8Th Birthday Party Ideas

Budget friendly and 35 people, not so much. I am doing my son's birthday party at Michaels. Very reasonable.
Oh another party that is reasonable is California Pizza Kitchen ($10 a head).
Do a kid party and maybe have family over another time for cake.

Quick thought about your numbers. At 8 years old most of the parents will expect to simply drop off their kids. I'm wondering if your total number should really be closer to 20 (the 5 of you and the 15 friends). That could help your bottom line.

If the weather's nice, a party at a local park could be a big hit.

I'm with you about not having the party at home. Goodness gracious, that can be so much work :-)

We have a local Go-Cart/Mini-Golf place that we have used for birthday parties. For $10/kid we get a go-cart ride, a bumper boat ride and a game of mini-golf. We bring our own snacks and cake. We do drop off birthdays, and the kids each invite around eight friends.

I'd just rent a pavilion at a local park that has an awesome playground and let them go play the whole time. Just holler for them to come have cake and perhaps open the gifts if they can do all 3 in less than half an hour. Longer than that I think I'd be bored.

Simply do cakes and ice cream and drinks. Then you don't have any other cost. Probably under $125 for it all.

At a park with a scavenger hunt to keep them busy.

We have enjoyed parties at painting places, whether it's pottery or canvas. But that can get pricey, you'd just have to check local places for prices.

We've also done the following:
Bowling
Movie Theater
Jump Yard
Pool Rental

All of the above were under $350 for about 20 kids.

I also like the idea of renting a pavillion and just having an outdoor fun party. We have been to several of those. Popular games there are a pinata, the egg toss, and water balloons. Or course it's for warmer weather.

If you are trying to keep the budget down, you can have the party after noon, perhaps 1:30 p.m., which allows enough time to have lunch. Then write a little note in the invitation to "Join us for cake and ice cream..."

We had a local pizza place called Graziano’s Pizza that had a small arcade, they did parties which were very reasonable. Sadly I just looked and they have closed.

You will just have to call around to see what the rates are. At 8 years old, I would suggest, laser tag, the endless trampoline places, or take them on a family trip.

See if you can find a place like that to do the party.

How about a party at a local park so you aren't charged per person and can bring your own food (think hotdogs or pizza). Kids can have fun and just be kids and you can do some traditional games as well?

Just think outside the box. If it were here I'd be thinking beach party because we are TIRED of winter.
If it's in April I'd have an April fools party. I'd make all the games and decorations in a harmless fun manner. The cake could be a dirt cake with gummy worms. Maybe bob for apples and the one with the gummy worm in it is the winner. Maybe see if there are any local kids that would dress up or do a funny skit/prank. I'm sure there are a great deal of ideas on the Internet. My 8 year old loves funny stuff.

Bowling
Party in the park (rent cool stuff)
Roller skating party
Laser Tag

I don't know what you consider to be budget friendly. My friend recently rented out a movie theatre on a Saturday morning for her two daughters' birthday party. She paid about $400 for the theatre rental, movie showing, popcorn and soda for everyone. They had cake in the back of the theatre afterwards - she had to bring that in so it was an additional cost. On the other hand, she was able to seat an entire theatre worth of people so since she had about 50 people (two girls, their friends, parental chaperones, family, etc) it was probably not outrageous. She said it is cheaper if you take the 10am slot.

Good luck!

If you're looking for something budget friendly, out of the house, first I'd suggest trimming the guest list and excluding parents. 8 year olds don't need parents at a birthday party. Let each child bring 2 or 3 friends. Take them all to see a movie and then out for pizza or ice cream. Or if your mall has a Glow Golf place, do that and then the pizza or ice cream, or take them all bowling but do it at a time where you don't need to provide a meal - so bowl at 2:00 and then out for ice cream or see if the bowling alley will let you bring in a cake without purchasing their party package.

Bowling or ice skating would be fun. My son recently went to a movie party - they got a tour of the theater's projection room, watched the movie, then had time in the party room for pizza and cake.

You could do it at a local park, too. Choose one with a good playground and you don't need any additional entertainment. A pinata would be fun.