Unique Birthday Party Ideas across North East England

This post has been published by Bethanie from Girl About Northumberland. Details are correct as of November 2021. Please check direct with venues for up-to-date information and pricing when booking. Over to Bethanie........ 

Okay, so you have exhausted the soft play and don’t fancy facing another weekend spent in the village hall assisting with “pass the parcel”. You could host a party at home but that just involves a lot of hard work on your part. (I have done it recently and the balloons are still hanging around, slightly deflated.)

If you have a little one with a birthday coming up, have a read through these unique party ideas for under 7’s, that steer clear of the traditional and involve little organising on your part.
I have put together a round up that caters for parties on all budgets.

Fun Little Foodies.

If you have some budding bakers in the house, this party idea is definitely going to be up their street. 
Fun Little Foodies normally run weekly baking classes for children, but they also offer party packages, suitable for children age 3+. With four different packages available there is plenty of choice depending on your requirements. 


Classes are typically for up to twelve children and you suggest the venue, Fun Little Foodies come to you. (If you are struggling to find somewhere suitable however, just send a message for their personal recommendations.)


See the below image for the different party packages or visit the website to get booking. https://www.funlittlefoodies.co.uk/

Dark Sky Sleepovers.

Perhaps you are wanting to stay a little closer to home. How about your living room? Or in the kids bedrooms? Imagine not having to actually leave the house AND someone does all the setting up for you?


Dark Sky Sleepovers offer different themed party set ups that are sensory based so perfect for the under 7’s. Themes include Space, Movie Night, Cowgirl and even a Christmas themed party. 

Priced at £40 per person, which includes a gift for each guest, little extras from local businesses can also be added to the party booking. Perfect, you can tick party bags off your list. 


Visit the Dark Sky Sleepover website to pick your theme and start your booking.


 http://www.darkskysleepovers.co.uk/ 

Whitehouse Farm.

Located just outside of Morpeth, Whitehouse Farm provides a fun day out for all the family. If you have a child who is animal mad, they are going to love one of the party packages available down on the farm. 

The different party themes are:

• Birds of prey party. £18.95 per child and a minimum of eight children.

• Animalistic party. £18.95 per child and a minimum of ten children.

• Unicorn/pony party. £22.95 per child and a minimum of eight children. 

• Reptile and mini beasts party. £18.95 per child and a minimum of eight children.
  
  
  

I like that there are also downloadable invites available with each package which gives you one less thing to worry about. 



Each package includes a dedicated party host to help keep everyone in order and the party running smoothly, choice of hot or cold party food with jugs of juice provided and one free adult entry with each party guest. The birthday guest can have up to two free adult entries. 



Visit Whitehouse Farm website for further information. https://www.whitehousefarmcentre.co.uk/parties/

Cake at your favourite National Trust play park.

Bear with me for this one as we actually did this ourselves for our daughter’s first birthday, and it was a lovely afternoon with very little stress.  



I simply ordered a few simple decorations from Etsy, packed a birthday cake, thermos flask of hot water, teas, coffees and juice and off to Cragside National Trust we headed. For us personally, it was a free trip out as we already have our membership for the National Trust, but if you aren’t a member you will have to factor in this cost. 

We invited family to meet us at the play park so the older children could have a good run around, while we seated ourselves at one of the picnic tables and tucked into birthday cake and a hot drink. It was very simple yet everyone enjoyed themselves. 

Animal antics.

Another animal themed party, but this time the animals come to you, or your venue of choice. With the tag line “bringing our little animals to your little animals”, I think you can sense the fun and engaging vibe from this party host. 



Please be aware, there is a minimum age of four years old for this type of party.



There are different packages available depending on which animals you think the kids would like to handle but a typical party follows the structure of one hour of handling and meeting the animals, followed by half an hour of games. The birthday boy or girl will receive a gift, a medal and a photo with their favourite animal to remember their day by. 



Printed invitations and party bags can be provided if required.



Animal Antics parties covers areas: Northumberland, Tyneside, Durham, Newcastle and Gateshead. 
Take a look at the Animal Antics website for more information.

 http://www.animalanticsparties.co.uk/index-2.html

Active Northumberland.

There may be a few different options for a birthday party here, as Active Northumberland covers a range of activities including hall or pool hire. 



Why not book one of the sports halls for a football party, or head to the pool for an inflatables session?
For more information on the range of activities available and where your nearest leisure centre is, go to the Active Northumberland website. https://www.activenorthumberland.org.uk/Home.aspx

Woodland exploring.

We did this for Steve's birthday - Sam 

Over the summer holidays, my daughter was invited to a birthday party in some local woods. There was a promise of cake and plenty of running around space for the kids to explore and go on an adventure with their friends. 

A bit like the Cragside idea I mentioned previously, this is the low cost party idea suitable for all budgets. I love how original it was and how well it worked. Children and parents alike enjoyed themselves, so here are a few things you may want to consider while planning a party in the woods:

• Location – pick woodland that has an open space, a clearing perhaps, so that you can try and keep the children contained as best as possible. 

• Bring extra deckchairs or walking chairs in case there aren’t many picnic tables available. 

• Make sure your guests are advised to bring suitable footwear and dress according to the weather.

• Put together picnic boxes before leaving the house, to dish out at lunch time. 

• Have a few outdoor games planned for when you need to bring everyone back in. 

• Take rubbish home.

Plessey Woods is brilliant for this, read our guide to visiting Plessey Woods here. 

There you have it, unique party ideas for under 7’s, which I hope has given some inspiration for when your child suddenly announces they would like a party this year. Good luck! 


Other posts you may like: 

• 5 Party Ideas for Tweens across North East England