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.

Isn't this how we do things in London? I don't think my idea is odd?

Maybe not all of London, which after all is pretty big, but the pubs and restaurants in Wimbledon always seem to be full of families at the weekend.

Really? A first birthday party in a pub? That's a terrible idea. I don't think I would want to celebrate a very young child's birthday in a place where people get drunk. I wouldn't even do that for an older child's birthday. What you're describing is a booze up with friends. No place for small children I'm afraid.

Maybe not all of London, which after all is pretty big, but the pubs and restaurants in Wimbledon always seem to be full of families at the weekend.

I don't think it's weird taking children to a pub, but I probably wouldn't hold a first birthday party in one because my DS would have been running round everywhere getting in people's way at that age.

Sounds like a great idea OP and I hope it goes well for you. You’ve clearly stated that you have your own area so presume it will be away from random drinkers . Presumably people won’t manage to get too pissed in two hours .

I know it's a birthday not a christening but we have paid £400 to hire a pub this weekend with food and this is really for the adults not the kids as he is only 6 months so just seems like a similar sort of thing to me.

I'm outside London but £15 a head which can include food doesn't seem too bad if it's in your budget though if I was a guest I wouldn't mind buying my own drinks and probably would spend that much

I might being thick here but not sure I understand . So you pay £150 deposit which gets redeemed at the bar . Does that mean you don’t get it straight back but it goes towards the bar tab? Then they are going to charge you 600 regardless which you could pass on to your guests and then have to make up the shortfall yourself or you could just pay the whole lot.Is that right?

I don't think I would want to celebrate a very young child's birthday in a place where people get drunk.

These days most pubs make their money by selling food, not drink.

soon many pubs are family friendly these days. Pubs in my village would go out of business if they didn't let kids in.

My super, super sociable 4 year old loves the pub!

@MrsGrindah Totally not sure on the terms of the deposit and minimum spend... I'm sure it's £600 all in... hopefully

We hired a really nice church hall, had nice wine and cheese for adults, kids party food for little ones, took some of our toys for the kids to play with, (don't underestimate that they need something to do even at that age)
I think we spent about £150
Was really nice
Pub sounds fine in theory but I worry that at that age you'll have lots of cruising & crawling babies in an environment not really set up for them so the parents won't really enjoy it and that's who the party is really for at that age.

We did exactly the same thing for DS's first birthday. Hired the top floor of a nice pub, there were only a handful of babies, mainly NCT friends as none of my friends had children at the time. They had a ball pit that I bought from Argos, a bubble machine and a child friendly snack table.
There was a private bar so no one had to disturb downstairs. I think minimum spend was £700? We reached that with food and put money behind the bar. But we are quite a boozy crowd and drinks flowing were expected.
Admittedly it was definitely more a celebration of surviving the first year as DS had no clue what was happening.
It's perfectly normal in the part of London where I live.
Hiring a hall would have been more money and we'd have had to cater ourselves but just wanted to kick back and relax after a manic year.

I think my crowd could be described as boozy too. I think most would have a couple of drinks each at least. And the ones with children may need three

Being realistic - nice pub in Wimbledon - £15 will be two glasses of wine or maybe two and a half pints so if people are actually drinking it’s not that much

I don’t think people will buy their own. If I was invited to a party for a 1 year old in a pub I would expect my child to be fed. I would usually be given a coffee or a glass of wine (but most drive here) but if I wasnt then I wouldn’t have anything. To buy a drink because the hosts haven’t provided one is really rude as it highlights that they have been lacking. I wouldn’t expect to spend any of my own money.

@explodingkittensexpansion Have you read what I actually plan to do?

I plan to get loads of beers in ice buckets ready for people on arrival. Also I'll have a couple of bottles of red and a couple of white and some Prosecco. I will also be feeding people.

Most will not be driving on account of the fact they all live in London and no one drives.

Lol, judging by the responses you would have thought OP was planning the party in a brothel.

Sounds a great idea. I would never expect my drinks to be paid for. It would be a shame to have to pay the pub because the min spend wasnt met. Could u buy some platters if food? That will get folks drinking!

It sounds fine.
We have been to a couple of baby 'parties' hosted in a pub. Its basically a ' Hi, we have survived 1 year of xyz life, we will be in xyz pub between 3-6pm if you are free to join us and celebrate'

A couple of babies play with a few toys on sofa or mat on floor or nap. As for a 1 year old that means many friends babies might only be 6 months for example. Otherwise eat their weight in breadsticks.

Everyone drinks various things, and often order a meal. i would say most order at least 2-3 drinks each. A mixture of alcoholic, non alcoholic and hot. I wouldnt expect beers provided free on arrival

In london the main reason seems that more people are used to meeting outside of home regularly as many people live in small flats. So people expect to meet at a cafe, pub, restaurant they have been invited to and usually to pay own costs

Amazing. This is a party for a baby who will have no idea. Have a piece of cake at your house. That spend is crackers. Who is the party for? Not the baby thats for sure

I don't think it's a terrible idea but I think hiring a coffee shop and doing an informal afternoon tea, possibly with a glass of prosecco, would be nicer.

I used to work in a pub and was shocked at how many first birthday parties we had book our function room. Our minimum spend was £500, most people managed it by prepaying for some food and initial drinks then leaving guests to cover the rest. You could order say £200 worth of food, and a few bottles of prosecco and then people can buy their own drinks after that, then you'll be more likely to hit the minimum spend target but not have to fork out the whole lot yourselves, and guests will only have to buy themselves a drink or two.

@Confusedbeetle As I've said loads, it's more for us. He won't care. After this year it'll be whatever he asks for. This year he doesn't speak so

Have a piece of cake at your house.

And you can also invite your friends to a nice pub to celebrate getting through the first year. It'll be more difficult in few years once you get on to second babies with older toddler siblings.

Oh, hang on - that is exactly what you are doing!

@merrymouse Haha you understand! Why would I want to start my soft play career one year early. Those places give me chills

Also, we have a two bed flat!

I'm not in London and parties in pubs are pretty common here...

I agree with watermelon, I suspect you just lose the £150 deposit if your guests don't spend over £600. Check, though!

It sounds nice. I eat in a pub late on Saturdays all the time; and I'd much rather a party in a pub than a soft play....