Host your birthday party in Chicago. You can celebrate inside and outside. No matter the season, you and your friends can have fun exploring the city and taking advantage of its attractions. Whether you decide to party it up or keep this year's celebration low-key, there is plenty for you to do to mark the day.
Scavenger Hunt
Celebrate your birthday by searching for different items in Chicago while participating in a scavenger hunt. Watson Adventures hosts both public and private hunts that take place in the Loop, museums like the Field Museum and the Art Institute, or Navy Pier; one hunt searches through famous movie sights in Chicago. Most hunts cost around $30 per person. In May, the University of Chicago hosts what it calls the largest scavenger hunt in the world. It lasts four days. Tasks range from doing something on the campus while students are in class to driving up to 1,000 miles away.
Sports
Celebrate your birthday watching one of Chicago's professional sports teams; no matter when your birthday is, there will be a sport in season. Catch the Bulls or the Sky for a basketball game and the Blackhawks for a hockey game in the winter. Watch the Bears in the fall and the Cubs and White Sox in the summer. Getting to the different stadiums gives you a tour of the city as well. The Bears play downtown, the Bulls and Blackhawks play on the West Side, the Cubs play on the North Side, and the White Sox play on the South Side. Check with the teams for special group ticket prices, if you are going with a group.
Beach
Celebrate your birthday while relaxing on the beaches of Lake Michigan. Chicago's public beaches are free. Even during the winter, you can play in the snow and look at the freezing lake. In warmer birthday months, go swimming in Lake Michigan, sunbathe on the beach or find a basketball or volleyball court and play a game with your friends. Since Chicago's eastern border is Lake Michigan, beaches span from far south all the way into the northern suburbs. You are guaranteed to find a spot to celebrate.
Millennium Park
Take in a concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park to celebrate your birthday. Every day from noon to 1 p.m. you can see different music genres, from hip-hop to jazz to world music. Then walk through the park with your friends. Take pictures of your reflection in Cloud Gate, which reflects parts of the Chicago skyline. Head into neighboring Grant Park, and find all the different sculptures while walking on the nearly three miles of pathways. Have a late lunch picnic with your friends in honor of the day of your birth.
Bowling
Have your birthday party at an upscale bowling alley like Lucky Strike. Lucky Strike considers it self both a bowling alley and a lounge, so there is a dress code, and you must be 21 or over to get in after 8 p.m. Lucky Strike is an upgrade style-wise over other bowling alleys. They serve food, and you can reserve a lane for three or four hours and do as much bowling as you want. Diversey River Bowl is another bowling alley that can host your birthday party. You can choose to bowl for two hours and then have a private dinner for an hour, or bowl for three hours with buffet service at the lanes. On weekends, the cost ranges from $34 to $68 per person.
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