Today’s post is contributed by my other half whose dedicated slog recently in planning our son’s 5th birthday party deserves a feature that is sure to help every dad who ever had to plan a kiddies party and hire a jumping castle.
The Dad’s guide to planning a kiddies party…
By Zulfikar Umar
Planning a kiddies party is loads of fun and as much stress. It is not for the faint hearted. First you have to get your little overlord to decide and then stick to a theme. Avengers, Ninjago and then Transformers were the flavour of the second. Yes no jokes you cycle through the choice about every five seconds. Eventually we all decide on the final choice. Then it’s a quick recce to China Town to see if you can get the relevant, serviettes, paper plates and cups to match the theme. Whilst you there how about a thousand other things that would be so cool… Stick to the budget or before you know it January school fees are going to be the least of your problems. That’s of course if you find the stuff for your theme. My great quest was to find the home of the Transformers. Cybertron does not exist in China Town. They don’t do Transformers, they do Deformers. Once you figure out that they are one and the same sans the copy right infringement then you are on your way to making an amazing day for your little one.
I thought China Town was challenging, there was more to come. Next stop bulk buying of all the stuff you usually stop your kid from eating. Of course that includes popping candy, lollipops, crisps and sweets galore. Shopping at wholesalers, no names mentioned, you all know the one, requires time, a good workout and patience that would make a Haji proud. Still have my sanity though as I can see the end game and besides there’s a little bit of a child in all of us that takes over when it comes to parties.
You can’t have a party without a jumping castle. The kids love it and it’s about the only thing that’s going to give all the harassed parents five minutes of breathing space so that you can just start to have a normal adult conversation before someone’s kid starts screaming for help or you need to do the toilet run. Now here’s where the stress really peaked. Ordering a jumping castle. Everyone has the best guy to get in touch with… trust me you will make fifteen calls before you get one you kinda feel happy dealing with. You must be thinking ok so I’m a snob or control freak. Lets not go there… not yet anyway. So the first hurdle is getting someone available for the chosen day, then you have to decide what kind of jumping castle you want. Then the size, and the theme and it can be just a jumping castle, or a kiddies gym and then lets throw in a ball pit as well. I had not taken notice of what kind of jumping castle others arranged when we were invited to parties so I had to use all my engineering skill to make a choice. Then I had to change that choice , always involve all members of the planning committee, significant other and of course check with the overlord too. Now you have made a number of calls, in fact you have this guy on speed dial. So if this wasn’t enough, we decided lets have the party at the park, so now we need a generator. Now everyone tells you the jumping castle guys will sort out a geni for you,, but they are adamant they don’t do genis, you have to hire that separately. So eventually you figure out the size of geni, you need and you can get a decent deal over the weekend paying only for one day, man that’s so cool the other day is free! In case you missed it that’s sarcasm.. No one tells you you need a bakkie or van to collect a 5.5kVA geni, but that’s ok coz now you are there to pick it up and you going to make a plan. After all without the geni… well there’s no party.
The day of the party arrives and guess what the wind is hitting 35km/h . Now as a cyclist I know that’s not good. That’s enough to stop a grown man in his tracks. Still we’re going ahead with the party in the park. I made an executive decision and we are sticking to it. I did not think it all got to me that much but I guess I have managed to write a full 700 words about it so you decide. The party went off without too many hitches, the geni by the way guzzles petrol faster than the kids ate the sweet stuff. So FYI you going to need between 6 and 8 litres of petrol for about 3 hours of pumping time. Always have a 5 litre bottle spare so that you are not running away halfway to get fuel for the geni. We all had loads of fun at the end of the day and the look on my little ones face when he said , “DAD is that jumping castle for ME!” was enough for me to want to kiss the jumping castle guy… that didn’t happen and all the pics have been destroyed.
So in line with this blog , I have to give some costing. Generator is going to cost you R200 delivered, be prepared to put down a deposit 3x that. Jumping castle, anywhere between R400 and R700 depending on what you want. Google is your friend and check out the pics so you know what you are paying for. By the way Francois, you’re the man, thanks for all your help setting up and advice with regards to the jumping castle. Anyone wants his contact details, I am more than happy to share.
So our next big party is going to be when masterji is 10 . It will take me that long to recover from this one.
The theme of the day. Themed cake made by my very talented niece, Mahjabeen Parker.
Don’t be fooled. There was very little that was healthy at this party.
One of the kids favourite things for any occasion. Chocolate Hedgehogs. You can find the recipe here as part of the No Fail Chocolate Bakes blog post.
Oreo Pops. Simply stick an Oreo cookie on a skewer (cut off the sharp end first). Dip in chocolate and add sprinkles. It’s the absolute best. ?
All the huffing and puffing was well worth it as the kids had a ball of a time.
Awesome adventure planning parties. Warning… the themes and requests get stranger the older they get.
Thanks Hafsa. Duly noted and committed to memory.
I am so impressed, Go DAD!!!!! Awesome job.
Thanks Wiedaad. I will convey your comment. Cos this dad may write for my blog once it a blue moon but hardly ever reads it…. ?