Did you know the Irvine Spectrum Center has a Birthday Club for kids? There are so many great places to celebrate a birthday there! Last week, we kicked off LittleGray’s birthday week by having Afternoon Tea at the Hello Kitty Cafe Bow Room. She wanted a low key celebration on her actual birthday, do something creative, and “make something”. We had walked by Storymakery several times (especially since it’s conveniently located by Target), but we had never actually been inside. Since this is a place where kids can create, write, and publish their own book, I thought this would be the perfect birthday surprise for our little storyteller. The Irvine Spectrum Center assisted in helping us plan our birthday day by giving us ride tickets for our family, and Storymakery provided our experience for free for this article.
Irvine Spectrum Birthday Club
On any day of the month of your child’s birthday, you can pick up a Birthday Button at the kiosk by the Grand Wheel (located outside of Nordstrom). You can register online (they will email you to remind you to redeem your Birthday Club package) or walk up in person to sign up for the program.
What do you get? With the birthday button, the birthday kid receives unlimited rides on the Grand Wheel and Carousel. Unfortunately, the other members of the party will still need tickets to get on the rides. If the child is a under a certain height, a supervising adult may ride for free. Along with the birthday button, you receive coupons from a few places in the Spectrum. We redeemed the coupon for a free dessert pizza at Pieology and it was so delicious! You’ll even get a $10 coupon for Storymakery in the pack!
While you’re at the Irvine Spectrum, be sure to check out the kids playground located right outside of Target. Nearby are the best bathrooms in the family lounge. The entrance to the Family Lounge is near the play structure across from the entrance of The Afters Ice Cream shop.
Storymakery
Storymakery is the first self-publishing experience for families and kids. The only location is at the Irvine Spectrum center so this is truly a unique experience. At Storymakery, kids work with a Host to write a story from start to finish. We got to do the “Storytale Express” package which is geared for younger kids who don’t have a ton of experience writing long stories.
The Storytale Express begins with creating a main character and customizing it on their touch screen computers. There are a variety of different themes to fit every child’s interest. After the character is complete, the host works closely with the kids to write their story. They ask questions bout the characters, what should happen next, and how to add supporting descriptive details. Since the host takes the kids’ ideas and types up the entire story, it takes about a day for the books to be printed and bound. You can pick up the books in store, or they can be shipped for a small fee. You don’t leave the shop emptyhanded on the first day–your main character is printed on a keepsake poster which you can take home on the day you create your story.
Whats Included in the Different Packages?
Storytale Express
- $45 for softcover, $50 hardcover
- Approximately 30-40 minutes
- Recommended for preschool age or for those who are low on time
- One on One time with the host to assist plot development
- Custom Character poster
- Unlimited Character Creation
Storytale Workshop
- $75, includes hardcover book
- Approximately 2 hours
- Recommended ages 5 and up
- one and one time with host to assist with story creation
- more in depth lesson on how to write a compelling story
- plush toy
- custom character poster
- unlimited character creation
Imagination Kid Workshop
- $97.50, includes hardcover book
- Approximately 2 hours
- Recommended ages 5 and up
- Includes everything in the Storytale Workshop PLUS a printed shirt with the child’s main character
Something to note: parents can drop off their kids for any of these programs at no additional cost! Enjoy kid-free time at the Irvine Spectrum Center! Also, don’t forget about the $10 coupon that is included as part of the Irvine Spectrum Center Birthday Club!
Additional Storymakery Programs
Birthday Party Packages start at just $200 for a group of 6 guests. Parties are customizable with optional add ons like food and party favors. More information about birthday parties can be found at storymakery.com. They will also be hosting a series of drop off Summer Camps that vary from all day or half day. Kids will learn about writing composition and take home a few books throughout the week. More information about Summer Camps can be found here.
Is it Worth It?
At first glance, it might seem like a lot to pay $45 for a paperback book. But when you factor in the entire experience, character creation, the hour long session with the host, and the pride that your child gets when that book is placed in their hands, that experience is priceless. LittleGray is at the age where she wants to write stories all day long, and it is really special to see her name as the published author of this book (yes, its officially published!). It gave her a sense of power and control to create all the characters to her exact specifications and it was so neat to see them come to life on the pages. I feel like the price is on par with similar “creation activities” like Build a Bear, Color Me Mine, etc. The $10 off birthday coupon makes this an exceptionally good value as well. We ended up inviting her best friend to come with us and bought a package for her which was something fun for the girls to do together. They also offer gift cards in case aunties or grandparents would like to chip in for a bigger package.
More information about Storymakery can be found on their website. A full video of the entire Storymakery process can be found here. Huge thank you to Storymakery and Irvine Spectrum Center for sponsoring our day!
LittleGrayThread 