The birthday blitz: 36 places for a kids party in Manchester

Arcade Club Bury is a gamer’s paradise. Set in a former mill, it is a vast celebration of the beat ‘em up, the shoot ‘em up and the platform game. There’s four entire floors of arcade machines, pinball, air hockey and more with a good mix of the latest releases and retro refurbs. This is the biggest arcade in Europe and there is a range of private hire and party packages available.

Archie’s Atomic is a neon pink roller rink from the local burger and shake supremos. With a giant glitterball and a colour scheme that would make even Barbie wince, it is just the thing for roller disco parties. Lace up and let loose with a lil’ roller package for 6-14s and a hi-roller packages for 14+ with an hour of skating followed by food and drink.

Chaos Karts brings real-life karting and gaming together. Kids aged eleven and over (and taller than 150cm) can battle out on the track for a more competitive party that puts tweens and teens in the driving seat.

For the coolest parties (-3ºc to be precise), it has to be Chill Factore. Children aged four and over and enjoy snow sessions with a range of age-dependent activities including skidding down the slope in doughnut rings, braving the twists and turns of the ice slide or competing for victory in downhill sledging challenges. Wrap up warm.

Ideal for smaller groups, parties at Cockfields include all the fun of the farm park itself – that’s animal feeding, bouncy pillows and a giant sandpit – as well as party room hire and food.

Dino Falls Adventure Golf is the only landmark kids care about in Manchester. You can’t miss the volcano and huge dinosaurs as you drive past on the M60. Book a party here and tee off together on the course of your choice.

DNA VR offers interactive children’s parties for ages 7 and over. Choose from collaborative escape rooms or competitive VR arcade fun.

For a true red carpet event, you can hire Everyman Manchester St John’s for a private screening. Choose from the full film catalogue with cult classics and action blockbusters.

Franco Manca, Brixton’s trendy sourdough pioneers, now offers pizza parties for budding pizzaiolos. Get kneading, topping and tasting under the guidance of the experts.

Stockport’s Grand Central offers pool parties with hydroslides – a step up from the usual leisure centre options.

Graystone is the friendliest action sports centre around with superb staff. Choose from parkour parties, bounce parties or multi sports options with a bit of trampolining, a bit of climbing and a bit of scooting up and down ramps. There are also mini shredders options for under sixes.

Head Over Heels Chorlton is a popular place to tire out tiddlers with party packages best suited to 4-6 year-olds. Splash out on the serene party room in the clouds and the supervising adults will thank you for it. Your bank account won’t.

For a low-key party option, Hyde Leisure Pool offers packages that include party room hire and access to the wave pool and slides during open sessions.

For those with a bottomless budget, you can book a skydiving party at iFly Manchester Indoor Skydiving. As long as you’re big enough to fit in the helmets – which is around three or four years old – you can enjoy the delight of flight for your birthday. Don’t invite the whole class. Only Jeff Bezos could afford that and there’s a limit of 13 people per group.

Inflata Nation Manchester is a very, very popular option with six-to-nine year-olds. This brightly colored bouncy castle on steroids will have everyone sweaty, happy and hyper.

Put down those phones, switch off your screens, and, er, stand in front of another one . . . but this time in your own personal gamebox at Immersive Gamebox in Manchester Arndale. Tween heaven.

Kickair, an indoor freestyle park behind Victoria Station, is the kind of place that fills kids with glee. All parties are VIP here which means Tango, ice cream and Domino’s pizzas as well as access to all the zones of mayhem.

Bowl your kids over with a party at King Pins Trafford Palazzo. Duck pin bowling is also available and is more suited to younger children. There’s the option to add-on extras like fancy shakes and sweet treats to make it a bit more special.

Basically, it’s a trip to Legoland Discovery Centre with a meal in the party room. If your little one loves building with Lego, rides and 4D mini movies, it’s ideal.

Manchester Academy of Gymnastics is a good choice for active kids. Located in Salford, parties include a mix of structured gymnastics tuition and a free-for-all on the equipment. Diving into pits of foam is always everyone’s favourite bit. There’s usually a massive game of hide and seek too. A top tip and not too expensive either.

Manchester Aquatics Centre offers two types of pool party. There’s the fun and floats party but it’s the Aqua Splash party for over 8s that get’s our vote. The giant inflatable obstacle course in the middle of the pool is quite a party piece.

BMX parties at the Manchester’s National Cycling Centre are popular but book up well in advance – be warned. Packages include an hour’s exclusive use of the BMX track with qualified coaches and an hour in the party room as well as BMX bike hire for everyone and all safety equipment.

The National Football Museum offers party packages for groups of between eight and sixteen children. The highlight is the football plus+ skills challenges with taking penalties the hot favourite.

The Northern in Didsbury offers tennis parties for groups of up to 24 children. The events are a good balance of sports sessions led by an experienced coach and party fun.

Outsource it all with a party at Oxygen in MediaCity. Their party host looks after the kids while they bounce, jump and generally run riot so you can watch and be glad you’re not part of the mayhem. There’s also an option to upgrade and include the high-ropes experience too.

Planet Ice birthday parties include an hour on the ice with two skating aids (more can be hired if necessary) plus food in the party area. There are plenty of freebies too with hot drinks for adults attending. Best of all the birthday child gets a gift of a six-week ice skating course. Not bad at all. Check this offer is still valid before you book.

To parents, Play Factore is a migraine warehouse but kids love it. The sheer scale of this place knocks most other soft play areas out of the park. Party packages include a private party room with music and disco lights as well as the run of Play Factore, Upgrade to include zip wire rides as part of the fun,

Reddish Vale Farm offers animal farm party packages from February to September. The party includes a petting session where children can meet and handle some of the smaller animals before being loaded up with a bucket of carrots to go off and feed the bigger animals. It’s all very cute. There’s also time to enjoy all the indoor and outdoor play areas too – hence the seasonal availability. No-one wants to be building sandcastles in a hailstorm. OK, so the kids would probably be up for it, but the adults, less so,

The giant paddleboarding is the most popular choice for birthday parties at Salford Watersports Centre. Kayaking, raft-building and watersports challenges are the other party options. All equipment in included and wetsuits are free from September – May and optional in summer when there is a small charge. Room hire is available as an add-on but doesn’t come as standard in the price.

Sea Life Manchester parties include a party host who is in charge of games and entertainment as well as a chance to explore the aquarium. There’s a minimum booking of 12 children and a maximum of 25. The birthday cake is provided but other than that it’s self-catering.

Birthday parties at Smithills Open Farm are great for ages seven and under. The package includes a chance to snuggle with the littlest animals – stroking a chick or holding a bunny – as well as meeting favourites like an alpaca or a donkey in Pets Corner. Saddle up for a donkey ride and hold on tight for a bumpy tractor ride too. You can also enjoy the fun of the play area if the weather plays fair.

TeamSport Go Karting: Trafford offers birthday parties for 8-12 year olds. Little speed demons get all the thrills of the track but without any other racers getting in the way.

A party at Total Ninja is twice the fun. Spend time running crazy in the ninja inflatable course before heading to the obstacle park. The bouncy highlight is the assault course that runs around the perimeter of the inflatable section. Many of the activities in the ninja park are really too difficult for under 9s but they like having a go anyway. The food is a bit perfunctory but that’s always the case and having two different ninja experiences divides the time nicely.

Trafford Watersports Centre is a good choice for summer parties – or off-season if you’re brave. You can do canoeing, kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding but wetsuits are not provided. They usually have a few you can borrow but you’re best getting on Vinted in advance. There’s a party room but it’s self-catering with all the pros and cons that entails.

Zip World Manchester’s party package is for the lower-adrenaline treetop nets rather than the treetop trek. Explore bouncy nets in the tree canopy with giant inflatable balls, treehouses and slides it’s fun for children aged three and over. If you want a more daring aerial adventure, you’ll have to book that as a group not a party package. There is no party room at this Heaton Park site so you may need to organise a picnic.

Parties at Z-Arts vary hugely depending on the current theme. It changes regularly but they are always really well done . It’s currently Adventures in Wonderland which works perfectly for a birthday with a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party. Whatever the topic, parties are always on Saturdays from 3pm – 5pm.