Less Mess

Bake a cake? Assemble loot bags? Entertain a dozen pint-sized bundles of energy all by yourself? No need to go it alone! Here are three of our favourite birthday party shortcuts.
Better Loot
Gone are the days of running from dollar store to candy store in search of sugar- and dye-infused bonbons and landfill-cluttering plastic trinkets. Save yourself the time, energy and enviro-guilt. Hire Ottawa’s Loot Bag Lady. She’ll do it all for you and deliver the loot to your doorstep with not a trace of sugar. You can choose from a long list of appealing themes—think ‘Builder Boys’ or ‘Bertha Butterfly.’

Better Than Cake
Why serve messy cake when you can hand out neat, trendy little cupcakes instead? In fact, why serve cupcakes when you could raise the stakes by serving the newest craze—cake pops! Gateau Neo is our new favourite destination for all three of these things. It’s in Aylmer (a bit of a detour), but the cupcakes are among the best in the national capital region (tall praise indeed). And the cake pops will make your young guests swoon.

Better Than Home
While you’re at it, why not outsource the whole shebang? The cool new kid on the block here is Funhaven, which offers several party packages. All include a dedicated ‘Fun Expert’ (aka person in charge who is not you), pizza and pop or juice, an opportunity to build your own sundae, online printable invitations, and a choice of activities such as laser tag, bumper cars or rock climbing. For extra, they’ll throw in loot bags, grown-up food, cupcakes, cake or a pinata.