Indoor Birthday Party Venues in Southern Maine

When I was planning my soon to be 5 year old's birthday, I was stuck with a few limitations. April in Maine is unpredictable, to say the least, but outdoors, no matter how nice the weather was unfortunately not an option. We also had guests traveling from Central and Southern Maine, so location was also important. After much research, we found several viable options, but one that worked the best for us. Luckily, Portland, Maine offers family friendly options that I didn't even realize existed before my search began.

Our first option that we considered was Jokers Fun & Games. Located at 510 Warren Avenue in Portland, ME, Jokers is an indoor fun zone for toddlers on up. Jokers has plenty of video games, skee ball, indoor jungle gym and other places to (literally) bounce off the walls. Jokers offers food (pizzas, burgers, and other appetizer/friend good options) and a large area to eat, which is nice for groups to be able to have a little more quiet time, singing happy birthday and opening gifts, too. Jokers does have an area for smaller children (under age 4), with a small slide, mini play gym and an area with plastic balls to jump around in. While there are some activities with younger children in mind, I still feel that Jokers is a more appropriate birthday venue for children somewhere around the ages of 7 to 11. The arcade games, physical play area, bounce zones, laser tag and rock wall are great entertainers for children, but for the little ones, too much supervision is required to make for a fun party of five year olds. Prices range from $13.99 to $19.99 per child, including pizza and cake, 20 game tokens and options for the bounce houses, laser tag and slides. Ice cream and party favors are available for an additional cost and adults are not included in the pricing for food/tokens/etc.

Chuck E. Cheese is another option similar to Jokers, with about half of the square footage (I'm being generous here) and when we went on a Saturday late afternoon, it was pretty crowded. There was a pretty good sized area for eating, but lots of smaller tables, nothing that seemed appropriate for a large group of kids. There were plenty of younger children activities- with small rides (the kind that my mom used to pay a quarter for me to ride outside of K-Mart when I was little), skee ball (my favorite) and other arcade games that varied for age appropriateness. They also had an indoor play gym, but it was quite a bit smaller than the one at Jokers. My conclusion- Chuck E. Cheese offered a smaller sized version of what Jokers had to offer (so better for smaller groups- less than 5 kids, I would say), with more options for the under 7 crowd. For $12.99 per child, a reserved table, pizza, unlimited soft drinks and 20 tokens per child are provided. For $5 more, goody bags and an extra 12 game tokens are included for each child. Not entirely a bad deal, depending on the needs of your party.

The Maine Academy of Gymnastics was another option that we considered, with plenty of physical activity to keep a group of 5 year olds busy. For an hour of gym play, thirty minutes of the party room accessibility (for cake/food, presents), the basic party package is $224 for up to 15 kids. The deluxe party option includes cake, ice cream, plates, plasticware and pretty much everything but the kids and presents for $289. The availability is primarily on weekends, which is ok, since most parties tend to be on the weekends, but the half hour availability of the party room doesn't seem like much- even though for an activity like gymnastics, there probably isn't a big need for loading up on cake and ice cream! The Maine Academy of Gymnastics is a nice option for a variety of age ranges- from small to tall- they have a lot to offer for little ones (3-6), as well as older kids (up to 11 or 12).

Regardless of rain or shine, snow or ice, it won't matter for having a party at the Color Me Mine art studio. I thought a group of 5 year olds might be just a little too young for this paint-it-yourself pottery shop. It's a fantastic venue for slightly older children- right up to adult age children! They will arrange for a table/separate area for the party group and then based on the package you choose, each party guest will get a credit towards a blank piece of pottery- ranging from plates and mugs, to vases and small statues. There is a dedicated assistant to help with any ideas, needs and clean up afterwards. Times range from one and a half to two hours, depending on the package chosen. After about a week, you can come back and get your finished pottery. The only problem with this is getting all of the pottery back to the party guests- especially if you have a lot of guests! Prices range from $20 per painter (minimum of 8 guests) up to $30 per painter, plus a 15% gratuity. If you don't want the organized party, or have less than 8 guests, Color Me Mine would still be a good option, in my opinion, and would almost seem more manageable. Parking is available (they have about 4 or 5 spots across the street, but as Color Me Mine is in the downtown area of Portland, be forewarned that parking is always at a minimum, so the bigger your group, the more limited it will be! During the summer months, it is inevitably worse, so plan accordingly (Saturday afternoon will be the most difficult time to find parking).

Our final choice for an indoor birthday party was at the Children's Museum of Maine. Located in downtown Portland, we also faced the parking issue- and it just so happened that our party was on the same night as a big concert just down the street at the Civic Center. There is a parking lot right next to the museum, although there is a fee- but good planners can arrange to pre-pay parking. We found good parking on the street just around the corner from the museum and my husband was kind enough to direct the rest of the guests there as well, so it all worked out ok, but it was definitely an initial concern of mine when booking the party. The Children's Museum of Maine offers tons of hands on play with lots of different areas to explore. The museum offered several different party options, with private rooms for food, cake and presents, as well as use of the museum. Because we were looking to have the party on a Saturday, I was concerned that there might be a lot of confusion and chaos with other non-party guests. We were able to book a private party, after hours, which gave us the entire museum to ourselves. For $300 (our fee was $250 as members), we were able to have two hours of the museum with up to twenty kids (siblings were free and not part of the 20) and unlimited adults, we thought this was the best option. A deluxe party option was available as well, which included cake and ice cream and a theme- with matching cups/plates/etc. We made our own cake and brought food in (they even suggested local take-out restaurants to help provide food). We had a whole room where we brought the food in, so adults could let their children run free (no need to worry too much, as there weren't any strangers milling about and the front doors were locked). We had an attendant to help with any questions, make announcements on the loud speaker and to clean up- we put all trash items away, but they did the sweeping, wiping, and mopping, which was nice. The only downside to the private party was the timing- after hours meant that it went from 5 to 7 PM. An early morning option was available as well, but I didn't think that would be as easy to do. We just ordered pizza and had additional snacking foods available so that dinnertime wouldn't be too interrupted. The basic, non-private parties charged per child ($10) and only included up to five adult chaperones, which I thought made it a little difficult, since at age 5, most parents aren't just dropping their kids off at parties. For a bit older group of kids, that might be okay, but still, the age of enjoyment for the Children's Museum probably doesn't go much higher than 8 or 9. We had some smaller children at the party (one and a half to two and a half) and they all seemed to enjoy themselves fine, and the private party option meant that they had a little more space to play around in without being overrun by the bigger kids.

In all, we were very satisfied with our final decision and would even consider having the next party at the Children's Museum, it was so successful- easy and calm, everyone left with a big smile (except those who were crying because they didn't want to leave) and I am sure there were some heavy sleepers that night. While I think all of the above venues are decent places to have an indoor party in Southern Maine, the desirability of one location over another will depend on the age range and interests of the group. Ultimately, the pricing ends up all being about the same- somewhere between $12 and $20 per person is not unexpected, when you add in all the food, invitations, gratuities, goody bags and other gifts. A little research and a lot of planning will certainly go a long way for a successful birthday party in Portland, Maine!