Saturday was K's 6th birthday party. This was the first year we threw her a party for her and her friends. We chose to celebrate at our local bowling alley, Clearview Lanes in Mount Joy.

I will admit, I am a horrible bowler (I'm much better on the Wii than I am in real life), but our whole family enjoys going. It's a nice diversion and fairly inexpensive. It can be even less expensive for your kids this summer--check out www.kidsbowlfree.com. You can sign your child up to bowl two free games each day of the summer (you pay for shoes and your own games if you choose to play). There's also an option to purchase a family pass that allows all older family members to bowl for $24.95.

This was a great option for a birthday party, and the price was very reasonable. There are also different prices for parties depending on the food you want and the amount of guests you have. We chose the least expensive option, which allowed for drinks, bowling, and shoes for all participants. We brought our own cupcakes. We had 6 kids total, including our own. All seemed to have a very good time and each kid managed at least one spare during the party. We did have the bumpers up for our lane (these prevent the ball from bowling in the gutter).

Clearview Lanes also offers different family events during the year, including bowling on New Year's Eve. We did this one year, and enjoyed it. We got to decorate our lane for a contest, entered to win door prizes, and the girls liked the glow in the dark bowling. We counted down to 5PM instead of midnight, which made a whole lot more sense for us. My husband and I usually don't stay up that late, even on holidays!

So consider bowling this summer, and check out how to get your kids to bowl for free!