Summer is great, isn't it? Beautiful weather, plants and trees in full bloom, other people just enjoying the great outdoors. Summer parties can also be great if you know which pitfalls to avoid. Here are our top tips for a great outdoor summer party.
1. Bring cover.
Its always handy to have some kind of shade, whether the sun is beaming down or the weather has taken a turn for the worse. If you've booked a party with magic or other entertainment which involves a lot of sitting and watching then the children will need to be protected from the sun. If its raining then it helps to have the children covered instead of getting soaking wet!
2. Prepare for the outdoors.
This may seem obvious but when you are having a party outdoors, you need to consider the pros and cons. If you've booked a disco then you won't see the disco lights against the bright sunshine, and the slightest gust of wind will carry bubbles everywhere! Perhaps a magician has a delicate trick that won't do too well in a windy park? Its all worth thinking about! But don't worry too much, any good entertainer will be able to tell you what will and won't work for your party.
3. Drinks, drinks and more drinks!
Dancing in summer is thirsty work - most children increase their fluid consumption massively while at a summer party due to the heat, so have a healthy mixture of water, juice and other drinks to get them through.
4. Electricity
If you want your party outdoors, then you'll need to consider what kind of entertainment you're going to have. Bouncy Castle? Magician? Disco? Each of these may require electricity, so its best to double check that there will be enough sockets and extension leads for all the activities.
5. Give the entertainer a captive audience
Having lots of entertainment is absolutely great and really helps to create a lovely party atmosphere. However, it can be very difficult for an entertainer to provide the best experience if they don't have a captive audience.
If you have a bouncy castle, soft play area or anything else, the best thing to do is to let the castle down or put the soft play pieces away while the entertainer is entertaining, so that they can have a captive audience for the show.