Help! Chuck E Cheese Birthday...yuck..

[dvcnewgirl]

I hoped this day would never come but it has..My son wants to have a Chuck E Cheese party. Yep, I know total money waste and loud and chaotic for a bonus. I know you can do it and not really do the party but he wants the bells and whistles that are on TV every minute... anyway, have you ever had a Chuck E Cheese party? Any advice? Any budget tips? Thanks!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Honestly I had one for my DS a couple years ago and we all really enjoyed it. No clean up, no serving, the hostess did everything, it was great. As far as budget tips if you look at booking through their website sometimes it is cheaper on certain days of the week or at certain times so I would look into that. Also instead of paying for goody bags I would just buy some extra tokens and hand those out. And it's cheapest if you just go with the Chuck E Cheese theme instead of trying to do a character, that way you don't have to buy anything extra like plates or anything to fit a theme.

I would be prepared for people who bring siblings or adults staying, be ready to order an additional pizza if your package doesn't include it for the adults.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

Honestly I had one for my DS a couple years ago and we all really enjoyed it. No clean up, no serving, the hostess did everything, it was great. As far as budget tips if you look at booking through their website sometimes it is cheaper on certain days of the week or at certain times so I would look into that. Also instead of paying for goody bags I would just buy some extra tokens and hand those out. And it's cheapest if you just go with the Chuck E Cheese theme instead of trying to do a character, that way you don't have to buy anything extra like plates or anything to fit a theme.

I would be prepared for people who bring siblings or adults staying, be ready to order an additional pizza if your package doesn't include it for the adults.

Thanks! hat is good to hear.

 

[ilovejack02]

We did one two years ago. It was easy peasy and actually not that expensive compared to some places. I just showed up lol. I did tip the waitress/ hostess I think 20 , she was AWESOME and I ordered an extra pizza for the adults, I even bought the premade party favors . I think the goodies bags where 2.00 each. Would do it again in a heart beat . The chocolate cake wasn't even that bad.

 

[Jedana]

We did one last year for my DS (7) and he loved it.

I booked the party, just the basic one, without all the extras. I brought my own cake and party favors. I signed up a new email a few weeks before, and got the "new visitor" coupons sent (some nice deals on there!). They let you (at least here) use multiple coupons and use each coupon up to 3 times in the same visit.

So, for the adults, I just used the meal coupons (like 2 lg pizzas, 4 drinks, + tokens for less than $25--used it 2x) and then the buy xx, get xx tokens for less than $25 each, used those a couple times.

 

[princessmorgan]

LOL! They're not that bad, really Honestly, I like them because the kids like them and it's no work for me! I would just make it clear if you want families to attend or not, because people will bring their whole families and that's extra pizza to buy. I brought my own cake or cupcakes and balloons to hand out as part favors. I think the goody bags are only $2 a person, which is not horrible. Also you can use coupons to buy pizza for other guest that are not included. I would be conservative on the head count, because you can always add more kids when you get there. But if someone no shows, then you pay for them if the number is off by more than 2. Have fun!

 

[ilovejack02]

My one tip is book the earliest party you can, I think they start at 10 am .. but if you book a 9:30 party sometimes you they will offer 100 extra tokens to do it that early... DO IT !!! It is almost like having the place to yourself .. the public isn't up and heading out that early . Pizza for breakfast , can't be it lol.

 

[ENSOCK]

I miss those days. My Dnephew wanted Chuckie Cheese for his 21st party! We did it and he had a blast! Of course after that party he went out to the local bars, but it was still fun!

 

[lpereira]

I feel for you. I have a relative whose daughters irthday is in 2 weeks. When she first mentioned chucky cheese to me i headed her off at the pass age offered to throw the child a birthday party at our house in our pool. I'm even springing for the cake.
Money well spent imo.

 

[eyor44]

We had one 2 years ago for DD and she loved it. I did too. Someone else did all the setup and cleanup. We brought our own cake, but let them do everything else.

 

[brymolmom]

Actually I must say that dd's Chuck E Cheese party was not too bad - chaos wise and money wise.

What we did was this - did it on the evening on her actual birthday (which was a Wednesday) - this cut down on chaos as it wasn't too crowded. Next we did not pay per head for a birthday party - I got on CEC's email and got some special coupons - just got a few large pizzas and a whole bunch of tokens - paid the extra 99 cents (at that time at least) to upgrade drinks to the CEC refillable cups and used those as the favors. Then I went to the Dollar store and got a nice birthday tablecloth and a few nice balloons and put them on our table/ her chair. Plus we brought in a cookie cake we purchased. It worked out great and I think cost in the $150 range (but only cuz we had adults there too - some aunts/uncles and grandparents - if it wasn't for them would have been less expensive). This was for I think 12 kids total, plus all the adults.

Easy...No cleanup....a bit more $$ than I would have spent if we did it at home - but very worth it.

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

I'm in the same boat. My ds is turning 6 in a few weeks, and wants a Chuck E. Cheese party! He had one there a couple years ago.

We've always had his parties on a weeknight. The place is basically empty!!

When I've booked an actual party, I did the cheapest option. We brought our own cake. I used coupons for the extra pizzas, so we got a bunch of free tokens. We did our own goody bags.

I decided not to do the actual party option with ds. They have that ticket blaster machine where the kids get to catch tickets. My ds has Asperger's, and I can totally see him not being able to catch them...which will result in a huge tantrum. I'll just avoid all of that. He doesn't know any better. He also has a friend who is afraid of the mouse, so this will avoid having Chuck E show up!

It's really not that bad. I would strongly suggest doing it at an "off" time to avoid extra chaos.

Good luck!

 

[Pigeon]

I was totally prepared to hate it, but when my dd wanted one, it was way better than what I was expecting. It was much cheaper than most other venues, and they took care of just about everything. Yes, it's loud and obnoxious, but overall, much easier than doing it yourself.

 

[jjan]

What we always did (we have had several) is our CEC (and I think all of them) allow you to "have a party" but not book it through them. I would get a couple great coupons that gave x amount of tokens with each pizza purchase, I would buy each kid one of the lifetime refill cups (I think that that they still have these) and mark it with the kid's name, divi up the tokens, bring our own table stuff from the dollar store and a cake. I think that we also brought goldfish crackers for the table for munching when kids were without pizza. It was awesome! Our CEC has a little dining room set off from the rest of the place which we would always kind of take over (in a nice way). My DD always had a blast and it was very affordable. Doing it this way was a great solution when people wouldn't RSVP or for those that showed up with siblings that were not expected as opposed to X amount per person.

 

[Disneyliscious]

We done one a little over a year ago and loved it as well. I think there were 8 adults and 5 kids and it cost around $200. We got goodie bags and ordered some of the extra pepperoni pizzas that you can order with the birthday package and then we ordered 3 supreme's for the adults and I think there were 2 salad bar purchases as well as the cake. We didn't go all out and get everything but it was worth it. We also had purchased a lot of tokens in that amount too.

Be sure to check out their website and coupon circulars for some coupons too!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I am NOT a Chunkie Cheese fan, but my boys loved or in the case of the little one still love it and I love my boys....so....... Really if you can get an off time to avoid the crazy crowds, its not bad at all. Pizza is pretty good and no mess. no hassle and it is really not that expensive. I think it's sort of a parent rite of passage!!

 

[Kellydelly]

Do it on a week night! Their pizza is actually good . Love the chicken bbq .

 

[fakereadhed]

My oldest DD loves working there! She is a party hostess. If you have any specific questions I'll ask her for you.

I am a control freak. I had my DS party as a walk in on a Thurs afternoon and brought my own cake. I would rather be in charge of my own party. Because we had lots of kids we got a group rate and I used coupons for extra tokens and pizza/drinks for the moms that showed up. Cleanup? Brought my own disposable table stuff(no outside cups allowed) and disposable tablecloths. Rolled it all up and threw it out. Cheap and easy party.

 

[dvcnewgirl]

Thanks all! You are making me feel better. The prices here are 12.99 for the Star party. You only have to have 4 children to get the party and he gets the crown and the ticket thing. So what do you guys think if I book that for 4 kids and then use the coupons and stuff for all of the other kids and use my own table cloths and plates etc? Do you think that would work? I know I can get pizza and tokens way cheaper but I do not want him to miss out on what he is looking for. Maybe fakereadhead you could ask your daughter if this would work? Thanks everyone!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

Oh and I do plan on doing 10AM. Beat the crowds!