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You cant go wrong with Chuck-E-Cheese. Family Fun Center in Tukwila has bumper boats, go karts, batting cages, miniature golf, laser tag, and tons of video games. Funtasia in Edmonds is basically the same thing as FFC. For the younger kids Pump It Up in Kirkland and Lynnwood is an inflatable play arena.

Also if youre looking to entertain on an educational side any of the local childrens museums have party rooms. Seattle Childrens Museum in Seattle Center and Everett's Imagine Childrens Museum are great choices and decently priced.

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the ideas, Mike! Since my daughter is a toddler, I would still love to hear about other ideas for little ones, and I know there must be some options in Seattle proper. I will definitely look into the Children's Museum at some point.

I am currently planning my little boy's 1st birthday party, so like you I'm trying to scope out what options there are both currently and down the line. One possibility I came across is The Little Gym (http://www.thelittlegym.com/birthday.aspx). There are locations all over the area. They do birthday parties where you get the gym to yourself and a leader for the group. It was fairly reasonable too -- I think it is around $230 for non-members at the Renton location. Also, for little girls, there is a business in Covington that does hair and nail parties. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the place, but you should be able to ask around and find it if interested.

As for us, we decided to risk it with a park and made backup arrangements for a rain location at our church. Good luck!

One note about the Seattle Children's Museum: When my child turned 1, we had a party there with my PEPS group. If you're in PEPS, be sure to ask if the museum still offers party discounts. If I remember correctly, I think they offered free parties for the first-birthday celebrations for PEPS members. There are separate party rooms that you get for a specified time (I think it's 90 minutes), and then the kids can have the run of the museum for the rest of the day.

(The museum has an area for crawlers, but there's definitely a lot more for older kids. It's great for toddlers on up.)

Thanks for the tips! The PEPS discount at the Museum is great to know about--just wish I'd joined when Gub was born! We haven't been to the museum in several months, so I think it is time to see how she likes the areas other than the toddler room.

I just wanted to add that it recently came to my attention that Lucky Strike Lanes at Lincoln Square in Bellevue also offers kids' party packages. I don't know how the cost compares to other facilities, but it looks like they charge $25-$35 per child. Sounds fun!