Adult Party Ideas – Cocktail Parties, Weddings, and Special Events
Written on January 20, 2012 at 6:47 pm, by admin
It’s often the case when we as parents spend hours upon hours planning extravagant parties for our little ones that we forget about the adults. We enjoy a good time too! This year we plan on throwing a party for our friends, most likely a beer or wine tasting party. Sometimes it’s difficult to find a place to go out with friends, especially if you live in the suburbs. Why not bring the party to you! Convert your backyard into a sleek looking club. It’s amazing what a little rental equipment can do to transform your home. A tent is one way to change the look of an outdoor space.
Lighting can make a hung difference. It can really help create a more sophisticated look. We love portofino lighting, so elegant.
Since we’re hosting a beer & wine tasting party we’ll definitely need a bar. We might consider offering a signature drink as well. This is really popular at weddings lately. One of our favorite drinks is a Moscow Mule. Delicious, easy to make and so refreshing.
Cocktails tables are always nice to do, especially if you don’t want your party to be too formal, but still look polished. Nice linens make a world of difference as well.
Treat your guests to something special and interactive, hire a character artist, fortune teller, mobile spray tan, mobile massage therapist or photo booth. This will surprise your guests and keep things interesting.
We are looking forward to enjoying a beautiful evening with great friends soon. Consider hosting your very own party as well!
Super Bowl Party
Written on January 11, 2012 at 1:17 pm, by admin
Are you ready for some football!! The Super Bowl is right around the corner so party planning should be in full effect! Game day parties can be fun for everyone if done right by making sure the game is accessible to all guests, keeping guests entertained and having delicious food and drink. Your party will be the talk of the football season!
Here’s a few ideas to help you get started.
If you’re hosting your party in your backyard or arranged a block party with neighbors consider viewing the big game on an inflatable movie screen. This is an awesome way to watch the game. The large screen allows for a larger crowd to watch the game instead of having everyone huddling around your tv inside. It’s definitely a crowd pleaser and makes a real statement.
It’s easy to loose sight of the theme when planning a party, so try to keep all aspects of the party in sync with your original concept. Food‘s always an important part of the party so be sure to carry out your theme by using team colors and getting creative with your food display.
For your guest that want a break from the game or need some entertainment during half-time try a fun activity, such as inflatable football toss game.
If you have kid guests make sure to have something to keep them entertained as well. Crafts are always a win.
We really liked this decorate your own megaphone craft idea.
We love football season and look forward to partying on Super Bowl Sunday! We hope your party is a winning success and you have a blast planning for the big game this year!
Angry Birds Birthday Party Ideas and Inspirations
Written on January 7, 2012 at 1:14 pm, by admin
A popular theme with the kiddos this year is Angry Birds. What an opportunity to get super creative with decorations and party props with this theme! First things first you’ll need invitations. We like using Etsy for paper items. Custom invites and paper goods give your party that special touch and wow factor. It let’s your guests now they’re in for a real treat. Check out the invites we found.
Party planning can feel overwhelming at times. DIY projects are a great way to keep costs low and an opportunity to involve the kids and keep it fun. We came across this really easy and super cool Angry Bird can toss game. Your guests will have a blast playing this game and you’ll have fun making it!
As of right now Angry Birds is not an officially licensed bounce house theme. As an alternative we suggest the Castle Combo bounce house. The primary colors go great with the Angry Birds theme. Your partygoers will enjoy hours of bouncing fun with this bounce house.
You can’t forget about the sweets. Create a cool display for your treats with a candy buffet. This lets your guests select what they want and makes for eye catching decor. Have fun with different colors or stick to just one color. We liked the look or this all red display. Yummy!!
Party favors are always a nice way to thank your guests for joining the fun. Here’s a few ideas that won’t make your guests leave “angry”. Fill bags with sweet treats or use the candy from your candy buffet. These masks are adorable! You could even give the masks to the guests as they arrive.
We hope that your Angry Birds party is a success. Take a look at our Pinterest Board for Kids Party Ideas for more inspirations. Check back for more party ideas and inspirations for your next party!
Should I Buy an Inflatable Movie Screen?
Written on December 23, 2011 at 8:11 pm, by admin
As inflatable rental company operators we often struggle with making decisions on which sectors and niches we should go into next. The possibilities are endless when it comes to new and exciting avenues to make money as a party rental company operator.
One of the hottest trends in the past few years for party rental companies, especially inflatable rental company operators has been inflatable movie screen rentals. Inflatable movie screens are awesome if you have ever been to an outdoor movie event. The renters love having movies outside under the stars for their school, church, company, or even pool side in their very own backyard. Is the inflatable movie screen game for you?
You can buy simple small movie screens at some of the big box stores and warehouse stores. If you are thinking about buying one of these screens for your party rental company you should stop now and stick with your core rental company items. When a customer calls to rent a piece of equipment, often times they are expecting a more commercial grade piece of equipment that they would not otherwise purchase themselves.
Purchasing the equipment necessary for a commercial-grade inflatable movie screen operation is easy. You simply need to purchase a screen, some basic audio equipment, a dvd player, some basic cords, and a projector. There are reputable inflatable movie screen manufacturers in the United States and overseas who can provide you with a great product and great service.
The movie screen behaves and handles much the same as a normal bounce house or water slide. They roll the same, are made from the same material, and cost about the same to purchase. The audio and video equipment can seem daunting and intimidating at first, but once you set up the equipment a few times you become accustomed to it.
The most difficult thing about inflatable movie screen rentals is logistics. Many times when you are an existing party rental company you will have jam-packed days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. You know what it’s like to be doing pickups well into the evening and early morning. Imagine coordinating the time, employees, and vehicles to have another setup in the early evening and having someone stay there to man the equipment while the movie night is happening. Managing the logistics of inflatable movie screens is the hardest part of starting an inflatable movie screen business.
Once you figure out your movie screen setup procedures you will need to train your employees to do the same, and up to your strict standards. They need to understand all the video and audio components and how to properly handle the electronics so as not to damage them. There is a lot more handling required than a bounce house, tent, or tables and chairs.
The best thing to do when considering whether or not your business is ready for inflatable movie screens is to talk with others who currently are in the business. Talk to the guys who are in the trenches doing the set ups every weekend and talk to the owners and operations guys who manage the scheduling of these screens.
Inflatable movie screens are an exciting and challenging niche in the inflatable rental company’s endless list of possible business opportunities!
Honda EU6500 Product Review
Written on December 20, 2011 at 7:19 pm, by admin
Generators are often the most misunderstood and most difficult part of a rental fleet in the inflatable world. Watts, amps, and electricity in general seem to confuse most people when they first start out in the bounce house and inflatable rental business.
We recently acquired new generators for our rental fleet at AZ Bounce Pro. We purchased new Honda EU6500 generators. As the name implies the generators are 6500 max (surge) watts and 5500 running watts.
We have owned several different generator types over the years. We’ve had Generac, Briggs and Stratton, and other generic brands of generators, and none compare to the quality, power output, cost (not in a good way!), or low noise level of the EU series Honda generator.
First off, the Honday EU6500 runs almost $4,000 to purchase brand new. I will preface this review with that. It is often out of one’s budget to purchase one of these generator. We paid $3,850 for each one of ours from a local vendor who carries many of these generators in stock. So is the generator worth the money?
The first thing that everyone notices about these generators is the low noise level. Traditional gas powered generators are known for being loud and generally pretty annoying. The EU6500 is so quiet you can carry on a conversation with someone while standing only a few feet away. Turn on the “ECO mode” on the display panel and you can barely hear the thing running! The EU6500 delivers great power at only 60 dB! Most standard generators run at 70 dB and more.
The display panel or control panel of the EU6500 is one of the most impressive of any generator I have ever used. There is a digital display that shows you how many hours are on the unit. You can also check the voltage and the wattage being used by the generator at any given time. This is particularly useful when you are at a large event, plugging in multiple blowers all at once.
So how much capacity does the EU6500 have in terms of blowers? We can run up to FIVE one horsepower blowers on this generator, possibly more if we really pushed the generator to its max. For different mixtures of blower power I would lower the blower count. For example, I would run a max of four 1.5 hp blowers, and maybe three 2.0 horsepower blowers, although I have not tested these different scenarios.
The generator comes with two separate 20 amp circuits, and one 30 amp, three prong receptacle. We purchased a three prong adapter with three separate “regular” plugs that come off the end of the adapter. This adapter is how we run five blowers on the generator.
Are there any downsides to the EU6500 generator from Honda? Yes, the only downside to this stellar generator is fuel capacity. The fuel tank only holds 4.5 gallons of fuel. When running at full bore this generator is rated to run for 4.7 hours, which is pretty accurate in our estimation. At 1/4 load the generator is supposed to run for 14 hours. However, that would mean we would only be running one blower on the generator, at which point we would run one of our EU3000 generators.
All in all, the EU6500 generator by Honda is the most impressive piece of generator equipment we’ve ever purchased. We have had many different types of generators since we started our bounce house business and this is by far, not even close, the best! I highly recommend purchasing a Honda EU6500is for your own rental fleet, if you can afford it. They are a great long term investment for any party rental company.