Best Birthday Ever

How to make your grown-up birthday party in Austin the best ever

Birthday parties for kids are awesome, right? You eat as much cake as you want, all your friends are there, and someone else pays for the bounce house. But we've got one advantage over those kids — booze. Time to mix up a Manhattan and indulge in some some old-fashioned fun.

Tiny Tails to You
This petting zoo will come to you for your own personal "hoppy hour." You can request the animals you'd like ... rabbits, guinea pigs, chicks and ducks, and a teeny weeny hedgehog are all options. Bubbles and bunnies? Get ready for instant Instagram fame.

Smokey’s Mobile Cigar Lounge
Based out of Dripping Springs, this 1976 Airstream features leather couches, a humidor, a wet bar, large screen TV, and a hostess upon request. Have cigars. Will travel.

Freedom Party Rentals
Portable laser tag, inflatable movie screens, archery tag, and foam parties — these are all possible with Freedom Rentals. Adult party idea: Watch the Hunger Games on a giant outdoor screen and then reenact them. But you know, without the killing part.

Frost 321
Science plus booze equals spectacular summer treats. These gals bring a whole setup — complete with nitrogen tank — that makes seriously smooth ice creams, sorbets, and frozen cocktails at negative 321 degrees.

Hooty Hoops
You know that girl who can rock a hula hoop at festivals and Barton Springs? That could be you. Hooty Hoops will help you make hoops and then teach you how to use them. Better than any ab roller.

Austin Oddities
Odd (and awesome). Austin Oddities brings you everything from ladies in Champagne dresses to cupcake chandeliers, contortionists, living statues, and silhouette artists. This option is practically guaranteed to make your party the topic of every cocktail conversation.

Game Plan
Make your big-kid dreams come true by turning your backyard into an arcade. They'll bring everything from Pac-Man and Big Buck Hunter to skee-ball and giant yard games. The only problem will be getting your guests to leave.

Let Frost 321 cater your next birthday with its boozy frozen concoctions.

Photo courtesy of Frost 321

Let Frost 321 cater your next birthday with its boozy frozen concoctions.

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Austin neighbor's chart-topping boom leads the week's most-read headlines

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Editor's note: The word of the week in Austin is growth. Whether it's fast-growing cities, the city's highly anticipated inclusion in the Michelin Guide, or an updated H-E-B ready to re-anchor the neighborhood, things are always reshaping and Austinites are keeping up online. Here are our most-read stories over the past week. Looking for things to do this weekend? Our top picks are here.

1. Austin neighbor saw 4th biggest population boom in U.S. for 2023.The Austin-area suburb of Georgetown has proven it's not just a laid back destination for tourists, but one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation.

2. Michelin Guide plates up first Texas picks, with 7 stars in Austin.The first Michelin Guide in Texas has finally made its picks known. At a black-tie event in Houston on November 11, the guide announced that 47 Austin restaurants have won recognition.

3. New South Congress H-E-B is finally opening at the end of 2024. After roughly two years of construction, H-E-B announced its 145,000-square-foot building on South Congress Avenue and East Oltorf Street will open to shoppers starting December 4.

4. Bubbly Austin brunch spot Irene's closing after 8 years. Despite the ever-increasing number of Austin brunches, the scene is losing a classic. Irene's on West 6th Street announced November 12 that it will be closing at the end of its lease this month.

Irene's Austin cocktail One of Austin's most popular brunch spots is throwing in the towel when its lease ends.Irene's/Instagram

5. $15.2 million Austin sanctuary is in the middle of a nature conservancy. The Sanctuary on Barton Creek is a 24-acre estate completely surrounded by a 4,100-acre nature conservancy to provide a peaceful and private escape from city life.