Sophie loves to do crafts so it felt like a logical move to host her birthday party at THE craft store! We are at Michaels Craft Stores often enough that I had taken note of their party space about a year ago and thought that it would be the perfect way to celebrate Sophie’s next birthday.
Sophie’s 5th birthday party would be her first to celebrate with friends (not just family!), so keeping the party size small was way more our speed, and having a sit-down kind of party seemed like something Sophie would enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, we LOVE more active play parties so that was always an option, but this scenario felt like the right choice for us this year.
When I shared on Instagram that we had Sophie’s party at Michaels, I got multiple responses saying “I didn’t even know they offered birthday parties!” so I felt like I should share a post with details about our experience!
Booking a party was super easy. The website walks you through it all, step-by-step. Given the few party options available, we felt that the Paint Party made the most sense for our group participants.
“Host your next celebration at Michaels! Whether it’s a kid’s birthday party, a team event, or a night out with friends, Michaels has everything you need to make your event memorable!
For kids ages 4-12 our birthday parties are 100% fun and zero stress. When you book a birthday party at Michaels, you’ll get everything you need to make the celebration unforgettable including fun crafting projects that kids love, as well as silverware and plates! We also offer many different party themes like tie-dye, paint party, and beads & bag charm party so you can personalize the party for their special day!
Add-Ons such as soda, pizza, balloons, & goodie bags are also available. Sit back and enjoy the fun while the party captain guides the 2 hour event. Learn more about booking your child’s next birthday party at your nearest Michaels location.”
^ (please note the sentence I’ve bolded above and hold onto that for later in this post)
I was able to schedule our party a few weeks in advance and on the day before the party a store manager reached out to get more details to cater to the birthday guest’s preferences (favorite color, show, animal(s), etc). I felt pretty prepared!
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The general party room decor was very sweet and fairly neutral (which made it easy to add our own decorative touches to enhance the theme). Sophie has been really into the “Gabby’s Dollhouse” show in recent years and a lot of crafting happens on the show. Those crafts often inspires Sophie to request crafting activities at home so the craft/paint party theme was accented by a few Gabby-inspired items.
The party space was well set up with lots of surfaces (the activity tables + food / gift tables) with supplies readily available, aprons at every crafting station, and a conveniently located sink within the room.
We were permitted to get to the store’s party space 15 minutes before the party began to set up / decorate. I didn’t have much to do, but 15 minutes felt like ample time to unpack my decor and food items.
When we arrived the space was ready for our group and each station had: one coloring page, markers, a canvas, a pencil, paint, glitter glue, a glue stick, paintbrushes, and assorted gems and googly eyes.
Of course, as the kids arrived and sat down, they all immediately went for the paint. However, it was expected that they would start with coloring and then move to the painting afterward. If that was the case, I was surprised that the paint and canvases were at each station at the start for this age group. This meant there was a bit of confusion and enough implied creative freedom for the kids so they were using markers on the canvases and applying paint to the coloring pages and it was a little chaotic as we tried to guide the littles to their initial coloring activity.
Once everyone was done coloring their pages, the team member told the kids that they could use their pencils to draw whatever they wanted on their canvases and then when they were done sketching they could apply some paint.
I will admit that I was expecting a bit more structure and guidance from the team member, but I can’t fault her for the experience because she told us it was her first time working a birthday party and I just don’t think she had been equipped / trained properly on how to manage this type of party for this age group.
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On the party FAQ page, I found this information:
“Do you make anything at the party?
— Yes, kids will make 3 crafts, one wearable item, one sensory item, and one hero project to be proud of.”
Our experience differed from this information and part of me wonders if the description is accurate (and if it applies to all party types) because we didn’t make a wearable item nor a sensory item?
“How long is a party?
— Two hours, one hour is for crafts, and the other hour is for food and presents.”
I don’t know where in my brain I thought that we would be spending the majority of the 2 hours doing activities and then have 30-45 min to eat / have cake. I didn’t plan for any games because I thought that we’d be busy with painting activities(?) and I’m also not much for opening gifts in front of a group, so we don’t do that.
That’s not to say that our assigned team member wasn’t helpful — she eagerly provided additional supplies when requested, was constantly tidying up the space (gathering spent supplies, rinsing abandoned [used] paintbrushes, and so on), and keeping us on track time-wise, but there was no real Leading Of An Activity, which I was kind of counting on because let’s be honest… 4 and 5 year olds NEED that guidance and structure!
Sophie had a great time being creative with her friends and I’d definitely recommend this kind of party for the little crafter in your life! Just be sure you get more details about what you’re signing up for before you book the event.
Sending big [glitter glue] hugs —
xx, Natalie
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