I was scared. A party for toddlers was suggested outside and visions of screaming kids all jumping on top of the cake and ice cream flashed before my eyes.
My party had one other complicating factor. My daughter’s birthday is in January, which means the weather is too cold to just turn the kids into running the yard outside of their energy. I needed to keep them entertained and tired at the same time.
The solution I found was an inflatable ball pit/bouncer. A quick trip to the local gym equipment discovered an affordable castle-shaped bounce house suitable for the living room for parties. It comes with 25 bouncer balls and I added an extra 200 plastic balls to keep things interesting.
The kids stupidly jumped into the party.
One critical consideration when purchasing an inflatable bouncer is to check your inflation options before purchasing a bouncer. Our solution was in the increments of 5 separate points and we only had a simple hand pump that would work properly to inflate the bouncer. I almost spent working at the pump and increased the hours.
Make sure you have a vacuum or powered pump to speed up the inflation process.
The ball tag worked well for our bouts, but required a little extra planning. Toddlers go a little crazy (especially boys) once they get into the bouncer. Many kids have an accident inside waiting to happen. So limit the number inside at any given time and have plenty of other lower energy distractions available for toddlers who are waiting their turns or going out.
If the weather permits, in warm weather you can park outside as well. But for us with winter babies, this was the best fifty dollars spent in a long time.
