Moving from up North to Palm Coast Florida was not easy for my boys; especially for my seven year old. He was having a rough time adjusting after leaving all of his good friends. He seemed to be having a hard time making new friends. This was affecting him greatly, which was breaking mine and my husband’s heart. Our son has always been such a happy kid; however, at this point in his life this was not the case. Even his grades were just not as good as they were in the past. Our once very happy boy now seemed depressed. Florida living turned out to be a huge adjustment. The move was a lot harder on him then we had foreseen and I knew needed to do something to help him adjust. I needed to find a way to make it easier for the kids in his class and neighborhood to warm up to him.
I started thinking of ways to bring the kids together outside of school. Since moving to Florida I have heard from many of the parents that when they have parties and invite the whole class that only 1-2 kids would show up. And theses are kids who have grown up together and went to school together for years. With that thought in my head, I wondered how can I get kids that are not even friends with my son yet to show up to his party. Then it hit me. You could say it just bounced right into my head. I came up with a mega idea that both my husband and myself were super excited about.
The big idea: “Party Time + Inflatables Rentals + Food +Prizes = New Palm Coast Friends”
My big idea was to have a party for him in our backyard with the same blowup Inflatables they have at the fairs. Then invite kids from his class and have them all bond. Sounds easy; however, I had a lot of things to do to pull this off. I never rented inflatables before so I had no idea how it all even worked or if this was even possible. So I went online and looked up some information and I was lucky enough to find a really good local party rental company here in Palm Coast. They answered all my questions and gave me a great deal on three different inflatable rentals. I rented an obstacle course, slide, and a basketball game. Now that my reservation was all set for January 7, I could not wait to tell my son.
I was so excited to tell my son but sadly, he did not share in this excitement. When my son came home from school, just by the look on his face, I knew that he had a bad day. As I filled him in on all my party ideas, he was not as excited as I thought he would be. The idea of inviting kids that he didn’t even know to his house did not sit right with him. I explained to him how it was going to work and that we would print invitations for him to give out to his classmates. The invitations would have a photo of the inflatables we had rented on them. I then showed him the photos and for the first time since we moved to Palm Coast he was actually excited about something. We spent the rest of the day talking about and planning the party. I was so relieved he that he was finally as excited as I was. Ten days before the party he handed out the invitations. A few days had passed and with just 3 days before the party it started to look like my worst fear was coming true.
Is this Party going to happen?
They say hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Well, we were so excited about this party that we never thought for a second it would not work. There are 24 children in his class and I only received six responses. The feeling that my boy might be let down was just killing me. In my head I was asking myself, “What if only those 6 boys show up?” “What if some of them do not even show up?” We did everything we could to make this an event kids would not want to miss. On the invitation we put that we rented the bounce houses, prizes, pizza, and junk food. I just prayed things would change and he would have a really good outcome.
The event day has arrived; hope my boys new friends arrive also!
To my amazement most of the kids in his class showed up. The party turned out to be a huge hit. Watching the excitement and smile on my son’s face as more and more children showed up made me one happy momma. Another bonus was that I met some very nice people. I also made a few new friends of my own. The kids had a blast racing each other in the obstacle course. They even came up with a game, kind of like a relay race so they could all play as a team. They would take turns all running through the Obstacle Course and then making three baskets on the inflatable basketball game. The next team member could not start running the obstacle course until the last kid made 3 baskets. The first team to have all four players run the course and make the baskets won. Later we also had the boys play a more organized basketball shoot out contest where I handed out prizes. Boys bonding over competition, my plan was in full effect. It was back and forth for hours between all three of the inflatables. When the pizza was delivered the kids did not want to get off the obstacle course. Having too much fun to eat: I took that as a good sign that what we set out to do was working. My son was right in there with all the other kids playing, smiling, laughing and having too much fun to eat pizza, his favorite. Cupcake time was a different story, but boy the kids were all pooped out by the time by this time. The day came to an end and I can honestly say this was the start of new beginnings for my son.
A Party Planned well pays off Big!
My first thought, after all was cleaned up, is that we have to do this again for all my boys. I have three in total. I noticed that the same company I rented the inflatables from had some rentals that could be used with water. In the summer I will definitely be having a water slide party. Maybe for an end of school year bash with all of his and my other two boy’s new friends.
I am telling my story as a thank you to Bounce Party Rentals for all their wonderful service. They made the whole event so easy to plan and their inflatables were very nice and clean. If you are looking for a party rental company in Palm Coast I would 100% recommend them. Especially if you are trying to help your child make new friends.
Kid Running Through This Obstacle Course at the Party!
