We're planning to have my daughter's 7th b-day celebration at the Alltel Ice Den up in Scottsdale. She wants an ice skating party.
Has anyone done a party here?
Advice? Anything we should be aware of? Good deal? Rip-off?
Anything you wish you knew beforehand that you learned by doing?
Anything we ought to request?
I was planning to use the party rooms upstairs...not the wild, chaotic Peter Piper scene downstairs. Too nervous I'll lose a kid otherwise!
Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 6 yr. old daughter and a 4 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.
We used the ice skating rink
We used the ice skating rink in Chandler, but I think they are similar. The only thing that I would do differently is to require the parents to stay with their children or have a lot of extra adults to help you. Some of the parents dropped their kids and left and this was a birthday for my then seven year old child. Trying to keep an eye on 10 seven year olds was not fun. Other than that it was a really fun party. Definitely stay away from the downstairs Peter Piper-like area.
We also had a party at the
We also had a party at the Polar Ice in Chandler. My only complaint was we had about 10 kids and 9 were really into the skating and 1 got blisters. It was a bummer not only for that kid, but my daughter (b-day girl) felt really bad for her and stayed off the ice to keep her company. In retrospect, I probably wouldn't do a skating party again, but my daughter loves going to parties at the rink!
sure, fine, whatever
Make sure the kids bring
Make sure the kids bring gloves and at least light coats. Mine forgot gloves and when she fell and her hands got cold, she got cranky.
Arizona Moms Editor Yvette Armendariz shares stories about raising her kids and tips for busy parents in her Time-starved (goddess) Mom blog. She and her husband are raising two children, ages 8 and 11.
I have been to other bday
I have been to other bday parties in ice skating rinks and I have to say, other than the parents, I was the only one there. THey girls had an instructor for about 10 girls, but I was the only one that stayed there and went on the ice with my daugther because she does not know very well how to skate. I was constantly trying to help other kids becuase they were falling, which meant I was not around when mine fell and hurt herself. If you are considering doing a party there, perhaps ask a couple of your good friends to come help you out on the rink, although you might not need them if the girls know how to skate well.
discussion leader, single mom of an 11 year old girl. She has a master's degree which she was able to complete thanks to the support of her family. At this time, she is trying to make it work between raising her and having a full time job!