It’s not a prerequisite, but I’m one of those parents that prefer offsite…Namely
1)Cleaning up or own place afterwards is a total pain.
2)Liability. If I rent a jumper for instance, and some kid slips and hits his head on the ground…. Close friends this isn’t an issue. Some not so close friends (like a classmate’s parent, different story). Most of those offsite places make parents sign a liability waver.
3)I live in a stucco box with very little yard in back.
4)I have white/beige carpets.[/quote]
Sorry, I screwed up on my previous post….
Flu, I heartily concur with your viewpoint on offsite parties, especially reasons #1 and #4.
Back in the late ’80s, I had my house on the market, and there was quite a bit of interest in it. Not wanting to disappoint my child on his birthday, I told my realtor to suspend visits that afternoon so we could have his party. Right before the party was scheduled to begin, I received a call from my realtor, and we set up a walk-through for an hour after the party’s end.
Sure enough, a few parents neglected to pick up their children on time, and one of the poor critters (kids, not parents) got sick and released about 3 quarts of fuschia-colored vomitus all over my front walk less than ten minutes before the prospective buyers were set to appear. Fortunately, since it was outside, we could hose it down, but the experience served to make me a true believer in offsite birthday festivities.
