17 places to enjoy a children's birthday party in Brussels

Get active

For under-14s, active parties organised by the ULB university in Ixelles or Adeps in Auderghem are perfect. After a choice of sporting activity, there’s a birthday tea, with everything provided. Bowling, with or without Q-Zar, at Crosly Bowling from €14.20 per child, is excellent for all ages. For older children, try Brussels Kart in Groot-Bijgaarden, from €28 per person. Or if it’s wet, let them run wild at Forest’s indoor play extravaganza Stardust Park from €18 per child.

Creative celebrations

Instead of a party bag, you get to keep a hand-crafted and painted pot or plate after celebrating at the C.Ramic Café in Ixelles. Very popular with pre-teen girls, these parties, starting from €230 for 10 kids, include a choice of cake and drinks. For other arty options, Lollipop, also in Ixelles, offers scrapbooking, wood decorating and even karaoke as well as ceramics parties – and provides a superior birthday tea with artisanal treats (from €270 for 10 kids, with everything provided).

Down on the farm

La Ferme Nos Pilifs in Neder-over-Heembeek or central Brussels’ Maximilien park are cheaper alternatives to the big animal parks (from €120 for 15 kids at Maximilien park). Both offer guided tours of the farm and activities including baking or apple-juice making. The Ferme Nos Pilifs package includes an eco-friendly tea.

If you want a DIY party, Uccle’s Parc Sauvagère has a lovely mini-zoo and playgrounds, while Auderghem’s Rouge Cloître complex has horses as well as three playgrounds and a cafe. Just outside Brussels, the beautiful Huizingen provincial park has a year-round zoo as well as mini-cars, a boating lake and open-air swimming from May to September; you can sleepover afterwards in a log cabin.

Culture for kids

Just about all Brussels’ museums offer birthday packages for under-12s, featuring a guided tour or animation followed by tea provided by yourself or the venue. Some of the most popular include the natural science museum and the Children’s Museum in Ixelles, and Saint-Josse’s charmingly retro Toy Museum.

And finally

If you’re searching for something a little different, how about a mini-golf party in Schaerbeek’s Parc Josaphat? For young train buffs, the miniature train rides at Le Petit Train de Forest in beautiful parkland are great. Or for cinephiles, a Saturday morning film at Cinéma Vendôme’s (€2.50 per person including snack with your group’s seats reserved) should fit the bill.

This article first appeared in The Bulletin autumn 2017. Browse the magazine here, pick up a copy in newsagents or subscribe today...