Ahh, children. Bless their expensive little hearts. Gone are the days when your mammy made you a nice cake and possibly a sensible present like schoolbooks or a new toothbrush. The children’s parties of today can be extravagant affairs, with forward planning worthy of a papal visit.

It’s important to remember that your kids are just that, kids. Depending on their age, as little as running in circles or the right food can keep them happy for hours. The trick is to talk to your kids, find out what they like, and then start bargaining them down.

At Home
Usually the most cost-effective option, depending on the amount of damage done. Home is the place to get Retro. Back in the day, it was almost unheard of to have parties outside the home and entertainment came in the form of pass the parcel, musical chairs and pin the tail on the donkey. A main course of cocktail sausages or sandwiches was followed by rice crispie buns (very inexpensive and still very popular). The really sweet treats were kept for goody bags as guests left – inflicting the worst of the sugar rushes on their own parents.

If you’re feeling indulgent, why not hire a Home Entertainer for the day? Again, ask your kids and other parents who’s popular – remember a clown costume does not an entertainer make, and standards can vary a lot. Costs run from €100 - €180 for two hours of face-painting, balloon modelling and all manner of fun.

Getting out of the house
Weather permitting, the Zoo is always a treat. Just make sure you rope in lots of grown-ups to help you keep an eye on your charges. If your party has less than 10 people, admission costs €10.50 per child. For parties of 10 or more admission drops to €8 per child. Don’t forget to bring a picnic and refreshments as what seems like a short stroll to adults can be a long walk for short legs.

If the sun for some mysterious reason isn’t shining, the cinema is a great all-weather option. Most local cinemas charge about €13 per child including a movie, drink, popcorn and some sweets. Some have children’s play rooms you can visit after the movie, just check for any extra charges. Again, bring some reinforcements so that at least two of you can sit top and tail of your row of seats.

Bouncing Castles are another very popular addition to home parties, especially when the weather is behaving itself. Competition in recent years has seen rental prices fall, with prices starting at €100, depending on the size. Three things to be wary of though: big kids bouncing on small kids, any size kid bouncing on a full belly, and trying to get a bouncing castle the weekends of Holy Communion.

Play Centres have enjoyed a huge surge in popularity in recent years and really are a Utopia for energetic kids. Because they are all enclosed, you don’t need to worry quite as much when one of them disappears up a huge tube. Most parties last about two hours and cost between €12 and €15 per child including food (chicken nuggets, chips and the like) and drinks. See bouncing castles above for big/kid small kid warnings.

Tags: children, family, family occasion, parties

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 4:22 am and is filed under Birthday parties, Family Spending. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.