Bday party at home vs venue

My son will be 6 on March 28. He wants a party. Other than his 1st birthday, last year was the first and only time we did a big party for his friends and family. We did a movie party since it was most affordable.

This year he wants Chuck-E-Cheese or a bounce place which all will run way over $400. I'm considering pushing his party into April when it gets warmer, getting a bouncy rental for the backyard and hosting it in the backyard. Has anyone done something similar? Did it cost much less? Was your house/yard trashed afterward? Is April too cold or rainy? Is it better to just do it at a venue?

I feel like whatever we do is going to set the precedent for all the years to come. We justified his 5th bday as being a "big" bday, but I can't see spending that much every year. Not to mention we have a younger son who will soon be wanting parties. TIA for all response.

Re: Bday party at home vs venue

To ME, it's worth it to have it out b/c I don't want 35 kids in my house, or trying to figure out how to entertain them.
I STILL end up having a house full of people b/c of family after the 'kid party' ........but it's not 35 kids !!

Bday party at home vs venue

I've never had a home party, but just letting you know we just had a Chuck E Cheese party with 36 kids and it was less than $400. I bought some extra tokens to give out also, but it was considerably cheaper than other parties, especially given the amount of kids I had. Good luck!

Bday party at home vs venue

I had DS' 5th and 6th at our house, but since we were new to LI we invited everyone in his class. The first year was ok b/c only 9 kids showed up, but for his 6th - there were 16 kids there (we have a ranch with toys in the basement). The backyard got a little too "Lord of the Flies" for me and for his 7th we had it at Cradle of Aviation. I liked the ease of it (not having to clean before or after) and it wasn't too expensive for 25 kids (I think cheaper than $400).

Bday party at home vs venue

We did DD's 10th birthday party at home with 15 kids. It turned out to be more expensive than going someplace and I had to do all the work. Unless I had a party in the summer where they can go in the pool and play outside and just cook some burgers and hot dogs, I'm having it at a place.

Re: Bday party at home vs venue

Chuck E Cheese is very reasonable. I did it for DS 4th birthday party. We also did the earliest one, which was 10am, so they played and ate an earlier lunch and the place was dead empty!

Re: Bday party at home vs venue

Chuck E Cheese is very reasonable. They give you extra tokens for booking online. I think it is $16 per kid.

Re: Bday party at home vs venue

I have done both. While there is a savings with a home party, when all is said and done you may still shell out a lot. And home parties are EXHAUSTING. Between the prep and decorating before (granted, I go all out crazy in the name of Pinterest which isn't necessary) and the cleanup after, it's a lot. Not to mention wrangling 15 kids around your house. Spending to have it elsewhere may be worth the extra money.

Bday party at home vs venue

I think it depends on what you do at home vs what you do outside and how many kids you have. If you rent a bouncy house it will still run you a couple of hundred bucks and you will have to get your own food, and paper goods etc , and make sure you have enough seating for guests so maybe rent chairs etc.. (cake and favors are extra at either venue so that is a wash) so chances are it will come out to about the same but more work on your part. However if you have a lot of kids or wish to have a longer than the typical 1.5-2 hour party its a good option as the cost of adding extra kids/ extra time gets pricey.
I also find that with at home parties the expectation of feeding the parents is greater-- esp if you have famiy friends over , i feel like i cant give them just the typical pizza and soda. A

I had my 2 year olds party at home last year and it was def cheaper than any other party i had. But I did it during the week when some schools had spring break (not all) so it limited the number of adults (and kids) who were there. I also didnt go crazy with adult food bc it was at 11:00 am on a thursday! Also I didnt pay for any entertainment bc the kids were so little that our swing set and some ride on toys was sufficient-- also my kids had gotten a bouncy house for Christmas a few months prior so we used that. I would do something similar again but our backyard is a war zone this year!
To give you an idea-- it cost $200 bucks all in--for 15 kids-- food, favors, cake, decoration and we even had the ice cream truck come to our house.

Good luck. .. also not sure where you live but pump it up does last minute half price parties at their plaiinview and great neck locations! You can check groupon /living social for deals too.,. I think living social has 100 off a party at bounce u

Message edited 1/24/2017 3:02:28 PM.

Re: Bday party at home vs venue

My son is 7 and has had parties every year except the year he turned 2. I've done most at home and I never spend less than $400. I always have entertainment so it adds up. And between the planning, favors, decorations, theme, figuring out the food, setting up and then cleaning up, it's always exhausting! I personally would do Chuck E Cheese. You just need to show up, it's so easy. We had his 6th birthday at a bounce place and between school and friends, we had 27 kids! Even with that many it was only about $700. If you have fewer kids you can probbaly do a party for much less somewhere else. We couldn't believe how easy it was and really enjoyed that part. It was completely stress-free!

Whatever you decide your son will enjoy.

Re: Bday party at home vs venue

We have done both - it is a little cheaper at home then one of the party places because your not spending 15-20 per kid at home. The weather factor adds a lot of stress

No the house or yard was not trashed.

We have rented bouncy houses and this year for my 2nd ds we did the game truck

Message edited 1/24/2017 4:56:51 PM.

Re: Bday party at home vs venue

Posted by MarisaK

To ME, it's worth it to have it out b/c I don't want 35 kids in my house, or trying to figure out how to entertain them.
I STILL end up having a house full of people b/c of family after the 'kid party' ........but it's not 35 kids !!