Celebrating A Birthday At the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk?

10 GREAT BIRTHDAY IDEAS

Going to be at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 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 Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Adventure Challenge - Watch the video below for details!

Wrap a single gift many times, preferably with different colors/types of wrapping paper and containers (though not necessary.) Give the birthday boy/girl the gift at the beginning of the day and tell them that they can unwrap ONE layer in each line that they wait in. Don't tell them how many layers there are - let them wonder if each layer will be their last! If you don't plan on going on many rides/attractions, you can also have them unwrap one layer every hour.

Bring a bunch of small cake candles with you to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and stick them in EVERY bit of food that the birthday boy/girl eats for the day - to blow out the candles each time. It will get to be a lot of fun as they blow out the candles on their birthday hot dog, birthday churro and birthday soda!

Plan a fun scavenger hunt throughout the day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. 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 the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk - a package for them to open once there filled with all kinds of puzzles and things to do! CLICK HERE to learn more!

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 the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. 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.)

If you'd like to give them a gift for them to open AT the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 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 the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Gather a bunch of trivia to create questions about the actual year the birthday boy/girl was born. This could be about everything from movies, music, political leaders/current events and even the price of gas! Ask a few questions each time there is a lull in the fun (I.e. waiting in line, etc.) and keep track of who gets the most correct answers throughout the day. Give a prize at the end for the winner. The prize could be something special that they get to do WITH the birthday boy/girl!

At one point, buy a helium balloon at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. 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'!

Make a game out of their actual age number - see how many times you can find that number throughout the day at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. For example, if the birthday boy/girl is turning 21, everyone must look for the number '21' throughout the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. 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.

Head of times, write down on small pieces of paper different topics for memories to share about the birthday boy/girl while standing in line or throughout the day. For example, you may choose that every 30 minutes a different person (NOT the birthday boy/girl) will draw a piece of paper out of a hat - perhaps the first one says "FUNNY." That person will then share a funny story about the birthday boy to share with everyone. This is a great way to encourage the birthday boy/girl throughout the day!

Sing Happy Birthday in EVERY line that you wait in. You'll be surprised how often other folks don't mind joining in the song…especially in those longer lines when there's not a lot else for folks to do.