Every year I add to the list of amazing birthday party venues for kids celebrating in Northern Virginia and DC based on reader recommendations. This year (2017), I’ve added five newcomers to the list. These venues may have been around a little while, but it took some exploring and great feedback from my audience to find out about them. Happy Celebrating!
30 Amazing Kids Birthday Party Venues NOVA/DC (2018 Guide)
Jumping Joeys North Arlington finally has a birthday party venue very close to most residents where children 2 to 13 can go bounce and celebrate their birthdays. They have several giant inflatables as well as a rock climbing wall for hours of endless fun.
Busy Bees Located just a short drive from Clarendon in Falls Church. This cute, indoor playground is suitable for children 48 inches in height and under. Everything at this cute little place spins, moves and flies.
Dynamic Gymnastics Don’t flip about the mess in your own house, take the party to Dynamic Gymnastics and they’ll bend over backwards to make your party memorable. Their birthday party planning team will work with you to plan the perfect party for children turning ages 3 to 12. Certified gymnastics coaches will lead your partiers through 45 minutes of age-appropriate gymnastics activities in a brand new, fully-equipped gym featuring the longest tumble track in Arlington. Either before or after the gymnastics, enjoy 45 minutes of refreshments and revelry in one of two party rooms.
Fort Meyer Bowling Center Have all the fun and none of the fuss by planning your child’s next birthday party at Fort Meyer Bowling Center located on the Joint Base Meyer Military Base in Arlington, Virginia. Perfect for a group of 12 guests at only $11 per person, this party includes a meal, one hour of bowling, bowling shoes, reserved separate party room with decorations and a gift for the birthday boy or girl. Most suitable for ages 4 and up. It isn’t a requirement to be a military family. This venue is open to the public.
The Escape Lounge Treat your little genius to the birthday of a lifetime! Our children’s party packages include an escape game and one-hour celebration. The H Street NE venue offers interactive escape experiences, where up to 12 kids and 3 adults solve a series of clues to make their way out of a locked room.
National Building Museum The National Building Museum offers exciting birthday party opportunities for children turning ages 3-11. Parties at the Museum feature hands-on, interactive activities with construction and building themes. All parties include use of the Museum’s party space including tables and chairs for the celebration, party favors for child guests, a Museum t-shirt for the birthday child, and complimentary tickets to the Museum’s exhibitions like the latest PLAY WORK BUILD Exhibit, an absolute favorite. A Museum teacher is present at all parties to lead the activity, read a story, and help supervise children. Birthday parties are a member benefit and can be booked by Museum members at the Family Level or higher. It is worth the price of membership to host your child’s birthday party here.
Ultrazone Laser Tag Step into a high-techlaser tag adventure where identity is limited only by imagination. Dodge lasers, and strategize with teammates as you compete for high scores and glory in this futuristic version of Capture the Flag. Whether it’s a business meeting, Birthday Party, or Club Fundraiser, Ultrazone® transforms the routine into the extraordinary. Click here for price packages.
MOBU KIDS This is my absolute favorite place to throw birthday parties for my kids between the age of 1 and 3. This is a huge venue with plenty of room for kids of all ages to play while offering a big party room for the parents to take a break and enjoy themselves too. The place smells fresh, clean and is completely “green”. My children have taken classes there and have attended many parties including their own there. They’ve never caught any communicable illnesses there. I believe it’s because of how clean the venue is. The staff is always passionate about what they do and are especially fantastic at time management, organizing the activities and taking care of the small stuff. Located in Falls Church, this is definitely worth the drive. The price is unbeatable beginning at less than $300 for up to 20 kids for 90 minutes to 2 hours of worry-free fun!
JW TUMBLES This is is one of the most popular venues in the area to throw birthday parties and take classes. JW Tumbles in Arlington is a very cozy venue offering both the party area and the play area within the same room for little ones. They offer music, zip line swinging, bubbles, sport play, dancing and more for ages one to nine. You get 90 minutes of joy and excitement for your child’s birthday.
Sport & Health Kids Club This is my second favorite place to host birthday parties. The party includes: invitations, pizza, juice boxes, decorations, candles, party supplies and party favors. They offer two to three large, spacious rooms for your kids and your guests to spread out. This is the only venue where you have the option of dropping your children off and leaving while your children enjoy themselves under Sport and Health’s staff supervision. There aren’t any venues where you’re able to have “drop off privileges” and not that many other venues that offer to take care of the food and beverages. All you bring is the cake.
Kettler Capital Iceplex offers a package for $185 that includes party room rental, admission for 10 kids and 2 adults to the public skate session, skate rentals, food and drinks, party host, and party supplies. More guests can be added for an additional fee. Perfect for those winter birthdays.
Sprinkles Cupcake in DC I had the opportunity to see first hand how fun a party at Sprinkles Cupcake in Georgetown is while attending a Mother’s Day event in 2012. This is a fantastic place to host a Cupcake Decorating Party complete with dozens of cupcakes, generous cups of frosting and sprinkles. They offer vegan cupcakes by request too. The upstairs party room is very feminine and beautiful, just perfect for a birthday party.
Buzz Bakery in Ballston/Arlington I was surprised to find out that this cute, cozy bakery near Ballston Mall offers Birthday Party packages. You can choose to host a very small party in the very back of the bakery or on their outside patio next to the water sprinkler playground. Buzz offers cute cupcake and cookie decorating kits for only $5 per child. This is a steal compared to the price at Sprinkles. The decorating kits include: 2 mini-cupcakes, a tiny container of frosting and a tiny container of very stylish sprinkles. This is the perfect place to order cupcake decorating kits and host a party at your house or at a larger venue.
American Girl Cafe Tyson’s Corner The all-inclusive package features: a delicious meal with signature pink-and-white cake and ice cream, special goody bags featuring doll tiaras for each guest, a commemorative keepsake for the special birthday girl, a set of invitations and matching thank-you notes. Parties begin at $30 per child and $20 per adult, excluding tax and gratuity. Suitable for ages 3 and up.
The National Zoo Kids love the animals and Washington DC’s premier zoological park is a great place for a birthday party. For children ages 4-8, FONZ (Friends of the National Zoo) will provide an indoor party room and expert tour guides. Parties are held Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon, subject to availability.
Nationals Park Baseball Stadium Is your child a huge baseball fan? The local ballpark is a great place to host a birthday party. Nationals Park has a family picnic area that is ideal for small groups and the Family Fun Area is a kids-oriented play area that features interactive games including the Exxon Strike Zone, Build-A-Bear Workshop, GEICO Racing Presidents, and Jungle Gym.
Kidville (Bethesda) is the perfect place where parents and kids can put creativity, fun, and play-time first.With fifteen party themes and the option to customize your own, birthday parties at Kidville are nothing short of a smash hit. Choose between the Kidville Birthday Party (the exclusive use of the entire facility, a customized birthday cake, two birthday party leaders, and more) and the Big Blowout Birthday Party, which includes everything from the Kidville Birthday plus an inflatable Jumpy Castle, even more party guests, and two more birthday party leaders to do all of the set up and clean up for you. When you have a party at Kidville, you have the rare opportunity for a stress-free birthday bash for your little birthday guy or gal, up until age nine. KidVille provides everything you need from the invites to decorations to pizza and juice and even the birthday cake.
Sur La Table Treat your kid and their friends to a cooking class this birthday season! Drop the kids off with Sur La Table for a 2 hour cooking class of homemade pizza, calzones, pasta and more! They can even make dessert pizza. You can enjoy a day out while the kids master their meal-making skills with the trained, professional staff.
Sprout Co-Work/Co-Play provides three types of studio rentals for birthday parties to meet every families budget. Their unique in-door play space and party packages offer fun for children of all ages.
Urban Pirates (National Harbor) creates amazing birthdays for riders of all ages! You can choose from one of their packages or buy individual tickets on any regularly scheduled cruise.
Sportrock (Alexandria) Looking for an opportunity to take a group of friends “rockclimbing”? Sportrock Climbing Parties are an ideal format for both children and adults and include 90 minutes of climbing with dedicated instructors and all of the necessary equipment. Afterwards, your group will have an additional 45 minutes to relax and celebrate in their private party rooms – complete with fridge and freezer!
I Fly World (Loudon) Take your party to new heights by celebrating with an indoor skydiving session. Flying is fun, safe & thrilling for everyone ages 3 to 103 (at least that’s what it says on their website). And we can’t wait to try it out this year for our son Logan’s 7th birthday!
Ocean Dunes Water Park Make it a beach day — with waterslides — at the beach-themed Ocean Dunes Waterpark in Arlington’s Upton Hill Regional Park. Find excitement on a 230-foot open slide, or 170-foot covered waterslide, or set the kids free in the play area to splash, slide and play in the water jets. Their 500-gallon dumping bucket is a favorite hangout during the hottest days of the year. Sliding is hard work! Take a break under the shade umbrellas and order a meal at the snack shack. Forget about “exclusive pools” with their wait lists and expensive membership fees, this pool is open to the public and great for planning family friendly pool parties in the summer!
Art Jamz An ArtJamz paint and pizza party is a unique, fresh and insanely fun idea. How many times have you been to pizza places, pool parties, or bowling events as the go-to pillars of the kid’s birthday party canon? Quite a few too many, we suspect … enter ArtJamz.
David M. Brown Planetarium The planetarium may be scheduled for a private shows subject to staff and theater availability. Rates are set by APS and dependent upon time and the type of group that will be using the facility. While this is a perfect venue to entertain a small group of children and parents alike, unfortunately the planetarium doesn’t provide a facility for party activities. However, you may book a private show for your party goers at the planetarium then celebrate with cake, ice cream and games at home or some other suitable venue nearby.
Long Branch Nature Center Have an outdoorsy type that longs to be outside with their family & friends exploring nature, talking about wildlife and petting furry and slithery creatures? The Long Branch Nature Center is an intimate venue suitable for pre-schoolers and elementary grade children. Nestled behind the Virginia Hospital Center and Medical Building, this center borders the WO&D trail. This is a small, yet interesting exhibit center home to a variety of natural life from the area including snakes, turtles and owls be introduced and discussed to the guests. There’s also a nature craft. Add snacks and cakes and you have a great party for your nature lover.
Circle Yoga for Kids This is perfect for the zen-master! Circle Yoga provides yoga birthday parties for kids of any age (ages 3 or older).The party lasts 1 1/2 hours (1 hour of yoga, 1/2 hour for eating &/or gift exchange). Yoga parties can be coordinated around almost any theme… Native Americans, Beach Blanket, Hawaiian Luau, Space Travel, Animal Farm, etc. Families provide the food & drink, cake, paper products and party favors…
DC Aikido Your child can experience a karate party they will never forget! And best of all, you can sit back, take pictures, relax, and enjoy the excitement! DC Aikido has you covered, from set up to clean up. Your child’s birthday will be literally worry-free. It may seem unbelievable that your child will be the envy of all his or her friends, but wait until you see how great this celebration is. They plan stimulating age-appropriate activities that the kids will love. As a bonus, the karate parties are educational, too.There’s even an authentic samurai sword cutting of the birthday cake.
Encore Stage & Studio Perfect for the actor or theatre buff. Encore Stage & Studio loves to celebrate birthdays! Our birthday package includes a party room rental before the children’s theatre performance, and an exclusive backstage tour (for ages 8 and up) or cast and crew question & answer session (for ages 7 and younger). Plus, your child’s birthday will be announced to the entire audience before the start of the show! The birthday party room is available 90 minutes before show-time. Birthday families are responsible for providing food and decorations. Birthday party packages are only available for shows located in Thomas Jefferson Community Theatre.
Roller Skating Birthday Party at Thomas Jefferson Community Center Parties may be booked October – March. There aren’t availabilities between April-September.Children ages 4-11 and their guest will have lots of fun roller skating. For $70.00, the birthday child and nine guests will have use of the skating rink from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., party room for 1 hr, along with a server.
Do you have a favorite birthday venue? Tell us all about it in the comments below!
