irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Different times. The caveman days are gone.qwerty said:
We still do pinatas though.
Yes... I am Austriexican.
Liar. The 1-year old party is for the parents... 2 and on is for the kids.
Birthday Party Venues for Toddlers/Young Children
- Thread starter moonchild508
- Start date
We still do pinatas though.
Yes... I am Austriexican.
socal78
Well-known member
Speaking of kids' parties, I just went to one the other day where the parents hired this guy. Yep. That's a 100 lb. Burmese python around his neck. He also had a bunch of others: big tortoise, bullfrog, tarantula, smaller snake, etc. The man did a great job but I just feel like the parents should have said something about this being a reptile party ahead of time. Not all kids like reptiles. In fact, some were pretty freaked out! If I was paying $300 just on this entertainment, I'd want to make sure the guests, you know... enjoyed it! :
My son held and petted the enormous python which weighs twice as much as him and could swallow a cow, but refused to go anywhere near the tarantula. : Derp.
My son held and petted the enormous python which weighs twice as much as him and could swallow a cow, but refused to go anywhere near the tarantula. :
Derp.
moonchild508
Member
Wow, are parents trying to outdo each other on birthday parties these days? I am all for the old fashioned, simple parties at home. Too bad my kids have been influenced by their peers and will whine about not getting a bounce house party all year long, especially my daughter who will probably grow up to be the brat that SoCal described - screaming about her top of the line Mercedes not being purple - her favorite color! :
Irvinecommuter
New member
moonchild508 said:Wow, are parents trying to outdo each other on birthday parties these days? I am all for the old fashioned, simple parties at home. Too bad my kids have been influenced by their peers and will whine about not getting a bounce house party all year long, especially my daughter who will probably grow up to be the brat that SoCal described - screaming about her top of the line Mercedes not being purple - her favorite color! :
Personally, it wasn't a matter of trying to outdo anyone. I just didn't want to deal with set up and clean up.
J
jmoney74
Guest
Farrell?s Ice Cream Parlour Restaurant
fun place
eat.. watch guys sing.. good food.. good place for kids to yell.. it's loud. No need to do anything else.
fun place
eat.. watch guys sing.. good food.. good place for kids to yell.. it's loud. No need to do anything else.
moonchild508
Member
I agree. I am tired of dealing with setup and cleanup too. That's why I thought maybe I'd give the party venue a try. We usually do two parties for each birthday because our house is not big enough to accommodate all the family and friends at once, so having to deal with everything twice for each birthday is a real pain.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Both. You are correct, kids don't get hurt from the apparatuses (apparati?) but from other kids or just landing improperly. I've seen at least 2 fractured/severely sprained ankles that have required casts (one in a bounce house, the other at one of those trampoline places). I've also seen bumped heads... one mother got freaked out because she never saw a bump so big on her daughter's head but we assured her it would be okay... she was going to take her to the hospital but then her kid was running around like nothing happened.SoCal said:
I've been looking at those to because our neighbors have one and the kids love it. But after seeing these mishaps recently, I'm reluctant now.
@moonchild508:
You are brave to put on two parties. It's so stressful for us just to do one and we are so relieved once it's over, I can't imagine having to do a second. A friend of ours did that once... once.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
It was purely bad luck. Someone jumped while another person jumped and so she landed unexpectedly and twisted her ankle so badly that it was a suspected fracture so they casted it (we were told this the next time we saw her). This was a few years ago so we actually forgot about it and have been to a few bounce houses (even rented one ourselves) with no incidents (except for the bumped noggins).ps9 said:
A more recent one was the fractured/sprained ankle at the trampoline place... another multi-kid accident.
So maybe just don't have other kids around your kids.
ZeroLot
New member
qwerty said:
I will have to disagree with your daughter not being able to remember in her 1st birthday party.
Mine LOVED it so much we now have to sing her happy birthday every single day since. Whenever we are trying to feed her medicine or administer something we sing "happy birthday" and it calms her down immediately.
Kids are a lot more aware of their surroundings nowadays. It's not like back in our days when we were happy with a stick and mud.
So give that precious daughter of yours a 1st birthday that she'll remember!!! ;D
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
But I don't think qwerchete will want his daughter taking a stick to his dogs every day to see if candy pops out.
socal78
Well-known member
I just got back from Big Air right now . Typing on phone. Wow. I was the only woman jumping, the rest watching. I guess I'm a freak. Anyway, Iho you 're right. Can totally see how easy it would be for people to body slam each other. Seems a little scary especially in a group of widly-mixed ages. T.t. manager. Only had to call ambulance 1x. They do ice packs. Might book a party. P.s. it's really hard for an adult to get out of foam cube pit!! Lost my dignity there. Much easier for kids. The heavier you are the more u sink.
socal78
Well-known member
1 employee has worked at Sky High too & said Big Air is better, bigger foam pit, more to offer. Says they are expanding the basketball area in a few months as well. I liked how there were plenty of less stressful areas besides the one free-for-all. Battle beams, rock climbing, pit jump, & hoops were well monitored, people take turns... no worries there. Pretty good parent lounge.
socal78
Well-known member
Just got back from Lazer Quest! Yes, on Mother's Day. That's how I roll.
It was really fun! I loved it. I came in 4th place out of 11... and in high heels (which I actually don't recommend, by the way.) Not bad for my very first time. It took the first half of the game for me to get the hang of it.
A couple tips I picked up along the way:
1) Don't wear white. I had on a patterned shirt with what looked like very little white dotted throughout. Under the blacklights, everything shows up. I was a big target.
2) If your kid is having a birthday party here, on the birthday invitations, instruct the guests to wear white. Dress the birthday boy in all black / dark colors. Thanks to the worker who gave me this idea. Your kid will have lots of easy targets and nobody will see him. Score.
3) The game is best suited for a kid who can wear the pack comfortably. Some kids may find the pack too heavy and uncomfortable or have the shoulder straps slip off.
4) Parents are permitted to go in without charge just to watch over their child as long as a free pack is available -- which, on a busy day, it very well may not be. There is some weird fire marshal code about nobody being allowed inside the arena unless they are part of the game. To get around this rule, that is why they have the parent wear an inactivated pack.
5) Flats, preferably rubber soled, are best suited for laser tag. It is hard to run down their ramps in heels because A) it is pretty slippery, you could fall, B) it makes a lot of noise. Everyone can hear you coming and shoot you. For that reason alone, avoid even hard soled flats for males or females.
It was really fun! I loved it. I came in 4th place out of 11... and in high heels (which I actually don't recommend, by the way.) Not bad for my very first time. It took the first half of the game for me to get the hang of it.
A couple tips I picked up along the way:
1) Don't wear white. I had on a patterned shirt with what looked like very little white dotted throughout. Under the blacklights, everything shows up. I was a big target.
2) If your kid is having a birthday party here, on the birthday invitations, instruct the guests to wear white. Dress the birthday boy in all black / dark colors. Thanks to the worker who gave me this idea.
Your kid will have lots of easy targets and nobody will see him. Score. 3) The game is best suited for a kid who can wear the pack comfortably. Some kids may find the pack too heavy and uncomfortable or have the shoulder straps slip off.
4) Parents are permitted to go in without charge just to watch over their child as long as a free pack is available -- which, on a busy day, it very well may not be. There is some weird fire marshal code about nobody being allowed inside the arena unless they are part of the game. To get around this rule, that is why they have the parent wear an inactivated pack.
5) Flats, preferably rubber soled, are best suited for laser tag. It is hard to run down their ramps in heels because A) it is pretty slippery, you could fall, B) it makes a lot of noise. Everyone can hear you coming and shoot you. For that reason alone, avoid even hard soled flats for males or females.
socal78
Well-known member
I ended up hosting my son's birthday party this past Saturday at Big Air trampoline park. It was convenient. A couple minor hiccups but nothing big. I would use them again. We got upgraded at no extra charge to a more expensive party room due to another group running over their allotted time in what was going to be our original area. So, that was nice. As a bonus, I also discovered their pitchers are bottomless. That's good. One thing that surprised me is when you check out and go over your bill - if you decide to do it tab-style like I did, that is - there is no line for gratuity. I asked the cashier dude what was up with that. He said they have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy on tips. Odd. It's not like that at other places. I tracked my attendant down to someone else's party room and slipped her some dough. She and another attendant standing next to her seemed surprised. I get the feeling most people skate on by after checking out due to their "policy". Anyway, I'll go back.