Celebrating A Birthday At Idlewild Park?

10 GREAT BIRTHDAY IDEAS

Going to be at Idlewild Park for someone's birthday? Celebrate throughout the day with these fun ways to keep the birthday fun going!

These ideas are sponsored by the Great Dollywood Adventure Challenge - Watch the video below for details!

Surprise the birthday boy/girl with special 'guests.' Do not tell them about your plans to invite one or more of their friends to join you/him/her at Idlewild Park. Make it seem like a family trip. Arrange to meet his/her friend(s) AT Idlewild Park. It will feel like an added gift to see their friend(s) there when he/she wasn't expecting it!

Plan a fun scavenger hunt throughout the day at Idlewild Park. There are all different types of scavenger hunts to go on, each with a different format. Although for some parties having different teams compete with each other can be a lot of fun, for someone's birthday when there is one person to honor, it's typically best to have everyone on the same team - everyone gets to help the birthday boy/girl be successful…when one person wins, they all win! These can be a lot of fun to create, but can take some extra work to make creative (sometimes you'll need more than just a list to excite some teens, for example.) Consider our GREAT ADVENTURE CHALLENGE AT Idlewild Park - a package for them to open once there filled with all kinds of puzzles and things to do! CLICK HERE to learn more!

If you'd like to give them a gift for them to open AT Idlewild Park, consider putting it in a locker first and then wrapping up the key to the locker in a little gift bag. This way you won't have to carry around the gift all day and it's always fun and mysterious to get a 'secret key' as a gift! This also works especially well if you're planning a treasure hunt or scavenger hunt inside Idlewild Park.

Make a game out of their actual age number - see how many times you can find that number throughout the day at Idlewild Park. For example, if the birthday boy/girl is turning 21, everyone must look for the number '21' throughout Idlewild Park. Award one point to the FIRST person who finds a new one throughout the day and add up the points at the completion. You might find numbers on height requirement signs, menus, ticket pricing signs, phone numbers, etc.

At one point, buy a helium balloon at Idlewild Park. Each person there uses a Sharpie marker (that you brought with you) to write down something positive they'd like to wish for the birthday boy/girl for that coming year (or later in life.) Once everyone has had a chance to write them all down on the balloon, allow either each person to share what they wrote or allow the birthday boy/girl to read them all. Finally, let the birthday boy/girl RELEASE the helium balloon in the air and watch their dreams sail up and up - where the birthday boy/girl will 'catch up with them later'!

This activity is typically best with family (or friends they've known for a very, very long time) and although it might take some coordinating, it can have a great impact on the birthday boy/girl. Divide up the years among everyone going to Idlewild Park with the birthday boy/girl. For example, if he/she is turning 14, then divide up the years 1-14 among everyone. The goal is to have a unique story to share about each year in his/her life that can be shared with everyone throughout the day. For those that are older, it's ok to skip every few years for the sake of capturing their whole life span. Make sure the stories are told in order. This also works especially well when you focus on their achievements throughout his/her life!

This is a great game to play for a larger group (4+). Ahead of time, prepare a list of fun tasks to do at Idlewild Park at write the out separately on small pieces of paper - at least enough for each person going. It's best to have someone else (who is NOT going with you to Idlewild Park) write them out - someone you can trust. Throughout the day, the birthday boy/girl periodically pulls one task out and reads it out loud. He/she then CHOOSES who in the group must complete the task right then. The rules are that EVERY person completes one task. The birthday boy/girl cannot look ahead at the different pieces of paper to see which ones he/she wants to assign or do for himself/herself. This can also be a great thing to do in the different lines you might wait in.

If the birthday boy/girl is going with a larger group (3+ people) have each person take a different time slot to give a small gift or card. In this way you won't have to plan everything - just the making sure that each person has their small gift/card with them ready for the special day at Idlewild Park. For the sake of remembering, it's suggested that each person take an hour on the hour time slot (I.e. one person has 1:00, the next person has 2:00, etc.)

Before you even leave for your day at Idlewild Park, decorate the INSIDE of your car with streamers and balloons (of course, being sure to not obstruct the view of the driver.) This will get the excitement going for the day ahead before you even get there!

Make up shirts for all those going to Idlewild Park with the birthday boy/girl that say something fun like "It's Tim's Birthday today!" or "Point and smile at Tim - he's 18 today!"