9 Easy Steps To A Winning Indoor Playground Strategy
If you live in an area such as we do in Western New York (we are in Rochester!) With superbly hot summers and cold snowy winters, you will understand your options for your child's birthday celebration are largely determined by the weather.
As an August baby, we constantly had small family parties out at my residence. But, together with sons born in November and March, we are always left to book an indoor place for their celebrations, if we decided to have them that season. While those with kids with summer birthdays might appear blessed to have so many options at their disposal, it can also often feel overwhelming.
While at Climbing Vines Cafe and Play we might be biased because we host indoor parties, I wished to discuss with all the 5 most common reasons we hear from previous party customers to book indoor summer birthdays with us. To these, the stress-free temperament of the indoor summer party is really a no-brainer, and they're not looking back! After their first indoor summer party, they keep hosting with us year after year.
The most common cause for a client to book a summer indoor party with us is they don't need to stalk the weather forecast for updates in the weeks leading up to the celebration. Nothing can derail a fun party quicker than having to cram all your visitors inside your home, waiting for a storm to pass. And if you've ever had to cancel or postpone your child's birthday because of weather, you realize how heartbreaking that can be.
We get dozens of calls every summer a few days before somebody's outdoor celebration is supposed to take place to see if we've got an open slot for them in our indoor celebration place due to weather woes. We can normally pull this off if the place is open, but hosts will sadly have to scramble and allow all their guests are aware of the change in place and probably change in time, and change all of their catering requests to accommodate their new party program.
While of course rain is probably the biggest obstacle you might face, extreme heat, unseasonably cool weather, and end may also pose issues to your decorations, food, along with your guests' belongings. You will likely find yourself investing in a kayak another weather barrier just to ease your mind a bit, which can be costly and require lots of precious time to prepare and take down. I will not even tell the narrative of the time my Dad set a tent up for a celebration in a windstorm and wound up with an insurance coverage for 4 ruined automobiles when it blew away (weights and anchors and all!) ...
2) CHANGING IT UP
Aside from the obvious weather concerns it's possible to avoid with an indoor party, there may also just be something so simple and lovely about a indoor summer celebration. Guests will not need to worry about bringing towels and sunscreen and towels and swimsuits and changes of clothes and insect spray... you understand.
Sometimes it's wonderful to take a short break in the outside, sip coffee in an air-conditioned cafe, and have a real conversation with other adults while the children play, instead of chasing kids around trying to get their hat on them keeping them away from your in-ground pool. I am not sure about you, but I can never quite relax at an outdoor summer birthday party with a 2 and a 4 year old. While they sure do have a good time running around, we typically leave in a daze or with a tantrum, unsure if we even had the time to chat or check in with everybody.
While I absolutely adore a fantastic barbecue or summer grilling extravaganza, I also find it so refreshing when we can take a rest from the same-old backyard celebration and spend a couple of hours in a relaxing, cool, and most importantly-- contained! -- atmosphere.
It's also freeing as a guest to have the rest of the day to do as we want as a family and not need to be concerned about getting the children into a bath immediately after the celebration or quitting home to cool off and change clothing.
I promise that if you reserve an indoor celebration for your son or daughter, guests (especially family) may seem a little confused at first (why not take advantage of the summer weather while we can, right?) But after hosting countless indoor parties I will tell you for certain that on the day-of, you and your guests will realize how pleasant it can be to kick back in an air-conditioned private party for a couple hours.
Speaking of how relaxing a indoor, air-conditioned celebration could be, can we discuss food for a second?
So, for our family, the food factor alone would be sufficient to warrant an indoor party.
Eating in peace without having to find colour or a seat or a place away from bugs is one of these things you don't realize can be so glorious until you attend your fourth or fourth outside summer gathering and THEN get a rest from them. Among the most common things we hear is how nice it is to just sit and eat and see the kiddos play without having any other venue-related cares or worries. This is going to be particularly important if you're going to be needing elderly family members attend who can battle with being mobile in the grass or mud and locating seating at outdoor parties.
4) DECOR OPTIONS GALORE
While party aesthetic may not be a determining factor for each and every family, it sure is much easier to create a themed extravaganza which lighting a child's face up when the party's inside. The decorations demanded tend to be less since the area is smaller and included contained, and you won't need to worry about balloons and streamers blowing about or procuring table covers .
Because we do host cellular events outdoors at Climbing Vines Cafe and Play, I can also speak from experience when I say the time it takes to set up (and take down!) Decorations for an outside party compared to a indoor celebration usually ends up being double. Finding good places to hang banners, requiring two people to hold and protect everything, and finding weights or other restraints for everything can be a true hassle on party day.
And you will have enough to be concerned about this day, right?
Furthermore, if your pinterest boards are filled with cute centerpieces, a candy bar, or anything which may be affected by wind (or attract bees!) You will probably have to restrategize to get an outdoor soiree.
Not to mention decor typically can only get used once if used outdoors, but repurposed again and again if used for an indoor event. Our guests that sponsor indoor playground sale events, especially those who spent significant money into decor or worked hard to make their very own, are very happy to find they could usually create a large chunk of their money back by reselling their materials on something such as Facebook Marketplace.
Speaking of cash, probably the greatest misconception I hear from customers is they want to host a party in their house to save the rental fee of an indoor area. I usually laugh at this because it makes perfect sense, in other words, if you have never hosted an outdoor celebration.
With all of the"extras" such as tents, chair rentals, extra decorations, weather reinforcements, cleanup supplies, games and activities for the children (that you won't need to supply at a play area!) , pool toys, etc.... It is very likely you will end up spending MUCH more hosting a party at your home or an outside place than you'd inside.
I'm not sure how other indoor spaces handle their supplies, but we just charge guests to get extra beverages and provides and these on the day of the celebration if they end up needing them, and we also enable parties to bring in their OWN food, dessert, and decoration if they choose!
Money aside, spending countless hours cleaning prior to, during, and following the party can also take a toll. Wouldn't it be wonderful to walk into a sparkling clean space and depart with your guests when the party's over, not having to worry about the clean-up, garbage removal, tent teardown, etc?
It's possible to just head home and unwind with your family (yes, possibly outside!) In a nice clean house that wasn't just trampled by party guests and all of their mud, grass, and sunscreen.
Along with the time spent cleaning prior to and after the party, wouldn't it ALSO be nice to not need to play"server" during the event? Even for customers that bring in their own food and decor, our committed party assistants set up everything, refill and fix food and beverages as necessary, clear plates, cut and serve the cake, and then pack up all of the leftovers in the end of the celebration!
After all, it's your child's special day and you want to spend those valuable hours making memories and visiting with your guests-- not running about chasing your decorations or refilling the fruit bowl innumerable times.
So save everyone (and especially your own family!) We would be honored to provide you with an easy, enjoyable experience which will leave your entire guest list feeling refreshed, thankful, and full of love after having a relaxing (yet fun-filled!) day together.
