How far would you travel for a child's birthday party?

fabforty

DS will be 5 in February and I am already looking at birthday party options. It won't be possible or practical to hold a party at home, and so I wanted to find alternative space. I found a really nice soft play venue, which has a number of sites but the nearest two are 3 and 4 miles respectively from my home. We live in London, so public transport is not a problem - one venue is more central than the other (Fulham) so driving and parking would probably be difficult. I just wondered if expecting guests to travel 3 miles to attend a children's party was too much? The party would last for 2 hours and would be mid to late afternoon. I have done it myself (and I don't drive) but that might be just me.

Mrs_Imp

3 or 4 miles is nothing really. We recently did 11 miles to soft play, even though the birthday girl only lives a mile away.

lea2012

I don't live in London but I live in a mid size town in Lancashire and have travelled more than 4 miles for a party
My daughter went to a party in the next town, about an 8mile drive, only last week. I think 3 miles is more than reasonable

Last year for my daughters people travelled a similar distance to what you're proposing. I did offer to pick up and drop off a couple of her friends but most drove or got the bus no problem. Normally if it's at a play centre out of town I stay and have a coffee with the other mums whilst the kids play.

jackomdj

The thing is it isn't us (we have one soft play in our town about 4 miles away, and another in another town about 15 miles away, which we have gone to without a second thought), it is about how far your sons friends parents are willing to travel. I would ask a couple and see if they would still go.

Spendless

When my eldest was little the nearest soft play was 4 miles+ away, so no choice. It was quite common then, you wanted to go there, you had to travel.

In London though, how many soft play areas more local to you are there? If it's quite usual to go to some very close by, you might find people more reluctant to travel.

roses

If it's London then I wold pick a venue that has either good public transport links or good parking options, whichever you feel your guests are more likely to use, as that will be the biggest challenge for them.

fabforty

Thanks for the replies. These are the nearest two soft play centres which offer everything that I need - e.g. which have party packages, provide food, etc. I don't want to have to sort out anything apart from party bags and a cake!

Amara

3 miles and public transport ? That's nothing. I live in semi-rural area and the nearest soft-play is 11miles away, very popular within locals, mostly, because there's no much else. Don't worry, location of your chosen venue is not a problem.

pinkshoes

3 miles????

In rural locations it can be upto 20 miles!

The party for DS is 7 miles away.

VfM4meplse

pinkshoes wrote: »

3 miles????

In rural locations it can be upto 20 miles!

The party for DS is 7 miles away.

To be fair that is a lifestyle choice that people make if they relocate to a rural area. Those born there I guess are stuck with the disadvantages, and the benefits (although I personally can't think of many) of rural life.

Counting_Pennies_2

An hours drive has been the worst. However one of the best parties!


4 miles is pretty standard for most of the parties we have that aren't held at home.


I would say anything much above that it needs to be a good venue offering a great party