where's your favourite place to swim in Ottawa?

5 Stars for Starr Gymnastics!

Welcome to Starr Gymnastics, our featured sponsor this month!

Our daughter was delighted to check out Starr Gymnastics (Orleans location) this past week. We've been living in Orleans for three years now, and have definitely been missing out on this local gem!

With a bright and large open space for plenty of exercise, Starr has it all - a climbing wall, a swinging rope, several mini-trampolines, and balance beams and bars. There is also a nice quiet room in the back, intended for use by parents with really young children, and a raised area where there are four large round trampolines, and a foam pit for the children to dive into. There are also slides, balls, hoops, bean bags, and small play equipment spread throughout the space.

Starr offers regular instructional classes,March and Summer day camps, and private birthday parties. We checked out one of the many drop-in play times. My husband was very impressed with the instructors, who he said were enthusiastic and very helpful. The highlight of the hour was the parachute, when the kiddies got to send a bucket full of balls flying up into the air. By the end of the drop-in, my daughter had already decided that instead of soccer this summer, she would rather do gymnastics camp!

We'll certainly be signing her up for a class. If you're looking for last minute March break activities, there are still spaces available in their half or full-day camps. For those who like to plan in advance, summer camps will be posted soon!

Have you visited one of the three Starr Gymnastics locations? What's your child's favourite activity?

An ode to an app

My kid has been playing with the iPad for a long time and we have tried a lot of learning apps; some have been bigger hits than others. Some she has loved and I have hated because I don't understand what they were actually teaching. We've had some big hits that she still plays with, like the Monkey Preschool apps that I recommend to anyone looking for a toddler or preschooler friendly game. Last week I downloaded the Super Why! app from PBS Kids.

This is my ode to that app.

In the mornings we tend to watch CBC Kids while I'm getting some a bit of work done, and I had noticed that the kid got into Super Why! and was doing well with the sounding out of works with the Super Why team. I figured the show would have an app so I went looking and downloaded it.

When the kid plays the app, which has all four main characters doing different activities with letters and words. Princess Pea sings, and right along with her my daughter says 'S-P-E-L-L spell!'

She finds the sounds, makes the words, sings and laughs. This app is working her towards reading more than any other she's played so far and I love to watch it. When I sit down with her with workbooks or a crayon on some paper she doesn't get as involved as she does with the Super Why! team.

I give it an A+.

A little running around

I'm enamoured with the new Richcraft Community Centre in Kanata. It's not too far a drive from our home in Stittsville and the pool is nice and warm. I signed my daughter up for swimming lessons there and we discovered that right as her lessons end there is open gym time for kids up to 6 years. Now that's our plan for Tuesdays – swimming lessons followed by open gym time. The open gym is $2.25 for us but free for members, and well worth the cost for an hour of running around, playing with balls and ribbons and everything else the staff pulls out for fun and games.

Richcraft is not the only community centre to offer the open gym time, you can check the city website to see when your local community centre has some time for play.

We're going to be inviting some friends for next week!