Birthday Party Tips & Advice from PlayLab
Hi! If you’re having your child’s party with PlayLab, we wanted to share some tips and advice, gained from our experience doing hundreds of parties, so that your party experience can go as smoothly as possible and be exactly what you want.
Should I coordinate with PlayLab before my party?
Yes — even if you don’t need any rentals or décor help from us, we highly recommend chatting with us about your party plans so we’re all on the same page. (Even if it’s just a matter of setting up the tables and chairs).
You can also use our party planner tool to decide where you want to put everything, and see what’s available:
How do I plan out the layout of the space?
You can view floor plans for Eagle Rock and Hollywood. Feel free print these off, figure out where you’d like to place stuff- like where you want tables and chairs to go, where you want to have the backdrop, etc; and share the plans with us.
Will someone from PlayLab help during my party?
Yes. At least one PlayLab team member will be present throughout your entire party, and we’re focused on making your experience easy. You can delegate stuff to us — helping you set up decorations, move furniture around, unload your car, and anything else! Forgot something important, like a lighter or knife to cut the cake? Just ask us and we’ve probably got it around for you.
What’s included in my party rental?
Yes — we supply tables and chairs, among other things, with your rental. Check out the full list here. We also have a fridge and freezer on the premises for you to use.
What add-ons can I rent for my party?
Yes — we can provide a lot of other items, to make your party experience as convenient as possible. Check out what we can offer.
How much time should I budget for my party?
We recommend budgeting 30 minutes for setting up your party, and 30 minutes at the end to wind things down. So, if you book a 10am-1pm party, your schedule would look like this:
10:00am — You arrive and begin setting up. (One or more of our team members will be here to help you).
10:30am — Have your guests begin to arrive. Celebrate and party for the next 2 hours!
12:30pm — Begin winding things down.
1:00pm — Vacate the space.
If you expect to need more time for any aspect of that (especially with decorating the space), consider adding time. Each 30 minutes is $100, and you can add it (even on the day of your event) if it won’t conflict with an adjacent party booking. Adding time may also be needed if you are including performers or activities in your party.
What time can I arrive to start setting up?
Your start time is the earliest time that you can enter the space — there is no early entry. If you are using a decorator or event planner, please share that information with them. They won’t be able to access the space before your reservation starts. If they will need more time in order to decorate the place, you can add time to your reservation.
Do I need to clean up after my party?
No — we make this easy for you — when your party’s over, just take whatever you’d like to keep (decorations, leftover food, and so on) and leave the rest. We’ll take care of the cleanup from there.
Considering Making a Balloon Garland?
Before you make your own, and haven’t done it before, please consider our services when it comes to garlands. (We make them in-house, with your custom colors and direction). Depending on the length of your garland, you’ll need 60-90 balloons of various sizes, so you’ll need a power inflator — your lungs will thank you.
Also, it’s essential to not over-inflate the balloons, as they tend to randomly pop during the party.
Finally — don’t use the perforated plastic strip tape included with most garland kits. Use a long skinny balloon to tie the clusters together — it’s MUCH easier to work with. If you use strip tape, the balloons tend to pop out of place and eject themselves from the garland.
(PS: if you make your own garland, you’ll have to transport all those balloons to PlayLab, which can take up a lot of your car space).
TL;DR: If you want to make it easy on yourself and have one less thing to handle for your party, we’re happy to make your custom balloon garland.
Can I add a coffee and tea station?
Yes — this is a really popular option for parties — we definitely recommend adding it for your adult guests :) For $40, it comes with unlimited coffee, plus cups, sleeves, lids, creamers — everything you need.
Can I bring my own food and drinks?
Yes, you’re welcome to bring your own food and drinks. If you’re ordering catering, we suggest having it delivered, just for convenience’s sake and saving yourself a trip.
Tablecloths
if you are planning on using plastic tablecloths, they can blow around in the breeze pretty easily. We recommend using cloth, which we rent in various colors. If you do use plastic table coverings, we can use doublestick tape to fix it to the table, which works pretty well.
Renting the Movie Projector
If you are interested in renting the projector, we should definitely coordinate on your plans. Depending on the time of your party, and what you plan to watch, we may advise you on the best way to use it and make sure the film or video you want to watch will fit into your schedule.