Planning your child’s birthday party can be stressful. If you host it in your home and you aren’t Martha Stewart, the panic can quickly set in… I have to clean the house first, must impress the guests. Then the decorations! How many chairs will I need? Should I make the food or have it catered? I’ll tell everyone it’s a potluck! Ugh, what if someone has food allergies? What will get broken? If it’s nice out, we will just do it in the backyard. Gotta make sure the dog waste is picked up and the lawn is mowed. Then the cleanup, oh the cleanup. Where will I find all the time!? Planning a celebration for your child should not provoke anxieties. Children count down the months, weeks, days to their birthdays and measure birthday parties on a fun-scale. Party event centers can offer a stress-free, mess-free alternative to hosting a party in your own home. Indoor playgrounds and trampoline parks are fun for kids of all ages! These complexes are gaining popularity, so how can you ensure you find the right one that will ensure your party is a hit?

What to Look For:

#1 Safety is key!
The best birthday party can take a terrible turn when a guest is injured, prematurely ending the festivities. Especially in indoor trampoline parks, it is critically important to find a place that evaluates safety and fun on the same level of importance. Safety must not just be listed on the website as something the facility practices, but should be incorporated into every aspect of their facility. Look at the safety policy and how safety is implemented. If you are able to, physically check out the facility when you book the party.

#2 The Help
Who is responsible for the planning, organizing, decorating, set-up, event transition, and clean-up? Some places offer the space without the help for you to do with as you wish. This provides a solution for keeping the mess out of your home, but doesn’t offer the same stress free planning as somewhere that offers assistance. Look for a place that offers personnel to at least decorate and clean-up. Some places will also provide party planners, and assistants to help during the party, although I haven’t found a place yet that offers child wrangling as part of the deal!

#3 Activities
Take a good look at what is included in party packages and compare it to what is offered, in general. Some indoor trampoline parks may have several features offered such as open jump areas, laser tag, and an obstacle course, but only offer the main attraction as included to party guest. These places may require an additional charge for party guests to enjoy the other amenities, this can make for some irritated party-goers (or their parents) when to enjoy the full array of fun, they must pay extra.
If you plan a party at a facility designed for a specific activity, make sure it has activities for those who cannot participate. For instance, if you book at a trampoline park, look for alternate activities for those who cannot jump, such as arcades, laser tag, or bowling.

#4 Food (and beverages)
Some party hosting centers do not include food in the party-package, if this is the case and you are okay with it, make sure the pricing is fair for what is (or isn’t) included. Most event centers that include food in their party packages include the standard pizza and soda, look for places that offer a wider variety of options to please ALL of your party guests!

#5 Gifts/ Prizes
You can host a birthday party almost anywhere you’d like, the place you host it at doesn’t even need to know you’ve invited all your friends and family to share in your child’s special day. Any place can be the location for an “okay” birthday party. But, “okay” doesn’t get chatted about at school the next day or relayed to every family member who couldn’t make it in excited rambling. To beat mediocre, look for a place that includes a way to make the guest of honor feel special and celebrated!
Let’s be honest, when you are planning your kid’s birthday party, the fun calculator and the “gimmies” rank closely in level of importance. Look for a place that offers take-home gifts or prizes, at a minimum, for the birthday boy or girl, and ideally, for all of the guests. Be it coupons for future visits or prizes earned by turning in arcade game tickets, guests will have a permanent reminder of your child’s amazing birthday party.

Indoor trampoline parks can be a great alternative to hosting your child’s birthday party in your home. It can reduce the hassle and clean-up required, as well as provide lifelong memories for the special kid in your life.