Church hall bouncy castle party

[lancslass17]

Thinking of a church hall bouncy castle party for my 6 year old this time ,(invite the whole class whoever turns up turns up).

Questions I have are is 3 hour hall hire doable
Do I get bouncy castle to arrive as soon as we go in then half hour after party finished?

Can't get my head round the logistics.

Any other tips welcome ta

[mitogoshi]

Check they allow bouncy castles. Also you may need liability insurance, due to accidents and ceiling height many don't allow now, we certainly don't after a mother tried (and failed) to claim on our churches public liability insurance when her kid broke his arm, no church personnel were even on site as it was a private party

[Geebray]

My tip is - don't do it. As the PP says, insurance and injury are real issues.

[Overthebow]

Depends how long you want to party to be. I’d do an hour for set up and an hour for take down after it’s finished.

[CaptainCarrotsBigSword]

You want the bouncy castle set up and taken down when there's no kids.

So with a three hour hire, have a two hour party. Bouncy castle, plus all other set up / clear up gets done in the half an hour on either side.

Eg.

1.00 - 4.00 hire period.
1.00 bouncy castle company arrive and set up & you do the rest of the set up.
1.30 - party start time
3.30 - party end time
3.35 - bouncy castle arrive to take down and take away.
4.00 all tidying up done, lock up and hand back keys.

Two hours is plenty of playing time, by the end of 2hrs parents are desperate to leave, and most kids are getting fractious. Having the bouncy castle taken away also helps push out any lingerers.

[Bumblebeeinatree]

Assuming the bouncy castle is inside I imagine you will have to hire from when they start to set up to when they get it out. Find out how long that all takes and then add on the party time to get your hire time. Are you doing food, castle could be dismantled while children are eating, if they can be persuaded to not help!

[Mindymomo]

Our Church Hall you book for either a whole morning or whole afternoon. I would get bouncy castle to arrive and put up before DC arrive. You do need an adult to supervise bouncy castle the whole time and either set a limit to how many are on it at the same time. You should be able to deflate it when you want the DC to stop. You will need a first aid kit, as be prepared for cuts etc.,

[CaptainCarrotsBigSword]

Goodness, everywhere near me allows bouncy castles! The hire company has the insurance. Speak to the hall; ours had a specific company they usually work with who knows the size of the hall, what fits and where it is best to set up for power etc.

[Digestive28]

Seems fine.
i would be clear if you are doing food or not on an invite, most people seem to expect some snacks - we usually just did watermelon chopped up and loads of crisps and squash. So you want to set up some tables where they can go to get a drink/food if not bouncing. You may also want a table with some easy (non needing parental supervision) crafts for same person - some kids need to not be in the thick of the noise/sweat all the time so good to have a space to go.
Enjoy and get some wine in for after!

[Overthebow]

Also get either multiple bouncy castles/slides or a huge obstacle one or other entertainment. If 20+ kids come there won’t be enough to entertain them with just one standard bouncy castle as can only have a few kids on at a time. Accidents happen when too many kids pile on at a time. We did two inflatables for 15 kids and that worked well, we would have needed more for more kids.

[Geebray]

@Digestive28

Seems fine.
i would be clear if you are doing food or not on an invite, most people seem to expect some snacks - we usually just did watermelon chopped up and loads of crisps and squash. So you want to set up some tables where they can go to get a drink/food if not bouncing. You may also want a table with some easy (non needing parental supervision) crafts for same person - some kids need to not be in the thick of the noise/sweat all the time so good to have a space to go.
Enjoy and get some wine in for after!

So you would allow kids to fill up on crisps and juice, then send them on to a bouncy castle?!

OP, best be ready with a Vomit Clear Up Kit as well 😆

[Geebray]

@Overthebow

Also get either multiple bouncy castles/slides or a huge obstacle one or other entertainment. If 20+ kids come there won’t be enough to entertain them with just one standard bouncy castle as can only have a few kids on at a time. Accidents happen when too many kids pile on at a time. We did two inflatables for 15 kids and that worked well, we would have needed more for more kids.

Edited

Yes good point. With one bouncy castle you would need to limit numbers at a time.

As a PP says, also have craft stuff available.

[LIZS]

You can deflate the bouncy castle while food is served and play games after then reinflate for last half hour.

[Cornishtoddy]

Some leisure centres do bouncy castle parties in a large hall with lots of other play stuff like football. Don't do a DIY one. As others have said one bouncy does not make for a relaxing party!

[CaptainCarrotsBigSword]

@Geebray

So you would allow kids to fill up on crisps and juice, then send them on to a bouncy castle?!

OP, best be ready with a Vomit Clear Up Kit as well 😆

I've never had this issue! Been to loads of kids bouncy castle parties.

Usually, first bounce is about 45 mins an hour.
Then get them all sat down for some food (picky kids party bits - sandwiches, crisps, token fruit and veg, biscuits) and do the sing happy birthday, blow out candles on the birthday cake when they are almost finished, before they wander off.
Then second bounce for about half an hour, until the end of the party.

If you are feeling brave you can do party games with them but I decided I couldn't face it! We had a colouring table set up that they could dip in and out of. We also had a face painter that was running the whole time, kids just went up to her as and when they wanted.

[WhatWouldYouDo33]

You need to have more than one bouncy castle for a party, games, crafts activities, other activities. Unless this is a drip feed a massive castle with slides etc.

[drspouse]

We hired soft play equipment (for a third birthday party not a sixth so it was quite small but I know you can get bigger).