Birthday at the Virginia Zoo

Anne's fourth birthday was her first "real" birthday party -- the first three were just close friends and family -- and she wanted to go all out for it. We looked at several venues around the area, and then cheered when A. chose the Virginia Zoo -- besides being one of our favorite places, it's a reasonable price, especially for members, and it allows a ton of guests (up to 45, which is necessary when you have a big family like ours). Other than that, general plusses were that a zoo party really cuts down on planning to be done, as it includes food (pizza!) and activities (animal visits!) in the package. All you have to provide is the cake and a dozen excited toddlers, hooray for minimal fuss.

The zoo staff was really great, helping us with setup and logistics and providing toys and hands on activities, but the animal presentation was really the highlight of the party. Our handler was really knowledgeable, and the variety of animals was really cool and varied, from tarantulas to tenrecs. The end of the party, cake and presents, felt a bit rushed -- it would be great if the zoo allotted two hours instead of one-and-a-half for the whole shebang -- but other than that, Anne's big 4 was a big success and it was a real treat to be able to experience the zoo with all of our favorite people at once.

What are your favorite birthday venues around #HRVA? I'd like to put together a master list or regular feature on birthdays around town, if you have any ideas or would like to feature your child's party, let me know!