We Threw a Birthday Party at Lifetime Fitness and Here’s What Happened

I’ve always considered myself the “low-key party” mom. 

A cake, some balloons, a few friends, and we’re good. But when my daughter was about to turn 5, I thought, “Why not go big?”

 Five is a big deal, after all.

She’s not a toddler anymore, and this is the last year she’ll be at her daycare, so the last time she’ll see some of these friends that she’s grown up with.

Like many of you, I needed a place that would do most of the heavy lifting. I also needed a backup for the unpredictable summer weather.

As much as I love my sunscreen and sun hat, I wasn’t sure I was ready to bank on a sunny day or risk a potential downpour.

Enter: Lifetime Fitness.

 Now, you may be thinking, “Isn’t that a gym?” Yes, it is! But it’s so much more. 

In this post, I’ll share with you our experience throwing a birthday party at Lifetime Fitness.

LifeTime Fitness Kids Programs

In addition to being an adult gym, Lifetime Fitness also has a ton of kids programming called Kids Academy.

This can vary by club, but generally, this is a place you can have kids go while you work out (or, in my case, while I work in the Cafe), and kids can do supervised activities like arts and crafts, gymnastics, and dance. 

My daughter loves going there, so when it came time to think about planning her birthday we decided to look into the birthday parties.

Booking Our Party

Having an August baby means summer is in full swing by the time I start thinking about birthdays.

I reached out in May just to make sure we got a spot. Birthday parties in our area book up fast, so I wanted to make sure we could have the party we wanted.

 My club offered Saturday parties, with two timings: 11-1 or 2-4. Perfect! My youngest is still napping so we decided to go with the earlier option.

The base package cost $300, which covered 12 kids and two hours of non-stop fun, including pizza, juice, oranges, chips and water.

The only thing the party doesn’t include is a birthday cake or cookies, but they do allow you to bring that in. 

The add-ons got me super excited!

There was a bounce house, a ninja obstacle course, and even a slime activity (clean-up NOT in my house? Yes, please!). 

I chose the bounce house for an additional $100. 

While the rock wall was tempting, the age limit was 5 years, and not all our little guests had hit that milestone. I wanted to have an activity that all the kids could do.

Lifetime also has a pool party option for summer birthdays but requires a little swim test before doing that.

I think that party is better for older kids who are more comfortable in the water on their own. 

The Pre-Party Details

A week before the big day, the club touched base to confirm the final count and asked for a picture of my daughter for her birthday banner.

The base party includes 12 kids, and any additional kids attending would be $25 each.

Party Day

If you know me, you know I’m chronically early. So, getting to the venue 15 minutes in advance to set up was ideal.

I didn’t have much to set up since Lifetime handled it all but it was still nice to have time to set up the cake and a few table decorations I brought.

The birthday party was held in the indoor gym, which gave us plenty of space to run around and play.

We were greeted with a personalized banner and the huge bounce house! One heads up is that if you do the bounce house, they do require all kids using the bounce house to have socks.

By the time our young guests started pouring in, the scene was set, and the energy was infectious.

Related Post: Gift Ideas for a 4 Year Old Girl

The Party Timeline

On the banner, Lifetime set this schedule for the day:

– 11-12: Bounce House and Gym Play

– 12-12:30: Refueling with Pizza & Cake

– 12:30-1: Gymnastics 

Looking back, I’d suggest breaking the first hour into two segments or using part of this time to do birthday gifts.

An hour can feel pretty long for the little ones, and they seemed to be itching for a change by the end.

Here’s a cool bit for parents: they can either stay and join in the fun or take this time to run some errands. (Or maybe sneak in their own workout?).

This is if your kids are potty trained – if your kid isn’t potty trained, you’ll want to stick around since the staff can’t change diapers. 

Frequently Asked Questions

LifeTime Fitness Kids Birthday Party Review

 Can I just say, what a blast!

While the adults had their share of fun, it was genuinely heartwarming to see my daughter and her friends laughing, playing, and simply enjoying being kids.

Oh, and before I forget, the birthday girl got a free smoothie coupon – I know where we’re headed next weekend – and the personalized banner was ours to keep.

Plus, we had leftover pizza, so dinner was sorted too!

Would I recommend a Lifetime Fitness party? 

In a heartbeat!

It was fun, fuss-free, and just the right amount of fabulous. I found it was completely worth the money because they took care of almost everything. I only had to provide the cake and cookies!

One last thing: prices and offerings might vary between clubs, so make sure to check with your local Lifetime Fitness. 

More Life Time Fitness Resources

If you’re new to the club, make sure you read my tips and tricks to Life Time Fitness and things I wish I knew before I joined.

Classes are a great way to get in shape and LifeTime offers a lot of free group classes.

If you prefer to workout in a small group, you would like a GTX class. They’re an hour long workout that’s lead by a certified personal trainer.