5 Reasons to Book an Indoor Summer Birthday Party for your Child

If you live in an area like we do in Western New York (we’re in Rochester!) with beautifully hot summers and cold snowy winters, you’ll know that your options for your child’s birthday party are largely dependent on the weather.

As an August baby, we always had small family parties outside at my house. But, with sons born in November and March, we are always left to book an indoor venue for their celebrations, if we chose to have them that year. While those with children with summer birthdays may seem lucky to have so many choices at their disposal, it can also often feel overwhelming.

While at Climbing Vines Cafe and Play we may be biased since we host indoor parties, I wanted to share with you the 5 most common reasons we hear from previous party clients to book indoor summer birthdays with us. To them, the stress-free nature of the indoor summer party is a no-brainer, and they’re not looking back! After their first indoor summer party, they continue hosting with us year after year.

1) NO WEATHER WORRIES

The most common reason for a client to book a summer indoor party with us is so they don’t need to stalk the weather forecast for updates in the weeks leading up to the party. Nothing can derail a fun party faster than having to cram all of your guests inside your house, waiting for a storm to pass. And if you’ve ever had to cancel or postpone your child’s birthday due to weather, you know how heartbreaking that can be.

We get dozens of calls every summer a few days before someone’s outdoor party is supposed to take place to see if we have an open slot for them in our indoor party venue due to weather woes. We can usually pull this off if the spot is 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 also change all of their catering orders to accommodate their new party plan.

While of course rain is likely the biggest obstacle you may face, extreme heat, unseasonably cool weather, and wind can also pose issues for your food, decorations, and your guests’ belongings. You’ll likely find yourself investing in a tent or some other weather barrier just to ease your mind a bit, which are costly and take lots of precious time to set up and take down. I won’t even tell the story of the time my Dad put up a tent for a party in a windstorm and ended up with an insurance claim for 4 damaged cars when it blew away (weights and anchors and all!)...

2) CHANGING IT UP

Aside from the obvious weather worries you can avoid with an indoor party, there can also just be something so simple and lovely about an indoor summer party. Guests won’t need to worry about bringing sunscreen and towels and sunglasses and swimsuits and changes of clothes and bug spray… you get the picture.

Sometimes it’s nice to take a short break from the outdoors, sip coffee in an air-conditioned cafe, and have a real conversation with other adults while the children play, rather than chasing children around trying to get their hat on them or keeping them away from the in-ground pool. I’m not sure about you, but I can never quite relax at an outdoor summer birthday party with a 2 and a 4 year old. While they sure do have a good time running around, we usually leave in a daze or with a tantrum, unsure if we even had time to chat or check in with everyone.

While I absolutely love a good barbecue or summer grilling extravaganza, I also find it so refreshing when we can take a break from the same-old backyard bash and spend a few hours in a relaxing, cool, and most importantly-- contained!-- atmosphere.

It’s also freeing as a guest to have the rest of the day to do as we wish as a family and not need to worry about getting the kids into a bath immediately after the party or stopping home to cool off and change clothes.

I promise that if you book an indoor party for your child, guests (especially family) may seem a bit confused at first (why not take advantage of the summer weather while we can, right?) but after hosting hundreds of indoor parties I can tell you for certain that on the day-of, you and your guests will realize how nice it can be to kick back in an air-conditioned private party for a few hours.

3) EATING IN PEACE

Speaking of how relaxing an indoor, air-conditioned party can be, can we talk about food for a second? Not only are food options limited with an outdoor party due to heat, but it can be difficult to keep food covered and keep the bugs, bees, and other debris away.

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 have bees swarming around. So, for our family, the food factor alone would be enough to warrant an indoor party.

Eating in peace without having to find shade or a seat or a place away from bugs is one of those things you don’t realize can be so glorious until you attend your fourth or fifth outdoor summer gathering and THEN get a break from them. One of the most common things we hear is how nice it is to just sit and eat and watch the kiddos play without having any other venue-related cares or concerns. This will be especially important if you are going to be having older family members attend who can struggle with being mobile in the grass or mud and finding seating at outdoor parties.

Plus, when was the last time you attended an outdoor summer party with a full espresso bar and cafe available for guests to enjoy now that they don’t need to worry about running around chasing their children in the heat? Don’t worry, we have you covered there, literally!

4) DECOR OPTIONS GALORE

While party aesthetic may not be a deciding factor for every family, it sure is much easier to create a themed extravaganza that lights a child’s face up when the party’s indoors. The decorations required are often less since the area is smaller and contained contained, and you won’t need to worry about balloons and streamers blowing all about or securing table covers down.

Since we do host mobile events outdoors at Climbing Vines Cafe and Play, I can also speak from experience when I say the time it takes to set up (and take down!) decorations for an outdoor party compared to an indoor party usually ends up being at least double. Finding good places to hang banners, needing two people to hold and secure everything, and finding weights or other restraints for everything can be a true hassle on party day.

And you will have enough to worry about that day, right?

Also, if your pinterest boards are filled with cute centerpieces, a candy bar, or anything that may be affected by wind (or attract bees!) you will likely have to res-trategize for an outdoor soiree.

Not to mention decor typically can only get used once if used outdoors, but repurposed again and again if used for an indoor event. Our guests that host indoor events, especially those who invested significant money into decor or worked hard to create their own, are pleased to find they can usually make a large chunk of their money back by reselling their supplies on something like Facebook Marketplace.

5) YOU MAY ACTUALLY SAVE MONEY

Speaking of money, probably the biggest misconception I hear from clients is that they want to host a party at their house to save themselves the rental fee of an indoor space. I usually laugh at this because it makes perfect sense, that is, if you’ve never hosted an outdoor party.

With all of the “extras” like tents, chair rentals, extra decorations, weather reinforcements, clean-up supplies, games and activities for the kids (which you won’t need to provide at a play area!), pool toys, etc…. It’s very likely that you will end up spending MUCH more hosting a party at your home or an outdoor venue than you would indoors.

I’m not sure how other indoor spaces handle their supplies, but we only charge guests for extra drinks and supplies and such on the day of the party if they end up needing them, and we also allow parties to bring in their OWN food, dessert, and decor if they choose!

Money aside, spending countless hours cleaning before, during, and after the party can also take a toll. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk into a sparkling clean space and leave with your guests when the party's over, not needing to worry about the clean-up, trash removal, tent teardown, etc?

You can just head home and relax with your family (yes, maybe outside!) in a nice clean house that wasn’t just trampled by party guests and all of their mud, grass, and sunscreen.

In addition to the time spent cleaning before and after the party, wouldn’t it ALSO be nice to not have to play “host” during the event? Even for clients that bring in their own food and decor, our dedicated party assistants set everything up, refill and fix food and drinks as needed, clear plates, cut and serve the cake, and pack up all the leftovers at the end of the party!

After all, it’s your child’s special day and you want to spend those precious hours making memories and visiting with your guests-- not running around chasing your decorations or refilling the fruit bowl countless times.

So save everyone (and especially your own 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, breezy experience that will leave your entire guest list feeling refreshed, grateful, and full of love after spending a relaxing (yet fun-filled!) day together.

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