b-day party at a playground?
I'm toying w/ the idea of having DD's 2nd b-day party at a playground. It has a pavilion and will cost $76 for 9am-2pm. It will be in mid-October. The minuses - if the weather is bad, we can't do it and will lose the money. If it's really really bad, we can reschedule but not cancel. I won't reschedule b/c I don't expect people to be available every weekend for a 2nd b-day party! Back-up would be our house (just a few mins drive away). I'd have it clean just in case but of course, with the playground, there is hardly any clean-up after.
The playground will still be available for others to use so it might get crowded. Other than this and the weather factor, am I missing any other negatives?
the positives are many - less work for me, in terms of cleaning before and after and having to entertain or think of a theme (I probably would not have any sort of formal entertainment or theme anyway, though); we can invite more people, especially some of DD's 2-yr old buddies; the older kids (oldest would be 7) will still have fun.
For food, we'd get cake, pizzas, maybe some chicken fingers, something simple but filling so no one goes hungry.
Thoughts??
Re: b-day party at a playground?
We went to a first birthday party at a playground over the weekend, and we thought the park was a great place for a party. With the playground right there, everyone could wander off to play and then wander back to the pavillion to eat and socialize. There were people other than party-goers at the park, but this playground was big enough that it didn't matter.
Our hosts this weekend served cold food: sandwich rolls that were cut up, veggies and dip, fruit, cheese and probably some things I'm forgetting. That way, kids could go back and forth between the playground and the food without anyone worrying about whether the food had gotten cold. They also served a cake in the last half hour or so of the party.
They had simple decorations, balloons and some cute things on the tables, and they had a couple of coolers with soft drinks, water and drink boxes. All in all, it was one of the more pleasant kids' parties we've attended.
So -- I think the playground is a good idea, but I'd stick to cold/room temp food so you don't have to worry about keeping things hot or having everyone eat at once.
we plan to do it at Ashburn Park!
I did not even think about not reserving/paying and just showing up, I think it's too risky in mid-October.