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.

Birthday parties : Cosmic

by Lara This past weekend we had our son's fifth birthday party at Cosmic Adventures

I never thought I'd be the parent who paid to have birthday parties outside the home until I realized just how chaotic life with three young children can be.  Because of that I believe that paying someone else to take care of the majority of the work of getting ready for a party is really more of a gift for me than for my kids ;)

This year my son wanted to have his party at Cosmic.  We're members there which meant we got a 10% discount and at 5 it seemed like a great  age-appropriate choice.

The pros

- The kids loved it.  They got to play in the tunnels, they got to play in the arcade (each child got a card with coins loaded on it), they got to get midway prizes with their winnings, they got food and they got entertainment - what's not to love? :))

- Everything was really well organized.  I was given a pager so I could come and greet each new attendee when they arrived, we all had colour coordinated bracelets, all the party attendees' shoes were stored together, when the kids got to get prizes from the midway they were sent to the exit to be given to the child as they left so they wouldn't be lost. I was impressed.

- The party host(s) were a lot of fun. There was basic magic and face painting which the 5 year olds went crazy for.  I'm not sure if they change their act for older kids, but I would imagine if they don't then by about 8 or 9 they might not be quite as impressed ;)

- The cake and food were included in the package we chose, but every package includes a cake and Cosmic is nut free, something I was particularly thankful for because we had a guest with a peanut and tree nut allergy.

- I love that the host coordinated the presents being opened and even kept a list of who gave him which present to send home with us. *I* wasn't that organized and would definitely have been at a loss to figure out who to thank later on.

The cons

There weren't many but:

- We had a package that had choices of a hot dog or slice of pizza and drinks for the kids.  The choices for drinks were pop, pop, fruitopia, and apple juice.  Thanks for the apple juice but I was shocked there was so much pop on the list and no other healthier types of juice to choose from.

- We only had our host for the time we were in the party room, not the time we were in the arcade or in the tunnels.  They were all fine in the tunnels but could have used a lot more guidance in the arcade - something we didn't realize at first and also couldn't coordinate easily for all the kids.  A lot of them lost a lot of their coins not understanding how to use the games.

Overall it was a fabulous party and we'd definitely consider going again. Check out their party pricing on their web site.

Lara Wellman is mom to 4 year old Kiernan and 2 year old twins Quinn and Juliette. You can read her personal blog at Gliding Through Motherhood, about her weight loss journey at Losing it in Ottawa, and her social media blog at Larawellman.com

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