to spend nearly £350 on a soft play party for a 3yr old?

[choceyes]

DH thinks so.

DS will be 3 in November and I realy want to have a proper party for him, but our house is too small to accomodate 15 toddlers and their parents (whose house is??).

I want to do a soft play party and it is going to cost £341 for 15 children and 30 adults, inclusive of food, party bags, 2hr of soft play etc. Nothing for us to do but turn up.

Is this a normal price for a party like this? DH thinks we can't afford it. Well money is tight as we pay nearly a grand a month for childcare for two DCs and I only work 3 days a week, so we don't have much spare money.
But DS is invited to a few parties like this and we've never done anything like this. HAd a party at home for his 1st birthday, which was fine, but the kids were a lot younger and more easily entertained.

So AIBU for spending a small fortune on a party for my 3yr old when money is tight, and is it worth it?

This is a seriously bonkers price. Whatever you do, do not shell out this sort of money at a time you cannot afford it for the party of a 3 year old.

At that age it is really much, much nicer to keep the parties small and manageable either at home or in a venue like a church/village hall. But really, 3 year olds are likely to be easily over-excited and will have a better time in a smaller group. Why pay out £350 to mop up tears and bathe bites?

We had soft play party for DD2 (2) we shared it with 2 of her little buddies from nursery. There were 25 kids and probably at least 15 adults, included cost of party food and drinks for adults, we provided cake. It was £60 each family's share so £180 in total. This is in SW London.

I think you are being ripped off.....

I had a party for 23 5 year olds [shudder] a few years ago, in a very fancy dan leisure centre. Cost incl food was £120 and it was 2 hours with lots of different activities.

I called them again and it's no mistake.

They have recently put a new package in place and no longer do the £10 per kid price. It's an all inclusive package. They need to know how many adults and they want atleast one adult per child, so say 15 kids and 15 adults. Any extra adults, can't just pay the £1 entry fee and come into the party area, they have to be inculded in the "package". So if both parents turn up it will be 30 adults and £341.

Like I said to them, I am paying nearly £200 extra to have some adults there (and apparently now they include cake too), and it just doesn't make any sense to me.

That sounds way too much for a couple of hours of soft play hell. Can't you hire a local village/church hall and take you own food and let them run around/ play a few games etc for a couple of hours? Most communities have some sort of space like this you could hire with kitchen facilities for a fraction of the price and double the fun.

You are totally mad to even consider it. I've always done church hall type parties - easy/cheap/fun.

A three year old won't remember/care what you do.

Why not hire a hall and get an entertainer or a music group like Jo Jingles in?

Sorry duplicated previous posters suggestions. Just say 'NO' to softplay, especially at that money. Seriously. Most parents I know dread refereeing/ escorting their kids at softplay parties anyway.

Please say NO to this soft play place, they are rip off merchants and should be boycotted.

I would definitely look somewhere else then if they are charging you for the adults aswell.

I have had soft play parties for my DS1 and have only ever paid £10 per head (at the most) and nothing for adults (the places we use are always free for adults to come in and then they pay for their own food at the cafe etc). The price usually includes party bags so you just need to buy a cake.

Also, do you really need to invite 15 toddlers? My DS2 is 3 in November aswell and this will be the first time we have done a party for him but am struggling to get the numbers up to 10 to be honest (and he goes to nursery so does have friends!)

I suggest wait until your child is 5 or 6yo before paying out that much. 3yo is way too young to appreciate or even remember; a much smaller lower-key affair will suffice. A nice family day out with a few nice gifts from the venue shop would be good (& much cheaper).

DS is invited to a few parties like this
Why is that relevant; it's not like he's old enough to perceive that he's missing out on anything. And he won't be for a long time to come, either.

I haven't had a soft play party for a few years but I'm sure it was £10 per child including food and we provided the cake and party bags.

Any party outside the house swimming, sports, etc has averaged around £100 perhaps up to £150 but certainly not £350.

Find somewhere else, they are seriously taking the piss.

Well...

looks like I found an alternative place, another soft play..it's a little bit further away, but still only 20mins drive.

£7.50 per child, with food, invites, party games, party games etc. Can bring own cake too (other venue said no).

and adults are FREE!!!!!!!

If you can easily afford it then

If money is a problem then you are being batty.

If you feel you must go to the place in question than include in the invitation

" as xxxx soft play company insist on charging for any adults attending, can I ask that only one adult remain with each child. If you have any difficulties with this can I ask you to speak directly with mr twat the soft play manager"

I bet they want at least one adult per child, bloody rip off merchants. Have a look at leisure centres, sports halls, village halls, etc etc. Even in central London that's a ludicrous price (it's not Topsy Turvy World is it? World's most expensive soft play)

yes Takitezee, the other place is really taking the piss. I just don't believe they have the audacity to charge an extra £200 for adults

You are mad OP.

YABVVVVVU! That's an astonishing cost!

PFB is 6 next month. 30 kids in his class plus about 5 from outside, so budgeting for 30. Bouncy Castle £40 and ice cream van £75 (it does ice cream and party bags) and is something unusual. They decorate the van up too and PFB gets a go at doing an ice cream. Going to get some cheapo pizzas and juice, so around £30 there and a few balloons, £10. £155 for the lot.

thanks peggy , I'm not going through with it now, found an alternative if you read my latest post.

HOnestly I do sound mad, but I am a total novice at these things and this is the first time I've attempted to organise a party and didn't have a clue about how much these things cost!

Bloody hell, no way would I spend that for a soft play party. Are there any other ones, such as a wacky warehouse, in your area because they surely have better party packages than that.

Check your local council website as well, ours offer parties at leisure centres and in the park at cheap prices.

But I would skip a party, I never bothered with parties until they were at school just took them out for the day with grandparents or have a friend join us. Parties at this age is more for the parents than the child.

x posted 7.50 per child and adults free sounds much more like the norm for a soft play party.

I can fit 15 3 year olds in my house, they're little are 3 year olds - besides, the tighter you pack them in, the less the can get up to

Go for the cheaper place, and phone and tell the ludicrous priced one why you're not using them.

choceyes, glad you found somehwere better value!

I don't imagine many people will book a party at the other softplay!