I need to preface this with an admission. I don't do well hosting large parties. I am a one-on-one kind of person so I'm not a huge fan of large groups. For example, I was in such a shock on my wedding day, I don't even remember half of it. So many people, so much to do, so little time, yikes!

Click here for a photo gallery of the amenities offered by the North Oakland YMCA for their Birthday Parties.

video after the jump.

So, when it comes to throwing parties, I tend to get nervous. Will it run smoothly? Will I be able to greet and spend time chatting with everyone? Will everything happen on time and as planned? When my kids reached the age to have birthday parties with their friends, we would find a place and throw a party. Their birthdays are close so we do a party for both at the same time. To this day, some parties were good, some were a disaster. Recently, we had two different parties at the North Oakland Family YMCA and it both went smoother than any other party I've hosted.

Here's how it works. North Oakland Family YMCA parties are two hours long. One hour for North Oakland Family YMCA pool time or gym time and one hour in the kitchen for food, cake, gifts, etc. We've tried both the pool party and the gym party for this review.

The pool party includes a one hour swim. The pool has a 3ft area where all the kids play, and water tipping buckets with other water sprinkler attractions. The North Oakland Family YMCA water is warm and the kids really enjoy the swim. When the slide is open, the kids need to pass a swim test, and then they can take unlimited turns on the water slide - a huge attraction. I have to admit, our group was only 10 kids (smaller groups definitely help). We started in the pool and with some supervisory help from some of the moms who stayed, we got the kids rinsed off, into dressing rooms, and back into the kitchen for the final hour.

The North Oakland Family YMCA gym party includes one hour of "private" gym time. Your party gets the gym to themselves for an entire hour to play basketball, dodgeball, or whatever game you enjoy playing in a gymnasium. My son's group played half dodgeball and half basketball. This is a great option for boys. For my son's party, we could not get the boys out of the gym - not even when the pizza arrived! And, when we finally convinced them to eat, they scarfed it down in minutes and ran back to the gym. They did the same in between cake and presents. They're nine years old and this was a dream come true... a gym to themselves to play sports with their buddies.

The North Oakland Family YMCA staff was also helpful with getting items to and from my car. They carried things and helped out with a dolly, which was great since it was just me and the kids with a ton of stuff.

For privacy sake, I did not take video footage or photos of the pool area, but you can find that in a previous video I took at the North Oakland Family YMCA after hours when the facility was empty. See that full facility review here.

Pricing for birthday party packages is $200 for up to 25 guests and includes one hour in either the gym or pool, and one hour in the kitchen room. For more information, contact:

Kim Welc
Customer Relations Manager
North Oakland Family YMCA
248-370-9622 ext. 208
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North Oakland Family YMCA
3378 East Walton Boulevard
Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326-2375
(248) 370-9622
website

Click here for more Oakland County and Metro Detroit, Michigan businesses that offer birthday party packages and great ideas for birthday parties.