To think this is actually reasonable value for a child’s party?

[neverplaywithasmoo]

I am paying £750 to exclusively hire a soft play for two and a half hours.

Included in that is obviously use of the facilities for an hour and a half then an hour with all food and drink (including the cake) napkins balloons etc with a theme we want. (DD wants princesses of course but there are others available.)

All guests also get a free return visit to the soft play and party bags are included too.

I can’t see how we’d do it much cheaper really.

I do think that’s quite a lot. I live in London and hired the bougie soft play for DS’s last birthday and even did an open bar for adults but still didn’t spend that much…. But if you can afford it, it’s what DS wants to do and hassle free for you then crack on!

Soft play is never posh. Most are dirty, run of the mill activities and the children get bored quickly.

As I said ‘if indeed soft play can be posh.’

Ah, I’ve never been to a soft play party where the children got bored quickly; they have had a great time at all the ones I’ve been to.

You are paying for the convinience of not having to sort anything, which is fair if you can afford it and its important to you; but plenty of ways to do a cheaper party without spending tonnes of time though. I would in no world spend that much on a class party 😂 £200 is the max we have spent.

That’s impressive!

I live in a "posh" village. There is no way the community centre (Very Nice) or the church hall would cost anything like £200 for three hours.

What a spiteful comment to make when you know OP has chosen it for her child’s party.

In my experience it’s parents who loathe soft play and find it boring. Children generally love every minute of it. Which makes it a great choice for a birthday party. I wouldn’t pay £750 for it, but if you can afford that, great! Fuss-free and the kids will be happy.

Where are you that village hall hire would be £200? I’ve just booked 3 hours at £22 per hour so £66. The one I usually use is £15 per hour but fully booked both weekends I could have had.

I’ve booked a slot which doesn’t cover a meal time so I’ll just serve birthday cake and maybe do biscuit icing as an activity.

I have paid for an entertainer who is £200 for up to 25 kids.

total cost hopefully under £300, which I still think is quite a lot but I’m hoping this will be the last year of big parties. She’s year 2 and most people are moving to smaller parties doing something special with only 4-6 others.

£750 for a soft play party is horrendous.

So we’ve done an exclusive soft play hire this year. £150 fee plus £15 per child. 33 children in total. Cake is £100 + balloons so total cost is very comparable. But we are having quite a few kids and minimum is 20. So might be a little on the expensive side depending on how many children will be attending.

Our local soft play is £180 for private hire and buffet for 15 kids and then £5 a head for extra children. No party bags but still a lot cheaper!

Soft play is is hell with slides.

But if people are prepared to spend nearly a grand to host a party there then I'm tempted to open my own one!

Where the hell are you?? I have kids between 10&3 in Surrey (expensive I thought!) and £750 would utterly ridiculous here. Are you in London and renting out Kidzania (I know it’s not there anymore, but for example!)!? Or Dubai or something?

Thats an absurd price! But if you can afford it I dont see the issue!

750 on a kids party???

For two and a half hours I'd rather buy a load of party food and organise some simple entertainment at home and bank 500 for the kids future.

I’ve just booked DD’s party - 30 3&4 year olds, half a day hall hire (minimum booking allowed) - £90. Bouncy castle hire £100. Disco - speaker and lights already own.
Food - timed between meal times but snack spread will be not much £.
Decorations - make own/blow up some balloons.
Don’t feel so bad thinking of splashing out on a badge maker now for an extra activity for them to do 😂

What ever happened to inviting 5 kids for a party at home ?
Pass the Parcel, Musical Statues and Pin the Tail on the Donkey.
Hot Wheels cars as prizes which then get raced around the room.
Eating breadsticks and cheese wotsits.
Then a game of Sleeping Lions while you sort the cake.

Much more fun.
In my personal opinion.

It’s expensive obviously but I think it is good value! Our local soft play is £750 for exclusive hire and cold food for 30 kids. Extra kids £5 a head and bring your own cake/party bag/decorations

@GoldbergVariations Same here! Ours do morning or afternoon hire slots which are 3.5hours long. The smaller church hall is £60 and the larger town hall is £75.

DD’s 5th birthday party (she’s now 7, so not a million years ago) was basically what you described and it cost £350. I’ve never paid that much before or since.

YABU thats an obscene amount of money to spend on a childs birthday party.

Why do you hate Bouncy Castles lol? That's a really odd thing to hate.

£200 for 3 hours for a community centre? That’s more than even the commercial lets get charged here - they pay £60 an hour. Parties are £25 or £35 an hour depending on hall size (under or over 90).

Absolute crazy money for a kids birthday party! Bit of you can afford it go ahead.

We paid £400 for exclusive use of a soft play centre a few years back, That was for two hours, after closing and a maximum of 20 kids.

£800 was the most we’ve ever paid for a kid’s party. That was at a Premiership Football Stadium, 20 kids for an exclusive stadium tour followed by a 3 course meal. They all got a huge goodie bag as well.

Crikey. I mean it’s all relative. It’s up to individual families how much they spend, provided they can afford it.

We used to do parties at home when they were little, and when they were older, took them to an activity and/or meal out with maybe three friends. Clip and Climb/bowling/cinema etc. We never spent anywhere near that amount- we wouldn’t have been able to afford it without impacting on our budget for other things like holidays.

I have also hired out a (small) posh soft play in London and it was £350 including catering for the children and adults. We only bought wine on top of that.

And I thought that was a lot!

For a larger soft play, capacity 45, it was £275 with self-catering.

£750 is off the charts crazy. I already thought I was being quite flash with the cash spending over £300 just for a party.