Celebrating birthdays in our house has always been preceded by much planning and careful deliberation. It’s the time where frantic baking takes place for school friends, colleagues and family members. You see birthdays are not a once off celebration, we make sure its repeated at least three times, the day of your birth, the party for the friends and then lastly the family gathering where our very LARGE family get together and compare how much we have aged and grown in body size since the last happy event. Stories are shared and catching up is done, cousins come out of the woodwork and siblings reunite, all surrounded by joy, laughter and of course celebratory refreshments.
Our modern world, with all it’s pressures, hustle and bustle, and endless deadlines, doesn’t allow for lazy weekend days spent with those close to us. The result of this of course is why my family started the above tradition and no matter how old my children get, 23 and 26 respectively, we never waver.
We, at Clamber Club Party Venues in Ferndale, are seeing the resurgence of parties for all ages. Children’s birthday parties are becoming an opportunity to gather all those important people in our lives together in one place, at one time.
I love to watch families arrive on the day, there is naturally the early start, often without the birthday boy or girl in tow, where mom and dad frantically unpack the car and start the setup. More often than not there is a granny or grandpa bringing up the rear to offer their 5 cents worth on where the party packs should be placed. If it’s an aunt or uncle, you’re likely to find the grandparents in charge of getting the little one to the venue just before the guests. All this to ensure that phrase of “mom, moom, moooooooom!!!” are kept to a minimum and that the birthday outfit doesn’t get dirty before the guests arrive.
Then of course let’s not forget the life-threatening debacle which are the balloons! Have you ever witnessed a car driving next to you, anxious look on the drivers face whilst the 30 odd balloons being transported threaten to engulf them like the tentacles of an octopus? Said driver constantly flicking that one or two which have managed to escape the ribbon holding them together, and are determined to ensure total lack of visibility for the person behind the wheel. If it wasn’t a dangerous situation it would be hysterically funny and worth a YouTube video. Some clever pumpkin decided to invent the SKY WALKER. What on earth were they thinking! A client asked me to help secure said life size balloon to a pole once, and the head of the Mickey Mouse in question, decided at that specific moment to detach from the body and sail away into the blue beyond. The look on my clients face still haunts me to this day, and ensured that I spent R300 at Westpak to ensure that a new one arrived before the guests. Guess what, as a result, I stay away from helping with tying things up or the carrying of beautiful cakes, as I am prone to accidents and would be crushed if that Spiderman themed cake ended up face down on the ground. Best thing is though, if you come to our little heavenly spot, we can supply you balloons without you risking life and limb on the road.
The benefit of the party venue is that these get togethers involve less and less stress for the parent due to our NO MESS, NO FUSS principle. We can make sure that you have a one stop shop experience. From the cake, to the decor, to catering, balloons, braai facilities and of course the endless entertainment that is expected of a Clamber Club party. Active obstacle courses, climbing equipment to satisfy ages 1 – 9, bike track, trampoline, sandpit and farm animals ensure that you feel you are out on the farm when in fact you are in the heart of Johannesburg. All this adds to the enjoyment of the day. So next time you are planning a birthday celebration, create memories with loved ones, not fitful, sleepless nights worrying about planning!
I have to admit, hosting parties brings me great joy and satisfaction. The “feel good” one gets from throwing one’s own party, with one’s own loved ones cannot be replaced. And at Clamber Club Party Venues Ferndale, the satisfaction of hearing a mom or dad saying, “this is the most beautiful place, we ALL had the very best time” makes it all worthwhile. And seeing the children, adults and grandparents having a wonderful time together is one of life’s small blessings.
Here are my 5 top tips on choosing a venue:
- Make a list of what you want from a venue, based on the guest list and what you wish to achieve, and search accordingly.
- Lots of venues expect you to use their catering, décor facilities etc, if this doesn’t suit your budget look for those who don’t.
- Ensure that the venue is child friendly and secure so that you don’t have to worry about the safety of the children. It makes it easier if you have the venue exclusively for the duration of your party
- Make sure that the venue allows for both children and adult entertainment, so that the whole family can enjoy the day.
- Make sure it’s a no mess no fuss environment, you also want to enjoy the day!
Contributed by Jacqui Jordaan of Clamber Club Party Venues – Ferndale
Tel: 082 410 4546
Email: partyvenuesferndale@clamberclub.com
Website: www.clamberclub.com