Holy communion party help

[irishchick93]

Hi there.

I've lost the will with chat gbt.
Can anyone offer advice.
My child is making first holy communion in May. A Saturday. They want a bouncy castle at home. I really would think it would be much handier for me to book a local restaurant but I have a toddler and a baby also and also elderly parents with mobility issues. I'd be bringing wheelchairs..prams...car seats out with me. So perhaps at home would be slightly easier where we have locked gates and my parents like here so could join in and out as required. My child would love them to be involved.

However....I was going to rent a marquee type stretch canopy thing incase of rain but can't help but think it's a bit grim if it rains.

Bouncy castle.

Have a large garden and a biggish bungalow.

Has anyone basically any tips on food drinks entertainment just anything. I'm a bit stressed

Thanks

Oh ffs. People are allowed to enjoy things.

Bore off.

Get your bouncy castle (with a roof) booked ASAP and sort caterers for the food. Marquee is a good idea but that will need to be booked quickly as well. As it’s a child’s celebration, a hotel can be too formal for them. They can’t let their hair down like at home (you’ll still want a bouncy castle for the fun) Good luck with the planning , it’s a lovely day. (And of course the religious aspect is important, but it’s a wonderful family day to celebrate a child )

Round here it's usually a buffet at home with a bouncy castle. Curry/lasagne/turkey and ham or salmon from a local deli/cafe. That sort of thing. Might order takeaway pizza for the kids. A cake of some sort. And family or friends might offer to bring a dessert. All pretty casual. You might borrow a small marquee if there's one going. Someone in the GAA club is bound to have one

Definitely your plan - home, gazebo, bouncy castle. For the food, pre book ready made sarnies and cakes from Sainsburys, Morrisons or the like. You can pick them up the day before and job done!

Have a lovely time!

It’s a cultural as well as a religious event in Irish families . If it’s not your culture, it’s probably a good idea to say you don’t understand the cultural differences but, of course, you respect them.

At home, bouncy castle perfect. Definitely cater, supermarkets do party foods to order. M&s if you've got one in easy reach and I reckon you can get a good cake from them too. It will be cheaper than a restaurant.

What are you going to do about not having many classmates? Everyone is celebrating with their own families. Try and get an invite for a couple of friends, either ones who are not doing FHC or you could possibly trade a couple of hours with another parent of a best friend.

For my eldest he did his FHC with the whole class and we just went for a meal with close family then one of the mums invited him to an indoor football pitch back when it was cheap to book and they could get a large group together.

My youngest we were on holiday for the class FHC 😳 so we had a golf club party with dj (played games with the kids) catering, balloons, free bar and invited his classmates, their parents, all my friends and family. It was fab.

Enjoy!

Thank you all for your help okay so in the last hour I have secured a half covered bouncy castle..... and a belle tent with a picnic area in front of it it. No luck hiring a marquee yet but will hopefully hear back on Monday.
My friend has a food truck he said he will bring it's mexican street food normally but he said he could do anything like wings, pizza, goujons etc. I am thinking pizza for the kids at least.

How do the logistics work with the food truck is it self serve and people carry there own food to thr marquee or wherever?

I plan on having the house all ready I have a candy cart and would have it inside with pink lemonade and candy floss doughnuts etc along with a perfect pinter that my husband has and do like a wee prosecco table and some beers in buckets type thing?

I had thought about having sandwiches etc from the local shop pick up day before would these stay fresh and should I cover them and set in marquee or keep everything inside and it's more of a flowing party (especially as its weather dependant)

Yes self serve. Usually those trucks will stay for around 2 hours, which is plenty of time.
Donuts from Lidls bakery are fab and good price. I booked an entertainer for my DDs but the kids weren't interested at all they just wanted the bouncy castle.
I got face tattoos from amazon and all the kids loved that part.

What are you going to do about not having many classmates? Everyone is celebrating with their own families

Yes this is something to think ahead about. Neighbours with kids, any activities your DD does can you invite children from those.

Perfect thanks. She has 15 cousins in total and a lot of my friends have kids similar ages so I'd say we have more kids than adults 😆 🤣

Marquee, bouncy castle (check height so it fits under the marquee in case of bad weather) perhaps music and some party games. Do a buffet (perhaps ask family to bring a dish or can you do food to order eg we can from Waitrose)

We’re Catholics. It’s always about the party and the dress.

I’d keep it simple and lean into things kids actually use. The bouncy castle idea is solid, and I’d add one low-effort treat station so you’re not running around all day. I once rented a popcorn machine from sizzleyourevents.com for a family do, and it was a fun little extra without any faff since they handled setup and cleanup. Kids floated back and forth between that and the activities really easily.

Thanms everyone. Solid advice. I have a belle tent lying in the garage. Would it be worth my whole sprucing it up with balloons and cushions from charity shops. Or would they not look at this with the bouncy castle.. thinking for older ones and also a bit of shelter if raining

I'm sure my attempt won't look anyway like this lol but here's the idea