If you reside in an area such as we do in Western New York (we're in Rochester!) With superbly hot summers and cold snowy winters, you'll know your choices for your child's birthday party are largely determined by the weather.
As an August baby, we always had little family parties outside at my residence. However, with sons born in November and March, we are always left to reserve an indoor jungle gym equipment place for their celebrations, if we chose to have them that year. While those with kids with summer birthdays may seem blessed to have numerous choices at their disposal, it can also often feel overwhelming.
While in Climbing Vines Cafe and Play we may be biased because we host indoor celebrations, I wanted to share with you the 5 most common reasons we hear out of previous party clients to book indoor summer evenings with us. To these, the stress-free temperament of the indoor summer party is really a no-brainer, and they're not looking back! After their initial indoor summer partythey continue hosting with us year after year.


1) NO WEATHER WORRIES


The most common reason for a customer to reserve a summer indoor party with us is so they don't have to stalk the weather forecast for upgrades in the weeks leading up to the party. And if you've ever had to cancel or postpone your child's birthday due to weather, then you realize how heartbreaking that could be.
We receive dozens of calls each summer a few days before someone's outdoor celebration is supposed to happen to see if we have an open slot for them in our indoor party venue because of weather woes. We can normally pull this off if the spot remains open, but hosts will unfortunately have to scramble and let all of their guests know of the change in venue and likely change in time, and change all of their catering orders to accommodate their new party plan.
While of course rain is probably the biggest obstacle you might face, intense heat, unseasonably cool weather, and wind can also pose problems to your food, decorations, and your guests' possessions. You will likely end up investing in a kayak another weather barrier just to ease your mind somewhat, which can be costly and take lots of precious time to prepare and take down. I won't even tell the narrative of the time my Dad put up a tent for a party in a windstorm and wound up with a insurance claim for 4 damaged cars when it blew away (weights and anchors and all!) ...


Aside from the obvious weather concerns it's possible to avoid with a indoor party, there may also just be something so simple and lovely about a indoor summer party. Guests won't need to worry about bringing sunscreen and towels and sunglasses and swimsuits and changes of clothing and insect spray... you get the picture.
Sometimes it's nice to take a short break in the outside, sip coffee in an air-conditioned cafe, and have an actual conversation with other adults while the children play, instead of chasing kids around attempting to get their fur on them keeping them away from the in-ground pool. I'm not sure about you, but I can never really relax at an outdoor summer birthday celebration with a 2 and a 4 year old. While they sure do have a fantastic time running around, we typically leave at a daze or with a tantrum, unsure if we even had the time to talk or check in with everybody.
While I absolutely love a good barbecue or summer grilling extravaganza, I find it refreshing when we can take a rest from the same-old backyard celebration and spend a few hours at a relaxing, cool, and most importantly-- contained! -- atmosphere.
It's also freeing as a guest to have the remainder of the day to do as we want as a family and not have to worry about getting the children into a tub immediately after the celebration or quitting home to cool off and change clothing.
I guarantee that if you book an indoor party for your child, guests (especially family) may seem a bit confused at first (why not just take advantage of the summer weather while we can, right?) But after hosting hundreds of indoor parties I can tell you for sure that on the day-of, you and your guests will realize how nice it can be to kick back in an air-conditioned private celebration for a couple hours.

3) EATING IN PEACE


Speaking of how relaxing an indoor, air-conditioned party can be, how can we discuss food for a second? Not only are food choices limited with an outdoor celebration due to heat, but it can be difficult to keep food covered and retain the bugs, bees, and other debris off.
At the moment, my sweet 4 year-old boy is terrified of bees, and the quickest way to send him into a tailspin is for him to sit down to eat a cupcake or his meal and also have bees swarming around. So, for our loved ones, the meals factor alone could be sufficient to warrant an indoor celebration.
Eating in peace without having to find shade or a chair or a location away from pests is just one of these things that you do not realize can be so magnificent until you attend your fourth or fourth outside summer gathering and after that get a break from them. Among the most common things we hear is how fine it's to sit and eat and see the kiddos play without having any venue-related cares or concerns. This will be especially important if you are going to be needing elderly family members attend who can struggle with being portable in the grass or mud and locating seating at outdoor parties.


While party aesthetic may not be a deciding factor for each and every family, it sure is significantly easier to make a themed extravaganza which lights a youngster's face up when the party's indoors. The decorations required tend to be less since the place is smaller and contained contained, and you won't need to worry about balloons and streamers blowing about or securing table covers .
Since we do host mobile events outside in Climbing Vines Cafe and Play, I will also speak from experience when I say the time that it takes to set up (and take down!) Decorations for an outside celebration compared to a indoor celebration generally ends up being double. Finding great places to hang banner, requiring two people to hold and protect everything, and finding weights or other restraints for everything can be a true hassle on celebration.
And you'll have enough to be concerned about that day, right?
Furthermore, if your own pinterest boards are filled with adorable figurines, a candy bar, or anything that could possibly be impacted by wind (or attract bees!) You will likely have to restrategize for an outdoor soiree.
Not to mention decor typically can only be utilized once if used outside, but repurposed again and again if used for an indoor event. Our guests who sponsor indoor events, notably those who invested significant money into decoration or worked hard to create their own, are pleased to find they can usually make a huge chunk of their money back by reselling their materials something such as Facebook Marketplace.
5) YOU MAY ACTUALLY SAVE MONEY
Speaking of cash, probably the greatest misconception I hear from clients is that they want to sponsor a party at their home to save the leasing fee of an indoor area. I generally laugh at this because it makes perfect sense, in other words, if you've never hosted an outside celebration.
With all of the"extras" like tents, chair rentals, additional decorations, weather reinforcements, clean-up supplies, games and activities for the children (that you won't have to supply at a play area!) It's very possible you are going to wind up spending MUCH more hosting a party at your home or an outside venue than you would indoors.
I'm not sure how other indoor spaces handle their equipment, but we only charge guests to get extra drinks and supplies and these on the afternoon of the party should they wind up needing them, and we also enable parties to bring in their OWN food, dessert, and decoration should they choose!
Money aside, spending countless hours cleaning before, during, and after the celebration can also take a toll. Would not it be nice to walk into a sparkling clean area and leave with your guests when the party's over, not having to be concerned about the cleanup, trash removal, tent teardown, etc?
It's possible to just head home and unwind with your loved ones (yes, possibly outside!) In a nice clean house that was not just trampled by party guests and all their mud, grass, and sunscreen.
In addition to the time spent cleaning prior to and after the celebration, would not it ALSO be wonderful to not need to play"host" during the event? For clients that bring in their own food and decor, our committed party assistants set up everything, refill and fix food and beverages as necessary, clear dishes, cut and serve the cake, and then package up all the leftovers in the end of the party!
In the end, it's your child's special day and you want to spend those precious hours making memories and seeing with your guests-- not running around chasing your decorations or refilling the fruit bowl innumerable times.
So save everyone (and especially your family!) Plenty of stress, time, and worry by booking your event with us this summer. We'd be honored to provide you with an easy, enjoyable experience that will leave your whole guest list feeling joyful, thankful, and filled with love after spending a relaxing (yet fun-filled!) day together.