11 Birthday party ideas for Zürich kids

For many years, I threw elaborate themed birthday parties at home with over the top decorations and adorable party games. When my boys reached 8 years old and started asking for more activity based parties, I was a little sad but also relieved. Now the parties cost a bit more but it’s a lot less work, stress and mess for me.

Here are some of our favorite venues and activity ideas for older kids’ birthday parties in and around Zürich. 

Party Planning

Before we get to the fun stuff, just a quick note about some logistics.

Transportation: Getting all the kids to the party can be difficult since not everyone has a car in Switzerland. I think it’s good manners to arrange transportation for your guests, so I always have them meet at our house and I figure it out from there. If we need to go by car, I usually arrange with another parent to help me car pool. Otherwise, we travel all together via public transportation, a cost I include in my party budget.

Party food: Every venue has different rules about bringing your own food and some are more strict than others. I’ve noted the rules below as I understand them, but best to call the venue beforehand to make sure. In most cases, they let you bring cake but ask you to buy drinks from the venue. You can often buy 2 liter bottles of soda, which is less expensive than buying single serving bottles. So bring your own cups.

Cost: The activities below cost about CHF 10-40/person. It can seem like a lot at first, especially if you’ve been hosting parties at home. But as an extremely frugal person myself, let me tell you that it’s worth it! If you added up all the time and money you spent on supplies for deco and activities for home parties (and wellness therapy afterwards), you would probably be spending a similar amount. And with the kinds of parties below, you save so much time and avoid the clean up. Just something to consider.

1. X Labs Science Workshops

Our new favorite is X Labs, which runs entertaining and educational science workshops for children aged 6-12. My son did the dry ice workshop with a few friends and they absolutely loved it! They learned a lot of cool scientific information in fun, creative ways with 10 hands-on experiments. Adjacent to the lab, they have a festive party room where you can do snacks, cake & presents. You can bring your own food or book a party package to have it all taken care of. 

See full review of X Labs here

Note: Thanks to X Labs for hosting our visit! All opinions stated here are our own.

2. Escape Room

My boys love Escape Rooms and we’ve tried a few in the Zürich area. We liked our experience at Action World the best, where we did the Grabkammer room (aka Tomb). It was rated 3 of 5 difficulty, which was definitely difficult for us but not impossible.

Escape Rooms are timed, so you have to solve all the clues and open the door within 60 minutes to “win”. We asked for help a couple times through the two-way speaker with the staff. They gave us more detailed clues, not the answer, which usually simply redirected our efforts and stopped us overthinking the obvious. It wasn’t too spooky and not at all gory, which some action rooms are. Also, even though you are trying to unlock the door, you can always get out an emergency exit.

They have 10 rooms, each rated by difficulty, most suitable for ages 10+. They have two horror themed rooms for 16+ if that’s your thing. The rooms are designed for 2 to 8 people, at least one adult if some guests are under 16. We had six teens aged 13-16 and one adult, which I thought was a good number of guests, with plenty to explore for everyone.

I brought cake and they required that I buy drinks from the cafe. They only had single serving soda bottles, not larger bottles to share. There were tables indoors but all busy, so we ate at an outdoor picnic table in front of the venue.

Since it’s located in Obfelden, about a 25 min drive from Zürich city, you’ll need to arrange transportation for your guests. 

3. Logikoffer (aka Logic Suitcase)

(sponsored) My younger son loves solving puzzles, but he doesn’t like the confined space and scary lights and music of Escape Room venues. So I was so excited when I heard about Logikoffer, which brings the Escape Room experience to your home. They deliver a locked suitcase, which contains a series of locked puzzles to solve in order to find the ultimate prize at the end (in our case, a treasure chest full of candy). Our kids loved it!

I don’t want to spoil the game, so just a few teasers here. As the parent, you get a few instructions on how to set up the room and hide a couple elements for the game. Then you give out the first clue and the kids have to figure out how to open the first lock. Once the suitcase is open, you discover lots of other fun puzzles to unlock, eventually leading you to the final prize. It takes about 90 mins to 2 hours to solve all the puzzles.

There are no instructions just clues, so the kids have to be clever and try lots of different things to figure out the puzzles. The kids all agreed that the puzzles were hard, but not too hard. In case you get stuck, the game comes with a solution key with the lock codes. But I don’t think you’ll need it. You’re too smart for that.

Logikoffer currently has two theme: pirate and jungle. We did the pirate theme, which has an optional party pack with pirate themed decorations, music, and costumes so you don’t have to worry about sourcing stuff like pirate hats.

We had a small party with four kids, which I thought was perfect because most puzzles had 3-4 elements, something for each kid. With a larger group, you might need to help rotate the kids so everyone gets a turn solving something. The clues are in German, so kids need to be able to read and understand German. But if your German isn’t great (I mean the parent managing the party), it’s not a big deal. You can easily use Google Translate for anything you don’t understand.

After the party, you return the suitcase and all puzzle elements. So my last tip for parents is to have a basket or box ready to collect the puzzle elements after each puzzle is solved, so you can make sure everything gets returned. In the excitement, it’s easy for puzzle elements to get scattered around the room.

Note: Logikoffer provided this game for us to test for free. The opinions stated here are my own.

4. Laser Tag

My kids have gone to lots of parties at Laser Arena, which is conveniently located right in the city, near a tram stop and Zürich Enge train station. This makes it so easy to get the birthday guests to venue with public transport.

This is also a good choice if you have a lot of guests, because up to 24 people can play in a single game. Be aware that they will fill all 24 slots during your game, so your party guests won’t be the only ones in the arena during the game. But you can request that your guests are on the same team/s.

They don’t have birthday packages but on Wednesday afternoons, they run a special of CHF20 for 3 games, which is perfect for a party. You are welcome to bring your own cake and set up your party at one of the tables inside the venue. We brought our own drinks and snacks, not sure what the official policy is. You can reserve online, which is important if you want your group to be together for three games in a row. 

You should arrive about 20-30 minutes before the reserved time slot because the games start on time and you don’t want to miss your time slot. You need time to brief your group on the rules and get them set up with equipment.

Action World (from the Escape Rooms above) also offers laser tag, with birthday packages starting at CHF 28/person that include a reserved table, drinks, candy, and 3-5 rounds of laser tag. You bring your own cake. The birthday kid is free. These can only be booked for Wed and Thurs afternoons. See these packages here.

5. Go Karts

We’ve had a few go-kart parties at Kartbahn Spreitenbach. The kids love driving fast and competing with each other. Last time we went, they had upgraded to electric carts, which can be controlled remotely by the staff if you are driving too recklessly (very useful!).

The birthday party package costs CHF 300 for 6 children. It includes two 8 minute races and trophies for the top 3 places. You can bring your own cake. They ask you to buy drinks from the cafe and not bring other food. But last time I brought Capri Suns, bags of chips and gummy bears and no one said anything.

You need to reserve the birthday party in advance, so you can get two races in a row for all the guests. Children must be 130cm to drive the go-karts, so make sure all your guests meet this height requirement. You need to arrive 30 mins before your race time so you have time for instructions and helmet fitting.

I think 2 races is too short. So I usually don’t book a birthday party and simply pay per race, skipping the trophies. For kids up to 13 years old, races cost CHF 20 each but you get a discount the more races you buy. So if I take 6 kids and they each get 3 races, I’m paying CHF 16 per race, which costs CHF 288. The kids are more interested in racing more than winning trophies, so I prefer it this way.

They also have a few discount offers. On Mondays you get 3 races for the price of 2. If it’s your birthday, you get 2 races for the price of 1. On Tuesdays, you get 10 min races instead of 8 mins. I

6. School Gyms

Many schools will allow you to rent the gym (aka Turnhalle or Sporthalle) and use the sports equipment they have there. This is a great option if you want to invite a lot of kids from the neighborhood, like the whole class. It’s affordable for a large group and you don’t have to arrange transportation for your guests. It’s also helpful for winter months, when you can’t count on good weather for outdoor games.

One time we set up a big obstacle course around the gym and timed the kids running through it. Then we set up the soccer goals and let them play until the party was over. One of my friends hired a breakdance instructor and had the kids learn some moves, then had a dance party. One time the kids had a nerf battle and built bases on either side of the gym (shown below). So many options!

The gyms typically do not allow food inside the facilities. So we set up a table outside the building with cake, drinks and snacks.

You can see public gyms that can be rented on the Zürich city Sportamt website. For each gym, you can see what times are available for individual rentals (many days/times are booked yearly for classes) and link to an online reservation form or contact details for reservations. If you don’t speak German, ask a German-speaking parent of one of your child’s friends to help you make the reservation (that’s what I did twice).

I saw one document that says the school gyms can be rented for CHF 120/hr. But a few years ago, I paid less than CHF 100 for 3 hours. So perhaps there is flexibility in the pricing or differences between gyms. You’ll have to ask when making the reservation.

7. Bowling

We’ve been to bowling parties at several bowling alleys here, but we like Fun Bowl Stockmatt the best because it’s clean, friendly, and festively lit, really designed for families. It’s good for parties or just a fun family outing any old time. 

They offer three birthday packages from CHF 10-15 per person. The packages include one round of bowling and shoe rental, plus drinks, food and cake depending on which package you choose. You cannot bring outside food, but we were allowed to bring our own cake.

If you want additional bowling rounds, you pay the normal round fee per person. Older kids will probably want 2 rounds. The birthday child bowls for free within 7 days of their birthday. Each bowling lane fits up to 6 kids. Birthday parties can be booked for any day between 14:00 to 18:00.

See my post about bowling with kids at Fun Bowl Stockmatt

8. Indoor Swimming & Water Slide Parks

One of my friends always has parties at the pool and the kids love it. The Zürich Altstetten indoor pool is a easy and affordable choice. They have a picnic area where you can bring your own cake and other food. This pool has a water slide, diving boards, and a bouncy platform in the pool on Wed and weekends from 14:00 to 17:00. 

For more action (and also much more expensive), you can go to one of the indoor water slide parks. We like Säntis Park because they have a picnic room, so you can bring your own cake. But it’s far from Zurich, so you’ll need to arrange a car pool to get all the kids there.

Säntispark website  |  Wiesenbachstrasse 9, 9030 Abtwil SG
Cost: Four hour pass – Adult CHF 37, Child CHF 27 

Alpamare is closer to Zürich and convenient with public transportation. You can’t bring your own food here, so you’ll probably want the party package, which includes entrance free, cake or hot dog, a drink, and a small gift. It costs CHF 37.50/person with minimum 6 children and max 2 adults. The birthday child is free (within 7 days of their birthday). You need to reserve a minimum 3 days in advance. More details here.

Alpamare  |  Gwattstrasse 12 Pfäffikon SZ
Cost: Birthday package CHF 37.50/person min 6 children

See more water slide parks in Switzerland

9. Ice Skating

We’ve done a couple ice skating parties and my boys have attended a few with classmates, always at the Dolder, which is easy to reach with public transportation or by car. When I called to “reserve,” they told me that I could bring cake but I needed to buy drinks from the cafe. I did not get a specific reserved table.

They don’t have a birthday package as far as I know. You just need to pay for the entrance fee and skate rental for the kids. I didn’t plan any extra activities. I just helped tie everyone’s skates, let them loose on the ice and had plenty of snacks on hand.

Read more about ice skating at the Dolder

10. Climbing Gyms

When my son turned 8, we took a couple of his friends to the Kletterzentrum climbing gym at Greifensee. The kids did an intro bouldering course with an instructor, then they did the indoor ropes course. We didn’t do an official birthday package but the Kletterzentrum now offers two birthday party packages.

The package includes entrance to the climbing gym, rental of climbing equipment, two 50 minute climbing lessons for the group and a decorated party table with a cake. This is for kids aged 6 to 13 and they don’t need any prior experience climbing. The estimated time is about 1hr40 for climbing and up to 50 mins at the party table.

Prices start at CHF 600 for 5-7 kids, which is quite expensive. So instead, you might book a private lesson for a couple kids, prices starting at CHF 270 for 2 kids, not including entrance fee and equipment. Or you could simply pay the entrance fee to use the bouldering walls without equipment, which is only CHF 9/child before 16:00 or any time on Saturdays. But you need 1 adult to supervise every 2 children.

We also like Minimum climbing gym in Zürich city, which offers birthday parties as well. But you have to contact them for pricing, which depend on the number of participants and duration of course. See my post about about Minimum here.

11. Indoor Playgrounds

This is my last choice because these places give me a headache. But it’s certainly a popular one for the kids. All indoor playgrounds have birthday party packages, but the details vary. Some require you to buy all the food from them, others let you picnic.

We’ve done a couple parties at Trampolino. You need to reserve a table at least two weeks in advance and they will decorate it for you. You can bring your own food, drink and cakes, which is great! You can also simply buy food from the cafe, but you’ll have to stand in line. Alternatively, you can arrange party food ahead of time with Trampolino when you reserve so it’s all handled for you on the day.

You can reserve by telephone between 16:00 to 18:30 at 044 740 07 31. Or reserve online.  More info about birthday parties at Trampolino

See more Indoor Playgrounds

More ideas

Many family-friendly venues have birthday party packages. Consider:

• interactive museums, like Technorama or Kindercity
• animal parks, like Zürich Zoo

Any other ideas for birthday parties venues?