What are innovative parents doing for kids parties in 2018 ?

Each and every year you come to that time you need to start thinking about your child's next birthday party. Every parent gets the feelings of pressure to make it everything your child wants and that you can afford. We all know the usual party games like pin the tail on the donkey, pass the parcel and musical chairs along with the lolly buffets and a grand cake that your trying to get rid of at the end of the party. This is at just about every party iv been to in the past. Something has seemed to change in the past 2-3 years at the parties iv been attending...

So what are Mums and dads of Brisbane doing to spice up your run of the mill birthday parties for their kids? 

1.  Hire a jumping castle to entertain the kids instead of trying to organise so many games for the kids. Let them play to their little hearts are content. What better way to burn off the sugar rush and give you time to actually mingle with the parents of the children attending your party. Jumping castle hire is becoming a very fast growing industry for young families wanting to entertain bigger and bigger parties every year. Jumping castle hire can be a entertainer for all ages right up to adults. Jumping castle hire is dependant on weather so if its a raining day you might want to read up on jumping castles and wet weather or you might find yourself in a stressful situation trying to figure out a back up plan. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Location parties can be a great choice for keeping the mess and stress away from your home. Places like fast food outlets such as Mcdonalds and Hungry Jacks have been around for a long time and they offer the security of still going ahead even if the weather turns bad. However there are other places that you may not have thought about. 
   
                                                          
   -Try one of 5 roller rinks left in Brisbane, these places such as Digi Roller Skating in Browns plains offer some of the cheapest options for kids parties per head and can be extremely fun for kids of all levels of skating. From beginners to advance everybody can have fun including the parents which is something a bit different to your usual birthday party.   
   
    - Bunnings is now offering kids parties for that different approach to the trending DIY space of renovating and home projects with specialty run work shops for the kids. Fo ra while now Bunnings have run school Free holiday workshops for kids to attend along with parents to encourage the parents into their locations. It seems a little odd but why not ? 
   
    -Specialty Parks are popping up everywhere with new interactive spaces like dry water parks and special interactive play equipment. Having a kids birthday party in any park in your council area will require you to apply through council to have the party if its over 50 people. This is usually free and easy to do online. A lot of parents are going the extra distance and hiring a jumping castle or a face painter or kids party entertainer to add to the atmosphere. The council will usually require their public liability for them to attend your party however if you are using a legitimate business you should have any issues.
   
3. Hire specialty Equipment such as Sumo Suits or Bouncy Boxing to entertain your children.   Some of the best parties iv recently been too friends of mine have had these and they are such a great idea to get all the parents talking about your party. They make for some great photos and even better stories to tell.

Regardless of your budget or your expectations these simple and innovative ideas parents of Brisbane and south east Queensland are now going to are starting to shape a new experience for kids of this era. The future is going to be overwhelming and interesting in the birthday space for our kids kids over the next 20-30 years.

Christmas is just around the corner , Here are some tips on planning your xmas celebrations

Its that time of the year again , your having family and friends around for the annual Christmas party or you might be even the organiser of the work Christmas party, so where do you start ?

with so many options out there the good old fashioned BBQ at home is the way top go about it however with every year there is a need to trump last years party. So here is a few ideas for planning your work or home Christmas party to get your mind going.

1. You can try spicing up your average BBQ at home or any party with a jumping castle hire. These days jumping castles are not just for kids , they have adult jumping castles for hire too !! The adults at your party will let lose after a few beverages to show the kids a thing or two.

2. Hire special food machinery such as a fairy floss machine or a cocktail machine . Most of the business's that supply jumping castle hire in Brisbane have these machines for hire along with snow cone machines and popcorn machines. Usually you will get a discount if you hire a few items from the same party hire place.

3. Challenge your guests with some Sumo suits or bouncy Boxing. Sumo suits come in kids and adult sizes. For a great laugh and activity that doesn't not need a lot of room Sumo suits are a great entertainer and ice breaker for your Christmas Party.

4. Have a secret Santa- but make it subject to a shop or theme - for instance Bunnings, BCF or Super Cheap Auto and set the budget at $10-$20. Having a activity like this will stimulate the conversation away from the same old talk of work and current affair issues. This will bring laughter and fun to the party.

5. Hire a entertainer , you might think hiring a entertainer might be a little over the top however having a entertainer can often steer the rest of the party in a more upbeat and fun direction after they have left . they give you experiences and laughs to talk about for the rest of the party and can entertain kids too giving the adults some time to talk to other adults with out having their children interrupt.

6. Table and chair hire , most people forget about seating and food space until the last minute . Hiring some tables and chairs for your party can take the edge of stressing about it last minute when you realise you have so many people coming.

7. Balloons and decorations can add atmosphere to your party with doubt. Doing this your self can also be very stressful and add to the time and preparation that goes into having a Christmas party at home. You can usually source these through Big W or a lot of the $2 shops such as Dollars and Sense, The Reject Shop and Spotlight can inflate and supply these ready for pick up at a very small price .

So hopefully these few suggestions will inspire you for your next party. If you are looking to save some time and money and want to get all this taken care of in one booking through one business, Castles 4 Jumping do all this and more in jumping castle packages in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Ipswich areas. You will also find other jumping castle business's in Sydney , Melbourne , Adelaide and Perth that offer similar deal as a package price.

inflatable play grounds - Are they really that safe for your children ?

Inflatable play grounds such as Inflatable world and Jumpin 4 Fun are quickly popping up in suburbs every where. They are quickly becoming the new craze for birthday parties and wet weather weekend fun for families. But how safe are these places for your children ?

Children's injuries are now starting to hit the media commonly to do with these types of places. The last one to be broadcasted was of a little girl disappearing down between two jumping castles in one of these playgrounds.  So what is it that could go so wrong in a big soft play ground ?

There have been reports of supervisors as old as 15 years old supervising children on these inflatable play grounds. Im no risk expert but as a parent im starting to see a trend that is suggesting the supervisors role is not being really met through a 15 year old student. Paramedics have commented on constantly being called out to these venues with head clashes, broken arms and legs and over exhaustion . So it begs the question what sort of training are theses attendants getting to be able to supervise one of these areas at these play centres ? Given the recent horrific deaths at Dreamworld and the current coronial inquiry i wonder if the recommendations handed down will have any effect on these pop up inflatable playgrounds ?
With this all being said and as a parent you have to wonder if these jumping castle  business's have your child's safety in the forefront of their operations or are they simply trying to run at the cheapest possible costs ?

As parents we can not cotton wool our children from having good old fashioned safe fun. Injuries will all ways be apart of this in one way or another , however being mindful of the risk and previous injuries that have occurred is a great starting point to being a informed responsible parent. So my advise to you is to always keep a keen eye on your children in these inflatable play grounds .

Wet weather and jumping castles ... Do i ,dont I ?

Early this year we seen record monthly rain fall for February and March in Brisbane. This begs the question is it worth booking a jumping castle for your upcoming party ?

Stressing out about the weather is one of the most common ways mums and dads in Brisbane spend at least some of their time trying to avoid when planning a birthday party for their children or even a back yard bbq get together for friends and relatives. 

Running a Jumping castle and party hire business in Brisbane we come across this a lot and a lot of people stressing about loosing their money or getting nervous about the potential of bad weather. 

Iv attached a article that might help with this if its coming up to a event you want to plan and are worried about the weather ruining your plans for jumping castle in Brisbane. There is some reassurance with this article . 

 Jumping castles in Brisbane - Wet weather advice

A Jumping Castle explodes in the UK - What went wrong? How to make sure this doesn't happen to you in Australia

Another horror story of a jumping castle injuring another child was posted in recent weeks. This time the jumping castle didn't blow away with children inside , it did what everyone thinks was the impossible, it exploded !  read the article here - Girl dies after jumping castle "explodes" in the UK

So how does a jumping castle just explode?
You would think this is what the jumping castles were designed not to do. You would be right in thinking that. Jumping castles on the most are built to distribute pressure through cells stitched into the jumping castles. These are the round jumpy parts that you bounce on. Each cell has small holes in the ends to allow the transfer of the air to move from one cell to another as the weight is transferred as riders bounce off the inflated cells. You would also notice when you stand close to a jumping castle it has air coming out of it everywhere, this is because the jumping castle is kept at a constant pressure to insure the cells are inflated enough to hold the riders. To moderate the pressure it is slowly released through the stitching. Over time and in different temperatures the stitching will release more or less air making the jumping castle firmer or softer. The older the jumping castle the lower the pressure it tends to hold due to the stretching of the stitching. In hot climates or even on hot summer days in Brisbane jumping castles will hold a higher pressure due to the canvas and the stitching tightening and shrinking from the heat.

In the instance in the UK, the operators would of had the maximum number of blowers attached to the jumping castle to give the jumping castle its maximum weight capacity to insure the most users at any one time to maximise profits. However it appears the operator has not given the temperatures or the environment any consideration when doing this.

In my experienced opinion this incident has occurred due to the temperatures on the sand and on the beach. When you set a jumping castle up on the sand, the jumping castle also moulds into the sand which also limits the airflow and escape of air at the base of the castle (this is part of regulating the escape of air through the stitching). This along with high temperatures off the sand , maximum pressure from all blowers and the the hot air being pumped into the jumping castle straight off the top of the sand has all had a compounding affect in the stitching letting go in the most distressed part of the ride. This would usually be the bouncy section the riders use. Sadly this has then exploded under the pressure and catapulted the young 4 year old meters into the air, ending in the severe injury she suffered.

So how do you stop this from happening ?
In Australia we are now being implemented by insurance companies to have risk assessments in place to help identify and reduce the risks of this happening again. This has started coming into effect in the wake of the Dreamworld Thunder river rapids ride malfunction. Although it is not regulated it is a very good starting measure by the insurance companies to start taking the risk away from riders of amusement rides. Is this going to be enough ? The government will also be under pressure from the coronial inquest to either regulate the Amusement Parks industry or put measures in place to regulate all rides and amusements in Australia all together under one legislation. Only time will tell if the current government will take the findings of the inquest and implement all the recommendations.

At Castles 4 Jumping we now have this in place for any public event or private event in a public place to insure the safety of riders to insure we do not have a repeat of this situation from any one of our jumping castles. At Castles 4 Jumping we have had this in effect for over 12 months now and have found it to be very useful in reducing the potential of hazards or injury to riders. We Asses everything from environment to the general safety of the riders from heat and exhaustion.

 If you are thinking of hiring a jumping castle or already have one booked for your next party or event we would highly suggest you ask your provider if they have any of these measures in place or are implementing them in the future. Jumping castles are not unsafe or are they a danger to children or adults that want to use them when they are monitored and operated within all safety limitations and recommendations. Finding the right operators and asking the right questions will eliminate these horror incidents from occurring in the future and insure the safety of your friends and family. 

Great 3 min Read - 5 quick steps to organise your childrens birthday party in Brisbane

i been busy looking out for kids party ideas and i cam across this must see easy 5 step article that helps out while trying to book your childrens birthday party in Brisbane or south east Queensland with links to the business's that can get you the supplies you need for your party its a great 3 minute read -

5 quick steps to organise your kids birthday party in Brisbane

Jumping Castle hire Brisbane, Queensland

Hiring a Jumping Castle in a council Park in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich and Redlands areas.

Thinking of hiring a jumping castle in Brisbane , Gold Coast or Ipswich areas and thinking of having it in the local park ? then you need to read this first before you start booking your hire provider in.

Its that time of year again and the memories of last years stress, hassle , organising and mess are starting to haunt you again as you start to plan this years birthday party for your child, or you are just planning a social gathering for your local sports club or social group. Your thinking of having it in the park , somewhere neutral to everyone and easily accessible for people wanting to come and go as they please. Unfortunately this means you will need to haul everything down to the park such as tables and chairs and cooking equipment along with eskies and marquee's if you need shade too.

Well a lot of people don't realise that all this is usually ok with council however any gathering of 20-50 people needs to be registered with the council. Depending on the council , and every one is different to deal with will depend at which size of gathering your having will depend if you even need to let council know. Now there isn't any penalty for not doing this , however you leave your self open to receive fines from police if they have a incident to enquire about so it is always better to be safe then sorry.

So you have now got the amount of people likely to come sorted out , you have your food, drinks and shade all figured out , now for the entertainment. This is usually where you will start looking for a jumping castle hire business in Brisbane , Gold Coast or Ipswich areas to provide you with your entertainment for the kids. In the past 10 years the inflatable hire business has boomed with a lot of smaller mum and dad business's popping up with the popularity of having a jumping castle at your birthday party. A jumping castle hire is a great solution to your entertainment needs for the kids and the adults too. However you might start looking around at the jumping castle pricing and you will see a big difference in the prices from advertisers on Facebook and Gumtree to well established business's ranking on a google search. Why is that you ask ? This is a very important question and this will ultimately and can make your booking a lot easier or a lot harder if you can not decipher the difference.

In recent years inflatable warehouses and bouncing play grounds with trampolines have become very very popular for families to attend on weekends particularly if its bad weather. These places have usually been started and built so quick with little thought going into safety and costing in having competent supervisors attending the different Zones in the parks. This has lead to multiple injuries every weekend in most of these types of places. With a huge amount of injuries there are a big spike in people filing for injury claims against the business's insurance for lack of duty of care. This is the important part that relates to you hiring a jumping castle for your party or event. Insurance companies are now placing a lot of financial and safety pressure on business's to have this insurance and policies in place to operate insured. To give you a idea of the extreme change, our insurance excess at Castles 4 Jumping went from $500 to $10,000 in a single year. Our Premiums also jumped substantially even though we have never had a claim against our business. This is the main indicator for the differences in pricing between business's you might research on for quotes for your jumping castle hire. This also holds a lot of importance when it comes to booking your jumping castle hire provider as all councils will only except business's with 20 million public liability insurance as a acceptable business to hire your jumping castle from. This needs to be proved with council with your application to have the jumping castle in the park. Often the certificate of currency is whats needed to complete the application process with most councils. This covers you, the business and the council if there were to be any liabilities from the jumping castle or hire equipment being hired in a public area for a private function.

What could possibly happen you might say ? Well you might have seen jumping castles collapse on people or jumping castles blown away in windy conditions with the children still inside ?  Well all these risks and many many more are covered by the insurance companies to ensure the business is using Australian standard equipment and process's that are developed to eliminate this risk. Business's not insured would have no or next to none of these in place or in  practise protecting you and your friends and family from a potential disaster happening. This is the reason councils require permission to have a jumping castle hire in the park. This is also the reason in such a big price difference between different providers.

So now you have saved your time from being wasted by booking a safe provider and you are all approved by council to have your birthday party or event in the local park , what other ways can you make it easier on your self ? Well at Castles 4 Jumping we have packages that make having a jumping castle hire in the park a breeze. We have jumping castle packages starting at $350 that include tables and chairs, balloons already done and ready to be tied up around your party, loot bags,  machine hire such as Fairy floss , popcorn or snow cone machines and best of all your jumping castle hire as well all included in the price !!

With a small delivery fee and the availability of generators to power your party in the park. We also have pop up marquees for hire.  We can confidently say that we make having a jumping castle or party in a local park a breeze for anyone wanting to hire a jumping castle in Brisbane, Gold Coast or Ipswich areas. You might have noticed a few link attached to the text in this post, if you click on any of these it will take you directly to our new website where you can see our jumping castle we have for hire or our packages we offer. Our jumping castles can be hired anywhere in the Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich , Redlands and Moreton bay regions for any event or party you would like to have. We can supply a no obligation free quote for you to supply you with any service or equipment you may need even if we do not have it we can still act on your behalf to get it. Having extensive experience in the industry now for over 10 years we can also give you some quality information and advice when holding a event or planning a party with or with out a jumping castle hire.