To think it’s impossible to do a whole class party on the cheap?

[Andjustgo]

Is it possible to have a party without spending close to £500? (I’m talking around 25 kids here, there isn’t really a way of inviting fewer guests.)

Definitely absolutely do not want to host at home, it wouldn’t be practical as they are young children so parents would have to stay. And the thought gives me the shivers.

So local soft play / inflatables / role play cafe either charge per head at around £20, working out at around £500, or you pay for exclusive hire of the place for a bit more money. Both these options include food etc.

Or I could hire a hall (but then would need entertainment and bouncy castles seem popular 😱) or a magician / princesses or something. That’s around £200 plus hall hire, food and party bags. On the face of it cheaper but a lot of work involved.

I don’t mind paying but I’m just wondering if this is typical now.

(I do get a large percentage of MNetters wouldn’t dream of anything as vulgar as a kids’ party - this question is for those who do!)

What age kids? If they’re little, I don’t think they need much. I think I had DS’s Reception party at home, and just let them run around, as did a lot of people, and others just hired the village hall and did party games.i think we did soft play in Year 1, and other years did a trampoline park, a snow dome, and a funky pizza place that had a room of table football tables and arcade games.

why can't you just invite a handful of them?

Hall
bouncy castle
ham/jam sandwiches / crisps and party rings
party games: musical statues, pass the parcel etc
cake
haribo

a couple hundred?
If you’re really brave, lose the bouncy but you will have to entertain them for 2 hours

Is there anyone who has a birthday around the same time that you could share with? Lots of joint parties when mine were at Primary.

Ask your child if they’d rather a day out somewhere like a zoo / Legoland etc, or a party? My eldest always used to choose a day out. Youngest though being a winter baby, I’ve done joint parties instead as it halves the cost.

Do it at a park. Parachute games, balls, bubbles, treasure hunt, picnic or order pizza.

How old is the child? We hired the local leisure centre which has an inflatable assault course one year. Was about £80 for hire. Did our own food and music and patty bags. That was our cheapest one

Parties in the park are common where I am. Obviously, you hope for good weather, so it’s time of year dependent. Organise a picnic and some games. We have a children’s outdoor paddling pool in our park, which helps. All are free. Parents would need to stay, though.

There is a local hall near me who hire for £100 +£100 deposit for the whole day. It's on an estate and not a great one. But the place has cooking facilities and a fenced off grassed area. It has a large hall and a smaller hall.

I then buy a box of chicken and a big bag of rice. A box of chicken around here is about £20 for 20 kgs of chicken legs (halal though, for those who care). I get them cut into thighs and drumsticks. I get a big bag of rice (£20). I make 3+ different types of chicken (fried, curried, bbq, plain). I make a vegan curry too (costs about £20 tops, tomato and coconut based).

I also do loads of other things like curried goat, different salads, mac and cheese etc. I also get people to bring a dish. We invite the whole class plus siblings and family. The max capacity of the venue is 100 I think. People bring tupperware for leftovers.

We have days out all the time (easier than being home 🙄) so parties definitely have more of a ‘treat’ feeling to them.

@Arrowthroughtheknee i don’t want to is the honest answer. It’s a small class and so excluding some would be upsetting for those not invited. And then there are other friends from outside of school who are definitely wanted there so it does add up.

I have seen park parties but I do find it kind of stops others using the park. And then there’s the great British weather, plus the problem of no toilets. So I’m not keen on that idea if I’m honest.

Joint party - find some more children to share the party/cost with.
Leisure Centre parties are often one of the cheaper options.

@GlovedhandsCecilia but do you have any additional entertainment? Or do the kids entertain themselves (absolutely no criticism there, I think it’s wonderful if they do. Just not sure mine would!)

I would just do soft play and suck it up. Village hall parties require loads of management because you have to sort catering and cleaning and the entertainment all separately. I think they end up costing as much. Also you can just blame the soft play when it's all UPF chicken nuggets and shrug your shoulders but when it's you organising the food you'll get a lot of tutting from the parents if you do nuggets and none of the children will eat it if it's all pepper and carrot sticks. My DC have allergies and generally soft plays etc are pretty ok with this but parent provided food at hall parties is usually a nightmare and you don't want that responsibility either.

My kids tended to have joint parties with a friend whose birthday was close by. That worked well.

Double up with other parents

Agree with checking the leisure centre. It was 4 years ago but we paid just over £100 for the hall and bouncy inflatable they have. We then did have to do food, but if you did manage to get a cheaper venue maybe you could get a local company to make the buffet?

As others say the usual alternative is hiring a hall and then entertainment separately. Hall hire is the cheap part (£25 for 3 hours near me) but it's what you then do. Bouncy castle is probably the cheapest and setting up a craft table. A friend did brave a magician one year which was ok for most children but not all who couldn't sit for a long time.

I think you just have to write it off as an expensive event, or not do it at all if you don't want to do anything else (fewer children/different activity).

Parks have toilets. Well, ours does. Why would it stop others using the park? You take rugs and blankets to sit on, you’re not using any benches and tables. You organise games, you don’t let the children just run around. Keep it short and structured.

Probably best to share with someone else. You won’t be the only parent trying to keep costs down.

Soft play is probably a bit more fun as I find with bouncy castles they are great at first but then they start bouncing into one another and tears happen and the novelty wears off.

The soft play or role play centre parties tend to have an hour or so for play followed by food and a bit of a disco so that’s nice. And then everyone is booted out

Oh sorry I forgot to mention that. Yeah we will have something like a bouncy castle or something. I think the last I hired one, it was about £75. Smallish company on FB that I saw a few FB friends had liked. They threw in these bouncy things that were great for toddlers, too.

We do music and games and have an arts and crafts area/quiet area, too. I think I spend about 3-400 on a party and we honestly have about 50 people there, minimum. Adults and kids because i don't do that drop and go thing so I make sure I have food and drinks for the adults and tell them to bring a visiting friend or whatever they need to do if necessary. The adults help out (usually watch kids who are near them, at least).

I would say its more of a free flow thing than very structured but that's because of the "diversity" of our local young population. They arent all suited to super structured group activities and the age differences when you include wider family and siblings mean smaller activities that people can choose work better.

This sounds lovely but I would not be keen on bringing a dish. It introduces tons of cross contamination issues plus all the effort - most parent have already had to face the logistics of clearing time for the party, getting to the party, buying a present etc.

£500???? No way would I spend that. Can you not meet at the park and take some cakes and organise games? Or have it at your house?

That's mostly family and close friends. Not everyone. My sister makes mac and cheese for example.

I waa skint when dd was young. Had parties at home invited her close friends and did the entertainment myself.
Its a toss up. Do the labour yourself or pay to outsource.

Cheap hall with DIY catering and DIY entertainment. You don't actually need bouncy castles or magicians - the kids will be happy with old fashioned games like pass the parcel and musical statues etc.

If they’re in a class they must be 5 at least so no parents need to hang about. At this age they are easily please( I work with them) and they just want some music and party games and some simple food.