If you live in a place such as we do in Western New York (we're in Rochester!) With beautifully warm summers and cold snowy winters, you will understand that your choices for your kid's birthday party are largely dependent on the weather.
As an August baby, we constantly had small family parties out at my residence. But, together with sons born in November and March, we are constantly left to book an indoor venue for their parties, if we decided to have them that season. While those with children with summer birthdays might appear blessed to have so many options at their disposal, it can also often feel overwhelming.
While at Climbing Vines Cafe and Play we might be biased since we host indoor parties, I wished to discuss with all the 5 most common reasons we hear from previous party customers to book indoor summer evenings with us. To these, the stress-free nature of the indoor summertime celebration is really a no-brainer, plus they're not looking back! After their first indoor summer party, they continue hosting with us year after year.


The most common reason for a client to reserve a summer indoor celebration with us is so they do not need to stalk the weather forecast for updates in the weeks leading up to the celebration. Nothing can derail a pleasure party quicker than having to cram all your guests inside your house, waiting for a storm to pass. And if you've ever needed to cancel or postpone your kid's birthday because of weather, you realize how heartbreaking that could be.
We receive dozens of calls every summer a few days before someone's outdoor celebration is supposed to happen to find out if we've got an open slot for them in our indoor celebration venue due to weather woes. We can normally pull this off if the spot remains open, but hosts will unfortunately need to starve and allow all their guests know of the change in place and probably change in time, and also change all of their catering requests to accommodate their new party plan.
While of course rain is most likely the biggest obstacle you might face, extreme heat, unseasonably cool weather, and wind can also pose issues to your decorations, food, along with your guests' belongings. You will probably end up investing in a tent or some other weather barrier simply to ease your mind somewhat, which are costly and take lots of precious time to set up and take down. I will not even tell the story of the time my Dad set up a tent for a celebration in a windstorm and wound up with a insurance coverage for 4 ruined cars when it withdrew (weights and arcade game machine anchors and all!) ...


Aside from the obvious weather worries you can avoid with an indoor party, there may also just be something really simple and lovely about an indoor summer party. Guests won't need to be worried about bringing towels and sunscreen and sunglasses and swimsuits and changes of clothes and bug spray... you understand.
Sometimes it's nice to have a short break from the outside, 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 receive their fur on them keeping them away from your in-ground pool. I am not sure about you, but I could never quite 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 usually leave in a daze or using a tantrum, unsure whether we even had the time to chat or check in with everyone.
While I absolutely love a good barbecue or summertime grilling extravaganza, I find it so refreshing when we could take a break from the same-old backyard bash and spend a few hours in a relaxing, cool, and most significantly -- 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 have to worry about getting the kids to a tub immediately after the celebration or quitting home to cool off and change clothing.
I promise that in the event you reserve an indoor party for your son or daughter, guests (particularly family) might appear a little confused at first (why not take advantage of the summer weather while we can, right?) But after hosting hundreds of indoor parties I will tell you for certain that on the day-of, you and your visitors will realize how pleasant it can be to reunite within an air-conditioned private party for a few hours.

3) EATING IN PEACE


Speaking of how relaxing an indoor, air-conditioned celebration could be, how can we talk about food for a second?
At the moment, my sweet 4 year old boy is terrified of bees, and the fastest 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 loved ones, the food factor alone would be enough to warrant an indoor celebration.
Eating in peace without needing to find colour or a chair or a place away from pests is just one of those things that you do not realize can be so magnificent until you attend your fourth or fourth outdoor summer gathering and THEN get a rest from them. Among the most common things we hear is how nice it is to just sit and eat and see the kiddos play with no any other venue-related cares or concerns. This is going to be particularly important when you are going to be needing older family members attend who will struggle with being mobile in the grass or mud and finding seating at outdoor parties.


While celebration aesthetic may not be a determining factor for each and every family, it sure is significantly simpler to make a themed extravaganza that lighting a youngster's face up when the party's indoors. The decorations required tend to be less because the area is smaller and included contained, and you won't need to be concerned about balloons and streamers blowing all about or procuring table covers down.
Since we do host cellular events outdoors in Climbing Vines Cafe and Play, I will also speak from experience once I say the time it takes to set up (and take down!) Decorations for an outside celebration compared to an indoor celebration usually ends up being at least double. Finding great places to hang banners, requiring 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'll have enough to be concerned about that day, right?
Also, if your pinterest planks are filled with adorable figurines, a candy bar, or anything that may be affected by wind (or bring bees!) You will probably have to restrategize for an outdoor soiree.
And of course decoration typically can only be utilized once if used outside, but repurposed again and if used for an indoor event. Our guests who host indoor events, especially those who invested significant money into decoration or labored hard to make their very own, are pleased to find they can usually make a huge chunk of the cash back by reselling their supplies on something like Facebook Marketplace.

Speaking of money, probably the biggest misconception I hear from clients is they want to host a party in their house to save the leasing fee of an indoor area. I generally laugh at this because it makes perfect sense, that is, if you've never hosted an outside celebration.
With all the"extras" like tents, seat rentals, extra decorations, weather reinforcements, cleanup provides, games and activities for your children (which you won't need to supply at a play place!) It is very possible you are going to wind up spending MUCH more hosting a celebration at your home or an outside place than you would inside.
I am not sure how other indoor spaces manage their equipment, but we only charge guests to get extra drinks and provides and these on the day of the celebration if they end up needing themand we also enable parties to bring in their OWN meals, dessert, and decor should they choose!
Money aside, spending countless hours cleaning before, during, and following the celebration can also have a toll. Would not it be wonderful to walk into a sparkling clean area and leave with your guests when the party's over, not having to worry about the cleanup, trash removal, tent teardown, etc?
It's possible to just go home and unwind with your loved ones (yes, possibly outside!)
In addition to the time spent cleaning prior to and after the party, would not it ALSO be nice to not have to play"server" during the event? For customers that make their own food and decoration, our dedicated celebration assistants set up everything, refill and fix food and beverages as necessary, clear dishes, cut and serve the cake, and then pack up all of the leftovers at the end of the party!
After all, it is your child's special day and you want to spend those precious hours making memories and seeing along with your guests-- not running about chasing your decorations or refilling the fruit bowl innumerable times.
So save everyone (and especially your own family!) We would be honored to offer you an easy, breezy experience that will leave your entire guest list feeling refreshed, thankful, and filled with love after spending a relaxing (yet fun-filled!) day together.