Party Party Broke... Or not

Today I am looking for the best birthday party arrangement at the best price. I compare Hedgehog Lane, Jimmy Jungles, Kinglets and Queenies, Build-A-Bear Workshop as well as a home party with Crazy Chameleon.

How my head works

I have just become a mom... well 5 months ago and already I am trying to investigate birthday party options, you know, so that I am prepared for the next 6 years.

I can already see this scenario: It is coming up to her sixth birthday and she will request to have a party – just like all her friends. She wants to spend the day with her best friends and now I have to find the best way to have this party, without breaking the the bank or messing up my house.

I ask her to tell me what she would like to do for her birthday and she says she wants it to be “fashionable” and pink. I also ask if she would prefer it inside or outside, and she says she does not mind as long as it doesn’t rain.

So given that this birthday party will happen in summer and in Johannesburg, we are never guaranteed that the weather will be perfect, so my objective is to find a venue where we’ll be protected from the elements.

So, being the person that I am, I have done my due diligence and I received quotes for 5 different parties, and being a working mom – I needed to ensure that everything could be taken care of, without me being around.

Here is what I found:

Hedgehog Lane

This is an outside venue that has themed areas so that it can accommodate various parties. The website looks quite festive and safe and so I had to determine what price we were looking at. I could only book the venue for 2.5 hours, and I had to pay a non refundable booking fee of R450. To hire the venue for 2.5 hours was R1250 plus an additional R60 per child.

For that I got some basic sweets and snacks for the kids, a balloon for each child, and a visit from the mascot . The challenge with this is that, because of the short time frame, the other kids moms or dads had to come along, because it was not worth their while dropping off their children, only to come back shortly afterwards. The children also needed to eat and even though they don’t eat as much as their parents, they definitely want options.

I was concerned that the children may get a little bored, so I saw that there were a variety of entertainment options available to me. I would definitely need someone to help me on the day – I wanted to take photos and make idle chit chat with the other parents... and as I looked down the list, I had the option of a hostess, at an extra cost... of course.

The cake was another consideration, and guaranteed it will have to be a 3D princess cake.

All in all the greatest 2.5 hours of my child’s birthday weekend would end up costing me in the region of R6150. Eish...

Jimmy Jungles

A friend of mine has a 3 year old and she suggested that we go to Jimmy Jungles because at R95 per child, I would get a cake, party packs, balloons, and a 2 hour gift card for my child to use at a later date. I read on... Jimmy Jungles is not suitable for children older than 3 years old.

Oh well.

Kinglets & Queenies

This is an outdoor venue based in Ruimsig. They have various areas and multiple parties can take place at the same time. My concern is losing children in a venue like this.

The venue is very beautiful, but because it is outdoors, they have created thatched bomas so that if the weather is bad the party can at least have some shelter. In my world, nasty weather generally puts a dampener on the day. The more I research this, the more I think I moving away from the idea of having the party outdoors.

The cool thing about this venue is that they will decorate it for you for an additional R700 over and above the hire fee of R1100. Again this venue is only available for 3 hours at a time but this venue has jungle gyms, jumping castles and trampolines. This is pretty fantastic, no additional entertainment required – however, I think I will organise a waterslide, just in case.

And event organiser (ensuring I stress less) costs R400. So it is just the food that I need to consider.

All in all, R5830 is what I am looking at providing okay so this is 5% cheaper...

The Home Party with Crazy Chameleon

All of this is beginning to look a little expensive, and so I am beginning to consider a home party once again. However, my garden really isn’t conducive to having 10 little girls running a mock. My aunt has gladly agreed to letting me use her garden (what if they break something – I could never replace some of those relics)...

I called Crazy Chameleon to see what they could organise. It turns out, they could provide food, entertainment (jumping castle) and party favours for R3560. I would have to provide juices and refreshments for the adults; I could give my 15 year old niece R300 to supervise the children. If this was the way I was going to go, I would have to pay for a cleaning company to clean up my aunt’s house and garden. That was at least another R400.

Total cost: R4260 - 27% better but still not ideal.

It seems that the extra parent cost is a huge factor. The ideal thing for me would be to do a party where parents were not involved.

Build-A-Bear Workshop

Child Mag often runs adverts for Build-A-Bear Workshop’s Build-A-Party concept. My immediate reaction was that there is no way I can afford to do this for my daughter and her friends. I hear of parent been begged to take their kids there and I have heard stories of how much it cost. I phoned for a quote anyway.

The party happens inside the store, they clear an area for the children – this means, rain or shine the party will be awesome. I was pleasantly surprised when the “Party Bear” told me that all have to pay for is the merchandise that the children take home with them. My booking will get a dedicated party leader, Bella will receive an “autograph” bear for free and every child will receive a bear and a balloon at the end of the experience. One of the two mascots will visit the party and give the children hugs.

She sent me a few options in terms of the merchandise. Bears start at R89 including the stuffing and the heart the birth certificate and the "house" that the bear goes home in. T-shirts are around R60 and a full outfit starts at R110. Shoes are about R80. My concern was, if I let 10 6 year old girls run wild in the shop dressing their bears, I may have a heart attack when I see the bill. The party bear assured me that I could give them a budget, and they would pre-select items within the budget and manage it that way.

I sat and did my sums... for 10 children, this meant:

10 bears = R890

10 outfits = R1100

10 shoes = R890

Total Bear Cost: R2880

I phoned back and I asked, what about the food. The party bear explained that they did not allow food in the stores but if I wanted to, I could bring party packs and cupcakes into the store, and they would hand it out as the children leave the store. FAB-U-LOUS idea... and the best part... No parents to entertain! They can go walk around Sandton City for 2 hours while the children are entertained by making “princess” bears. And they have an endless array of pink fashionable clothing.

Total cost: R3160 – which is completely reasonable and more than 25% cheaper than any other option available.

To party or not to party

So if you are planning a party - this will probably help you make a decision. For me - Build-A-Bear Workshop makes the most sense. It is a 40 minute party where the kids have a ball  making their own best friend. My job? Taking photographs and enjoying the smiles...