Birthday lunch or dinner for 1 YO and 72 YO

My dad will be 72 on Friday, July 3rd, the same day my little one turns 1 year old. I want to do something special for both of them. I am not even sure if I want to have a party at home (what we usually do) or at a restaurant or other venue. Because of the holiday, I could probably do lunch or dinner, on Friday or Saturday.

The only specific idea I have come up with so far is lunch at the Signature Room. It would be completely different from anything else our family has ever done for birthdays. The minimum number of people would probably be 15, and could be more like 25. Budget is a consideration, but I think the SR is doable, it seems like lunch is pretty reasonable, and this is something I am willing to splurge on to a point. My dad would not be comfortable with anything too extravagant anyway. He will eat almost anything but is not a foodie. I probably would not choose Mexican or Italian, though, as I think his taste is more continental or American. There will be other kids, but only one (besides my 1 YO) who might be antsy.

Other more vague ideas I have are Lambs Farm or Chicago Botanic Garden. We live on the NW side, but I am willing to travel say an hour or so for the right place.

Any thoughts or advice? Thanks.

-Pam

I would think that traffic going into or out of the city could be pretty bad on Friday July 3 (fireworks, people leaving the city for Wisconsin or Michigan, etc.). Especially with kids and older guests, you might want to keep that in mind. If your whole group lives in the same area, I'd keep it local to avoid the highways. Even Lamb's Farm might be dicey with the Wisconsin traffic if people would want to take the highway to get there.

tiapam wrote:Other more vague ideas I have are Lambs Farm or Chicago Botanic Garden. We live on the NW side, but I am willing to travel say an hour or so for the right place.

The food at The Botanical Gardens is very nice for what it is, the food at Lambs Farm is dismal.

I'll second, noting that the food at the Botanic garden is cafeteria-style, mostly picnic-type food (and you aren't allowed to picnic anywhere but at the tables in the cafeteria or near the rose garden) Also, both are a lot of walking for a 72 year old.

Justin Roberts (who came to our school this year and was excellent) is playing at Ravinia in a kid's concert on July 5 - we did a very successful first birthday at a Ravinia's kids concert, with a picnic on the lawn - if you can still get Ravinia dollars and purchase lawn tickets, it's pretty inexpensive. They also offer a birthday party package.

Mhays wrote:I'll second, noting that the food at the Botanic garden is cafeteria-style, mostly picnic-type food (and you aren't allowed to picnic anywhere but at the tables in the cafeteria or near the rose garden) Also, both are a lot of walking for a 72 year old.

You can bring your own picnic to the carillon concerts on Monday evening throughout the summer. You can get a pass to drive to the education center for handicapped parking greatly reducing any walk. BUT the serious music crowd attends who cannot tolerate any noise not made by a bell.

Monday evenings, June 8 – September 7, 2009, 7 p.m.
Carillon tours begin at 5:30 p.m.

I realize the date and time doesn't work for your event. You do have a whole summer to check it out.

Regards,

Thank you all so much, this event is really important to me. Please keep ideas and advice coming!

I knew about the Justin Roberts thing, some friends are going. That day is our anniversary, the whole first week of July is packed with special dates for us. I am going to seriously consider it, though. My dad is actually pretty active, so I am not too concerned about him getting around. His girlfriend has a bit of trouble, but manages to keep quite busy, so I think they will both be fine with a bit of walking.

-Pam

Mhays wrote:I'll second, noting that the food at the Botanic garden is cafeteria-style, mostly picnic-type food (and you aren't allowed to picnic anywhere but at the tables in the cafeteria or near the rose garden) Also, both are a lot of walking for a 72 year old.

Justin Roberts (who came to our school this year and was excellent) is playing at Ravinia in a kid's concert on July 5 - we did a very successful first birthday at a Ravinia's kids concert, with a picnic on the lawn - if you can still get Ravinia dollars and purchase lawn tickets, it's pretty inexpensive. They also offer a birthday party package.