If you live in a place such as we do in Western New York (we are in Rochester!) With superbly hot summers and cold snowy winters, you will understand that your options for your kid's birthday celebration are largely determined by the weather.
As an August baby, we always had small family parties outside at my house. However, with sons born in November and March, we are always left to book an indoor place for their parties, if we decided to have them that season. While those with children with summer birthdays may seem blessed to have so many choices at their disposal, it may also often feel overwhelming.
While at Climbing Vines Cafe and Play we may be biased since we sponsor indoor parties, I wished to share with you the 5 most common reasons we hear from previous party clients to reserve indoor summer evenings with us. To them, the stress-free nature of the indoor summer party is really a no-brainer, plus they are not looking back! Following their initial indoor summer celebration , they continue hosting with us year after year.


1) NO WEATHER WORRIES


The most common cause for a customer to book a summer indoor party with us is so they do not need to stalk the weather prediction for updates in the weeks leading up to the party. And if you've ever needed to cancel or postpone your child's birthday due to weather, you know how heartbreaking that could be.
We receive dozens of calls every summer a few days before somebody's outdoor celebration is supposed to take place to find out if we have an open slot for them within our indoor celebration place because of weather woes. We can normally pull this off if the place remains open, but hosts will unfortunately need to starve and allow all their guests are aware of the change in venue and likely change in time, and also change all their catering requests to accommodate their new party plan.
While of course rain is likely the biggest obstacle you may face, intense heat, unseasonably cool weather, and wind can also pose problems to your decorations, food, and your guests' possessions. You will likely end up investing in a tent another weather barrier simply to ease your mind somewhat, which are costly and take lots of precious time to set up and take down. I won't even tell the narrative of the time my Dad put up a tent for a party in a windstorm and wound up with a insurance claim for 4 ruined cars when it blew away (weights and anchors and all!) ...


Aside from the obvious weather concerns it's possible to avoid with a indoor party, there may also just be something so simple and lovely about an indoor summer party. Guests won't need to worry about bringing towels and sunscreen and sunglasses and swimsuits and changes of clothes and bug spray... you get the picture.
Sometimes it's wonderful to take a short break in the outside, sip coffee in an air-conditioned cafe, also have an actual conversation with other adults while the children play, rather than chasing kids around trying to receive their hat on them keeping them away from your in-ground pool. I am not sure about you, but I can never really 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 typically leave in a daze or with a tantrum, unsure if we even had time to talk or check in with everyone.
While I absolutely love a good barbecue or summer grilling extravaganza, I find it refreshing when we can take a break from the same-old backyard bash and spend a couple of hours at a relaxing, cool, and most importantly-- included! -- atmosphere.
It's also freeing as a guest to have the remainder of the day to do as we want as a family and not have to worry about getting the children to a bath immediately after the celebration or quitting home to cool off and change clothes.
I guarantee that if you book an indoor party for your son or daughter, guests (particularly family) might appear a bit confused at first (why not just take advantage of the summer weather while we could, right?) But after hosting countless indoor parties I will tell you for sure that on the day-of, you and your guests will realize how nice it is to kick back in an air-conditioned private party for a couple hours.

Speaking of how relaxing a indoor, air-conditioned celebration can be, can we discuss food for a moment?
Right now, my sweet 4 year old boy is terrified of bees, and also the quickest way to send him into a tailspin would be for him to sit down to eat a cupcake or his meal and have bees swarming around. So, for our family, the meals factor alone could be sufficient to justify an indoor celebration.
Eating in peace without having to find shade or a seat or a location away from pests is just one of those things you don't realize can be so glorious before you attend your fourth or fourth outdoor summer gathering and THEN get a rest from them. One of the most common things we hear is how nice it is to sit and eat and watch the kiddos play without having any other venue-related cares or worries. This is going to be especially important if you're going to be needing older family members attend who can battle with being mobile in the sand or marijuana and finding seating at outdoor parties.
Do not worry, we have you covered there, literally!

While celebration aesthetic may not be a determining factor for each and every household, it sure is much simpler to create a themed extravaganza that lighting a child's face up when the party's inside. The decorations demanded tend to be less since the area is smaller and contained contained, and you won't need to be concerned about balloons and streamers blowing all about or procuring table covers .
Because we do host cellular events outdoors at Climbing Vines Cafe and soft play equipment, I can also speak from experience when I say the time that it takes to install (and take down!) Decorations for an outside celebration compared to a indoor party generally ends up being double. Finding great places to hang banners, requiring two people to maintain and secure everything, and finding weights or other restraints for everything may be a true hassle on party day.
And you'll have enough to worry about that day, right?
Also, if your pinterest boards are full of adorable figurines, a candy bar, or anything which may be impacted by wind (or attract bees!) You will probably have to restrategize for an outdoor soiree.
Not to mention decoration typically can only be utilized once if used outside, but repurposed again and again if used for an indoor event. Our guests who sponsor indoor occasions, especially those who invested significant money into decor or worked hard to make their own, are pleased to find they can usually create a large chunk of their cash back by reselling their supplies something like Facebook Marketplace.
5) YOU MAY ACTUALLY SAVE MONEY
Speaking of money, probably the greatest misconception I hear from customers is they wish to host a party in their home to save the leasing fee of an indoor space. I generally laugh at this because it makes great sense, that is, if you've never hosted an outdoor celebration.
With all of the"extras" like tents, chair rentals, additional decorations, weather reinforcements, cleanup supplies, games and activities for your children (which you won't have to supply at a play place!) , pool toys, etc.... It is very possible you are going to wind up spending MUCH more hosting a celebration at your house or an outside venue than you would indoors.
I'm not sure how other indoor spaces handle their supplies, but we just charge guests to get extra drinks and supplies and these on the afternoon of the party if they end up needing them, and we also enable parties to attract in their OWN meals, dessert, and decoration if they choose!
Money aside, spending countless hours cleaning before, during, and after the party can also take a toll. Would not it be wonderful to walk into a sparkling clean area and leave with your guests once the party's over, not having to be concerned about the cleanup, garbage removal, tent teardown, etc?
You can just head home and relax with your family (yes, possibly outside!) At a nice clean home that was not just trampled by party guests and all of their sand, grass, and sunscreen.
Along with the time spent cleaning before and after the party, would not it ALSO be wonderful to not have to play"server" throughout the event? Even for clients that make their own food and decoration, our committed celebration assistants set everything up, refill and mend food and drinks as necessary, clear dishes, cut and serve the cake, and then package up all of the leftovers at the end of the celebration!
In the end, it is your child's special day and you want to spend those valuable hours making memories and seeing along with your guests-- not running around chasing your decorations or refilling the fruit bowl countless times.
So save everyone (and especially your own family!) We would be honored to provide you with an easy, breezy experience which will leave your entire guest list feeling joyful, grateful, and full of love after spending a relaxing (yet fun-filled!) day together.