Happy March! If you have been following along on instagram you may have seen my oldest recently turned 4! I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by! We are not at the point where we are hosting birthday parties for her friends yet (sigh of relief!) but we do like to do something special as a family for the girls for their birthdays. When you have a child born in the winter you need to get a little creative when it comes to family activities! Here are a couple of things we have done in the past – at a variety of price points! While I’m linking to local spots near me I’m sure these will provide plenty ideas of similar places near you!
We loved visiting this trampoline park! It’s not somewhere we go to regularly and it can get a little pricey depending on when you go so it’s perfect for a special occasion like a birthday! This location has a trampoline dodge ball court, foam pit, basketball hoops and much more! Word to the wise wear some stretchy pants or clothes you can move in – it’s quite the workout!
Timber Ridge Lodge Lake Geneva, WI
Just a little over an hour drive from Chicago, Lake Geneva is the perfect spot to get away with the family for a night. If this is your first time as a family at a waterpark this location is the ideal spot to get your feet wet – no pun intended. 🙂 It’s one giant room which means it’s easier to keep an eye on everyone, but still has it all – a lazy river, big kid slides, a zero depth area with slides for smaller kids and spots to just hang out. You can go into town for meals or dine at the restaurant within the resort. We’ve spent a couple birthdays as a family at Timber Ridge and the kids have loved it!
When the kids get a little older (at least 3 or 4) and you’ve gained your waterpark confidence, Wisconsin Dells is the best spot! It’s a little further, about 2.5 hours from Chicago, but these resorts are worth it. Most are two or three huge rooms, equipped with wave pools, larger slides and everything you could need to make you feel like your at the beach and not in Wisconsin! Not to mention cocktails! I do recommend staying at least two nights to get the most for your money and have time to experience all they gave to offer! We’ve loved both Great Wolf & The Wilderness!
My girls received Bitty babies (the American Girl version of baby dolls) so for my oldest daughter’s most recent birthday we asked her if she wanted to take her doll to brunch at the cafe downtown in Chicago. She was thrilled and it was a great experience. I suggest making a reservation for whichever option you choose – brunch, lunch, tea or dinner. It was expensive but again we only went because it was for her birthday. The main floor is a retail store so make sure you bring some extra cash!
Hope these give you some great ideas on activities to spoil your little one!
Jessie