Can we book "slots" at a play gym as a party

[Bexily]

I had my DS birthday party booked at a play gym for next month, unfortunately it's just before the restrictions are due to lift (booked when the restrictions were due to lift this month). The play gym have just rung and said that we can't have a party now but we can book slots for all of our planned party guests and order food from their cafe for the kids so it would be just a play session really but I am not sure that would be allowed under the restrictions.

DS wants to invite 15 kids so that would be 16 kids plus parents. I don't want to get fined for organising a get together but it also seems daft that we could all book individually for the same day and still have the same play session.

This is breaking the rules though isn't it?

Just do it

Just do it, who cares. As you say you could all book independently.

I have done this exact thing for dds birthday in 2 weeks. I couldn't afford to book a party so I spoke to dds friends mums and they were all happy to book the same session so the kids can all play together then we're going for a picnic. Cheapest birthday idea I've ever had 👍

Someone might care and call the police. Remember you’re going have 15 children plus their parents inside.
Why risk the fine?
Move it to the following week.

Will parents be staying? Presumably if so they'll be masked and will have to sit across several chairs, not all sat in one cluster. Kids will be playing same as if 16 families booked and aren't expected to social distance. It's fine and legal

@underneaththeash

Someone might care and call the police. Remember you’re going have 15 children plus their parents inside. Why risk the fine? Move it to the following week.

It's in a venue that will otherwise sell those 16 slots to 16 families. It makes zero legal difference who pays for them.

Yes parents would be staying but we wouldn't be sat together. Each family would be sat at their own table, the kids all go to school together and are in the same bubble anyway.

Honestly op it's fine, ignore underneathtgeash, it's perfectly legal

Well if this is OK OP :
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/57546042
Hard to see how your birthday party isn't!!
Have a lovely, lovely time, Colin Caterpillar cakes all round.

Just move it. Another parent could complain. You can't share cake etc remember

@motogogo

Just move it. Another parent could complain. You can't share cake etc remember

Another parent will complain there are adults sitting on seperate tables and kids playing in the soft play??

I probably would.

I just rang a soft play about my DC's birthday, they told me I can hire it out privately and invite the friends along but everyone has to sit at different tables and can't share food. Probably won't work very well ofr 5 years olds thouhg.

@motogogo

Just move it. Another parent could complain. You can't share cake etc remember

Any parent who complains about a parent cutting up a cake and giving their child a slice is completely unhinged.

I think @RaspberryCoulis that @motogogo meant more if they saw someone cut up cake and give it to a child on a different table and they were just there with their kids, she'd complain

I probably wouldn't do a cake, just put it in party bags and pass them on outside of the venue.

DH and I were just talking and maybe reducing the numbers down to just a few school friends, he only ever mentions 3 anyway. Most of the party would be cousins so we could do something separate with them individually.

@SleepingStandingUp

I think *@RaspberryCoulis that @motogogo* meant more if they saw someone cut up cake and give it to a child on a different table and they were just there with their kids, she'd complain

That's just as ridiculous though.

Although of there's one thing that the pandemic has shown is that there are a lot of people with too much time on their hands.

After all of that DS has decided that he wants a proper party so we're going to put off until September and have a Belated party.

Strangely I've just had an email regarding the party booking I made (now before restrictions lift) stating that it's still on because they've not been told otherwise 🤷🏻‍♀️ I cancelled!

Yes OP. I did that & a couple friends have as well. I just made bookings of 6 different tables to include adults & children. And I paid for the kids to eat off the main menu & brought cupcakes to hand out. All good. The kids had a wail of a time & we all stood around or sat around chatting.

We did a baby shower like this back in April as well. We booked 2x tables of 6 outdoors. The venue let us decorate both tables & share a cake. I’d have been cross if they didn’t as it was a tapas restaurant & every table in the place was groups of friends sharing plates of food 😂

@RaspberryCoulis

Have you not read the threads on Mumsnet? There are people who are positively relishing extending lockdowns and reporting people is happening all over the place. If you are going to try to circumvent rules, walking around giving cake to kids at different tables is asking for trouble. Far better to either do an outdoor activity (with up to 30) or wait until regulations change. Businesses can be fined for not following the law.

We have a local restaurant that throws you out if they realise friends have booked 2 tables!

I agree with your son, I’d have moved it just so he can have the proper party experience, it’s just not the same if they don’t get to all eat together, have a cake and party games etc.

It’s really hard. We’re attempting an outdoor party but risky with weather. Lots of places are really strict. I’d spent all morning at the park with another family and then completely forgot we wouldn’t be able to sit together as there were 8 of us (4 under 5s). We went in as separate families, didn’t mess around with the tables etc but still got told off for talking.

[quote motogogo]@RaspberryCoulis

Have you not read the threads on Mumsnet? There are people who are positively relishing extending lockdowns and reporting people is happening all over the place. If you are going to try to circumvent rules, walking around giving cake to kids at different tables is asking for trouble. Far better to either do an outdoor activity (with up to 30) or wait until regulations change. Businesses can be fined for not following the law.

We have a local restaurant that throws you out if they realise friends have booked 2 tables! [/quote]
That's so 2020.
Fortunately most people have now realised that the government are treating us like idiots and here we are squabbling over a children's party while Wembley gets filled, and drunk football fans fill the pubs and streets hugging strangers and singing. (Not that I have a particular problem with the football element, it's the hypocrisy of the loopholes and what gets overlooked while soft targets continue to be excessively managed)

Anyone who would complain about cake being shared at a children's party at this point is a twat of the highest order and does not deserve invitations or a social network.

Nothing wrong against two households totalling 8 talking between tables either. Understandably venues don't want to rearrange seating to accomodate larger arrangements, but there is nothing in the rules against it.

We need to keep voting with our feet to buisinesses that are trying their best to accomodate customers, and swerve those adding their own unncessesary miserable rules.