
Five things to think about when booking a party venue.
Booking a party venue is one of the first things to do when you are hosting a children’s party. It may seem like a simple task however finding a venue that is available plus suits all of your needs can prove problematic as venues can book up very quickly! Due to this sometimes there is no room to be fussy however if you can be here are my five top things to think about when booking a party venue:
1: Have FIVE venues in mind!
This may seem like a lot but I would suggest keeping a bank of contact details for venues that you have vetted throughout the year. Maybe look at one leisure centre, two community centres and two church halls and have all of their details saved and ready to go when party season hits!
2: Parking Facilities and access facilities
This is VERY important! Try to avoid venues that have limited parking or parking that may result in people getting tickets or having to park dangerously! Also from an entertainers perspective – we really need a parking space especially if we are in a ball gown! Also if there are a lot of stairs this may prove problematic for guests with pushchairs, wheelchairs or glass slippers so lift access (and working lift access) is really important.
3: Kitchen and Toilet Facilities
Both need to be easy access, clean and have enough space to get all of the food prepped and cook if you need to. Also check for baby changing facilities as, especially with younger parties, they are often needed.
4: Plug Sockets.
This may seem like a very strange thing to add to the list however having no plug sockets or a lack of them can prove problematic, especially from our perspective. We always bring along an extension chord however this can be a danger in itself if we are having to stretch it over a distance with children running around. Poorly placed plug sockets (one venue springs to mind immediately) can be a nightmare for both yourselves and us so when you are setting tables up or seated areas for parents just have a check of where the plug sockets in the room are.
5: Size of Venue.
Cater your venue to your party size (that is children and adults). If you have a small number of children coming (10 or so) you will still have an adult per child a lot of the time which means that you need to account for that with the space. Likewise if you have a 30+ party you are going to want a lot more space as you could be catering for up to 60 space wise. Just something to bare in mind.
I have popped below my top ten venues for Flintshire and Wrexham which I hope you find useful!
In no particular order:
Flintshire
- Hawkesbury Community Centre Buckley:
- Hawarden Village Institute:
- Mancot Village Hall
- St Mathews Church, Buckley
- Northop Hall Pavillion
Wrexham:
- Hightown Community Resource Centre
- Garden Village Institute, Kenyon Avenue
- St Margrets Church Hall, Acton
- Gwersyllt Resource Centre
- Brynteg Memorial Centre, Quarry Road