(Age group : 5 to 18 years)
This is one of my favourite themes. And it works well for 2 types of guests.
- If you have a younger kid, then instead of calling his school friends, call over his cousins and relatives. This is as much fun for adults as it is for kids.
- If you have older teenagers, then you may call his friends and carpool with some (not all) of their parents.
I will tell you why. I live in a crowded metropolitan city. So fresh air and open spaces are a treat for us. And these open spaces are very far from the city. So, taking all the parents of younger kids is not recommended. Its better to take relatives along with whom you will also enjoy.
Or older teens only.
Now for the venue. There are so many in the outskirts. Lohagarh farms, pratapgarh farms, rocksport. But these are all open for general public on all days. And are a little cliche too. So I searched and searched. And I found Thakran farms in Pataudi, Haryana.. ofcourse it was a bit far.. almost 2 hours drive. But our family didnt mind as it was a sunday. The road to the farm was a lot bumpy. So we had to leave my 7 month pregnant sis in law at home.. which I truly regret.
Obstacle course Slingshot
Anyways, my son was 6 at that time, so I only invited relatives and a few of our family friends. And boy!! Was that day amazing!!!
Green open farm. A mini zoo with emu (a big ostrich like bird), parrots, rabbits, hens, dogs ( all caged ofcourse).
Emu Taking out Radish Cabbage patch
Then there was a very big obstacle course. There was also an SUV track but it was not operational 4 years ago. Then there were equipments for badminton, rope pulling, cricket, shooting, pitthu.. you just name it. It was a village like feel but a clean and exotic village.
There were cottages too.. in case someone wants to spend the night.
I had already talked to the owner of Thakran farms and she was so sweet and arranges everything for us nicely. Half of the payment was done beforehand and rest I gave on the premises itself.
So, we reached there at around 12 noon. Upon reaching, they served breakfast snacks and chaach. It was all cooked there only. We could also make special request to the cook if needed.
Then we explored around. Played cricket. Table tennis, obstacle course.
It was lunch time. The lunch was simple but so delicious. They even made dal chawal (on request)l without spices for a small kid. Everyone was so polite there.
After the meal.. we cut the cake we had brought ourselves and again explored. There was this big organic vegetable farm there. We took radish, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms. And such beautiful flowers.
As am writing about it, the memories are coming in my mind like pictures and I cant help feeling so glad from inside.
We also rode a camel cart.. it was bumpy and fun.
The Camel Cart
In the evening they served pakoras with tea. This place is fun for the grandparents too.
Its a refreshing break from the monotonous birthday parties. I took small cute chairs as return gifts for the little ones. For more return gift ideas, you can click here.
Made the pokemons with Play-Doh.. just to decorate
I should also list the drawbacks
- Its a little far away
- On the expensive side.. so I would recommend to keep the guest list small
- Its weather dependent. Birthday party in extreme cold or extreme heat will be a big fuss. So try to go in an appropriate season.
But it will be a rejuvenating day. The only thing you need to carry are cake and return gifts. Rest you will be pampered in an ethnic way.