Kyle’s 4th Birthday at Kidville; My latest #NikonMOMents

As a Nikon Mom Ambassador, I’m documenting five key moments over the period of a year through my Nikon D3300 DSLR. One of those events includes my son’s 4th birthday.  Here are some of the highlights of his special day along with some mommy photography tips. 

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Guess who had a great time at my son’s birthday party? Me! This mommy did.  You know why? It was because I had nothing to do with it.  Yes, a hands-free kids birthday party held for 24 kids and 20 adults at Kidville Toronto and I had nothing to do with it and I loved it! Of course, my son and his friends had an amazing day as well.

This was my son’s first birthday party where the guests were his friends from his class, so it was extra special for him.  Seeing his friends outside of the school setting is always exciting, especially when you’re four years old and it’s a party!  Since my son is slightly obsessed with all things sports, we selected the Ultimate All-Star gym party theme.

Upon our arrival, we were ushered into the “Giggle” room which was set up with various activity tables.  The place looked great but what stood out for me, (versus my son) was the amount of detail.  The play-doh table included a warm greeting for my son which spelled out Happy Birthday Kyle in play-doh. Another table was set up with magnetic building toys, another had washable sports tattoos, and the last table was set up with a take-home arts & crafts activity that involved decorating a sports themed sippy cup with paint and sports stickers.  The floor was also set up with large soft building blocks which was a big hit with the younger kids.  Truly, there was something for everyone. Since the kids were mostly “calm” in this room, it was easy to capture the moments with my Nikon camera. There was also a lot of light in this room so I had no problem taking my time using the aperture exposure setting and was able to control the light transmitted through the lens (using a higher f-stop / medium apertures).

After half an hour, we were ushered into the next room – the gym! Big and spacious, the gym was a dream for the kids and the dad’s chaperoning. The kids were lead through a series of obstacles but mostly, it was free play. The highlights included playing basketball, soccer, going through the crawling tube, walking the beam and just running around playing and being goofy.  Basically, kids burning energy so they are nice and tired by the time to go back home. Since the gym didn’t have windows it was lit by fluorescent bulbs. This would have resulted in the pictures appearing yellow. This was easily corrected simply by using the flash… a tip that is often overlooked during day time and in well lit places as it seems unnecessary.  It also would have also been hard to capture the kids running and playing around without having the pictures turn out fuzzy.  This was alleviated simply by setting my camera to sports mode which captures fast movement and takes continuous pictures.

The last half hour was spent in the third room. With tables already pre-set for the little ones, the kids enjoyed some delicious cheese pizza and juice boxes.  The room was spacious and beautifully decorated. After the delicious meal, we were all treated to some yummy cupcakes which were included in the party package.  The cupcakes also included a sports-themed ring topper that the kids were especially excited about (almost as much as they were excited about the enticing and bright-coloured cupcake icing). My sister-in-law also made my son a chocolate hockey themed cake (as per my son’s request).  The lighting and the kids demeanor in this room was similar to the first room, so once again, I set my Nikon D3300 to aperture exposure and played around with the f-stop to get the perfect picture.

On the way out, each kid received a loot bag with two great party favours from Melissa & Doug and ALEX Toys and their sippy cup art and crafts project.  The staff packed up all of the left-over food and gifts, and we were on our merry way.  No clean-up required (can I get an AMEN?)!  When we got home, my son couldn’t’ wait to open up all of his gifts and of course, play with a few of them. It really was such a great day.

As a parent to three kids under the age of four (one of which is a newborn), the overall service provided by Kidville was priceless.  For the kids, it’s all about the non-stop carefree play.  For the parents, it’s about not having to spend any time planning, running around, stressing or worrying. It’s truly a win-win and that’s the beauty of holding a birthday party at Kidville.

As a parent, do you prefer to host your children’s birthday party at home or elsewhere? 

Disclosure: I am part of the Mom Central Canada Nikon MOMents team and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.