Bar minimum spend - is this reasonable??

[mischie]

I've provisionally booked an area in a nice pub in Wimbledon for my son's 1st birthday party gathering. The booking is for 2.5 hours from 3pm to 5.30pm on a Saturday afternoon in February.

The deposit is £150 which is then redeemed at the bar - fair enough.

Then, there is a minimum spend of £600! Does this seem a bit high?

The area is for between 25-50 people and I'll be inviting around 40 adults.

I don't think it's high but then I'm a Londoner.
The pub is just working out what it expects to cover per head - if you want to reserve an area then it costs X. Otherwise you could potentially rock up, sit there all afternoon and drink tap water.
Ultimately it boils down to are you happy to pay £600 for your nearest and dearest to eat and drink in a pub. If so, crack on.

@ReanimatedSGB
Amen, Sistah.

I think it sounds fun and I would be very happy to receive an invite like this. I assume it's a smart venue, not a spit and sawdust dive as it's in Wimbledon. We drank processo in park for dd2 first bd. Dd1 it was a boozy bbq. I'm lucky to have summer birthdays. For me it was a celebration of getting through the year and finally socialising again.
Don't let others comments put you off if you have the money it's fine.

Will there not be older children as well?

I expect a lot of the replies are from people who don’t live in London.

It sounds great to me, I’m in! Promise to spend my quota 😂

If I was invited to a party at a pub (even a child’s) I’d EXPECT to pay for my own drinks. It would be nice if there would be a few nibbles (crisps, nuts type thing) but if I wanted ‘food’ I’d expect to buy it.

If I was in London, going to a pub on a weekend afternoon, I’d definitely be having a couple of glasses of something (preferably mulled wine!).

I see you have ‘shelved it’ for now, but maybe consider people will surely expect to buy their own drinks in a pub (I’d use the £150 for bubbles for a toast and if there’s any left over after that, buy a few drinks for grandparents etc) and definitely push the bar for a longer time for the same minimum. It’s FEBRUARY, they’re pushing their luck a bit with the £600.

No older children.

The pub wasn't trying to put me off as I didn't mention what the event was as it was just a preliminary enquiry

Isn't this how we do things in London? I don't think my idea is odd? I'm back into thinking it's going to be lovely and indeed the last birthday for a while where I can choose what we do!

Aye. Us none Londoners can only dream of such a party.

The time limit is because the kids might start to get a bit fractious. I think we'll go with the fact that people will order their own drinks and we'll top up the £600 at the end if needed.

We'll also pay for the canapés / nibbles and get a few bottles or wine and beers to get people started. And some Prosecco for a toast

Wow. I have never spent anywhere near that much on a party for anyone (our wedding excepted). The most I have spent on a kids party was £150 and that was so traumatic we have just had friends over for tea the last few years! We are alternating parties from now so we only have to pay for one a year they're so expensive. If you can afford it go for it but beware what precedent you're setting if you have any more!

Personally, I wouldnt spend £15 in two and a half hours if attending a child's party in a pub.

^This. Also nothing wrong with 1st birthday party in a pub. I have been to quite a few like this

@greendale17 Any tips? What did you like and dislike?

I had to go back and check the age of your DC because your plan sounds exactly like the plans my DD2 is making for her 21st!

@ApolloandDaphne Have you read the whole thread?

Yeah - pub, people, drinks, nibbles. Did i miss anything?

@ApolloandDaphne It's mainly for the adults.. on account of the fact the babies won't care

Why not hire a hall? It would be much cheaper. You could buy a few bottles, and get sharing platters in. You could hire somewhere with a play area for children, assuming there will be other children coming.

We had DS's 1st birthday at a pub. We provided some nibbles but people bought their own drinks.

It's a perfectly reasonable idea for a party but £600 is excessive if you have to pay. People won't mind buying their own drinks and extra food of they want it.

Wow that's a lot of money for a one year old's party!

I didn't say it wasn't. But it is still exactly what my DD2 has arranged for her 21st! Her 1st was a few friends and their mums round for cake.

We don't have enough space at home and I don't want the clean up afterwards.

People will buy their own drinks and we spent on food and some drinks and top up at the end

This sounds like exactly the sort of first birthday party I’d like to attend and I’m sure your friends too, as you know them best.
Pubs round here are full of kids at the weekend so it’s not like you’ll stand out, and I’m sure you’ll hit the minimum spend with people buying a drink or two each and you putting on some nibbles.
Sounds lovely OP, hope you have a great time

The minimum spend of £600 just means you will lose your deposit if the bar spend is less than that. You don’t need to spend £600.

What about heading out of Wimbledon a bit - Colliers Wood, Raynes Park, Putney, southfields, Morden probably find a cheaper venue for a better price

@Garby Thanks Garby!

You know your crowd, are they boozy? If they're up for drinking then £15 per person is easily doable, especially if they know there are a few drinks for free, people go mad for free drinks!
If they're all with kids though and will be going home, do you think they will be more likely to stick to soft drinks? If so there is only so much coke you can drink and £600 is way above that!

If you can afford it and you will enjoy it, just go for it either way though!

Isn't this how we do things in London?

Er well I've lived my whole life in London and never attended a child's first birthday party in a pub. London is not one homogeneous mass!

For DS's first birthday we also wanted to have a celebration with family and friends. We rented our local community hall for £50 and then self catered the food and drink ourselves which came to just under £200.