Home, Hall or Venue: Where to Have the Party
Where you hold it decides most of the rest: how many children you can have, what you need to buy, and how much of your weekend disappears. Here is what each one really costs, effort included.
What is on this page
1. The short answer
Home is cheapest and most flexible, and suits smaller parties and younger children. A hall gives you space and a bigger guest list. A venue costs the most and saves the most work.
| Where | Suits | Best bit | Worst bit | You still need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | Smaller parties, younger children | Cheapest, and you can set up the night before | Your house, your mess | Decorations, balloons, tableware, games, food, party bags |
| Hall | A whole class, games with running | Space, and nothing of yours gets broken | Transport, setting up, clearing away | Balloons, banners, tableware, decorations, party bags, food |
| Venue | Activity parties, no time to organise | Somebody else runs it | Costs most, least flexible | Candles, a number balloon, party bags |
2. At home
The cheapest option, and you can start decorating the night before, which is worth more than it sounds.
What catches people out is not space for the children. It is space for everything else. Fifteen coats, fifteen pairs of shoes and a pile of presents have to go somewhere, and if you have not decided where before the day, the answer becomes the hallway floor. Clearing one room completely works better than half-clearing two.
Decide early whether the garden is part of the plan or the back-up, because those need different numbers of children. More in indoor party ideas and garden party ideas, plus a rainy day back-up plan worth reading before you need it.
3. A hall or community centre
Usually the right answer once you are inviting a whole class. You get space for running about, tables that are already there, and nothing of yours gets broken. In exchange you get transport, setting up and clearing away, all of which take longer than you think.
Worth asking before you pay a deposit:
- How long is the hire, and does it include setting up and clearing away?
- Can we bring our own food, and is there a kitchen, a fridge, a kettle?
- Are balloons allowed, and helium?
- Any rules about confetti, piñatas, or fixing anything to the walls?
- How many tables and chairs, and who puts them out?
- What time do we have to be out?
Ask the balloon one specifically. Some halls ban helium, usually because of the ceiling, and finding that out on the day is an expensive mistake.
4. A venue
Soft play, bowling, trampolines, cinema. Most expensive, least work, and for a lot of families that is a trade worth making.
They run the activity and usually the food, so check what is included before you buy anything. Many include tableware. Many will not let you bring your own food, though a cake is usually fine. Ask when you book, because it is the thing people get caught out by most often.
What you normally still need: candles, a number balloon for the photographs, and party bags.
5. Choosing quickly
If it is a handful of children and they are little, home is fine. Once you are inviting the whole class, or the plan involves running, you want a hall. A venue is the answer when you have no time to organise it, or your child has already decided they want to go bowling.
Torn between home and a hall? Count the guests. Somewhere past a dozen children a front room stops being enjoyable for anybody in it, including you.
Questions people ask
How much does a village hall cost?
It varies a lot by area, but community halls are normally the cheapest option by some distance. Ring two or three, because prices between neighbouring halls can be very different for no obvious reason.
Can I take my own cake to a soft play party?
Usually yes for cake, often no for other food. Ask when you book.
Do halls allow helium balloons?
Many do. Some do not, usually because of the ceiling, and some also ban confetti and piñatas. One question at booking saves buying something you cannot use.
What if the weather ruins a garden party?
Have the indoor version planned before the day. If the indoor version does not fit your guest list, then the garden was never really the plan. The rainy day back-up plan covers it.
More planning help in the Kids Party Hub: how long it should last, the countdown and the full checklist.
For the party itself: games, food, themes by age and party bags.