Mumbai's kiddie parties are getting fancier

Tanya wanted a big party on her 10th birthday She wanted to invite the entire class of 40 children Varsha Shah Tanyarsquos mother was at her witrsquos end on how she would accommodate so many kids in her twobedroom apartment ldquoI was really stressed about how I would organise the party and I did not want to have it at the usual American fast food restaurant variety nor could I come up with any other optionrdquo she recalls Itrsquos when a friend suggested Hard Rock CafeacuteInitially Varsha was a tad apprehensive because Hard Rock Cafeacute is perceived as a space for adults to chill and groove in post work ldquoEven wersquove been with friends to grab a drink listen to music and honestly have never seen children floating aroundrdquo she reasons However her visits had always been in the evening Hard Rock Cafeacute does have a dedicated childrenrsquos birthday party package on Sundays where they offer the entire space for children to host their parties and this includes taking over the entire organisation starting with the food to providing a dedicated game host doing fun games and even a tiny art corner ldquoI went as a guest for my daughterrsquos birthday that was the best partrdquo says ShahSmall is big nowGone are the days when childrenrsquos birthday parties were small affairs with 1520 friends at home eating sandwiches and food that mother made and playing standard party games like passing the parcel and pinthedonkey In the last decade or so childrenrsquos parties have morphed into big events that require a great degree of planning and thoughtWhen parties first began moving out of homes it shifted to the easytofind fast food restaurant in the neighbourhood that had reserved spaces for big groups a banquet hall and the suburban club These days spaces that function as pubs or restobars in the evening but are relatively or completely empty in the afternoon have become venues to host birthdaysDevika Moghe Nimkar celebrated both her childrenrsquos birthdays at restolounges For her elder daughterrsquos birthday she had a Halloween themed party at On Toes pub in Bandra She hired the place for a Saturday afternoon between 1230 pm and 330 pm Nimkar said she chose the venue because the location was convenient and because it had a dedicated kidrsquos menu The fact that it was a pub did not bother her because the ambience during the day was anything but like a pub ldquoThe place was brightly lit and there were no bottles on display nor was a bartender present Even the music was muted and more suited for a kidrsquos party rather than a nightoutrdquo she informsFor her younger childrsquos party which was at IBar again in Bandra Nimkar said the children had a blast because they had a run of the place There were no other guests and the bar table was used as a dining table for the kids ldquoThe bar stools were slightly high but the children were very excited with the whole idea of sitting on themrdquo Even here the menu was catered to kids the place brightly lit up and there were plenty of childfriendly games like TugOWar In fact at IBar the additional attraction was the tablets placed at some of the tablesKids at a birthday party at Bandrarsquos IBar indulge in a game of tugofwar as parents watch onKids are loving itPuja Pusalkar organised her sonrsquos seventh birthday at Thank God Itrsquos Friday TGIF in Phoenix Mills She says she decided on the venue because the menu had a lot of things that children love ldquoI also had a lot of adults coming and the venue had an option where parents or other adults could get a drinkrdquo At the party they hosted a few basic games mdash nothing too boisterous while the servers did a birthday dancePusalkar iterates the fact that TGIF serving alcohol didnrsquot act as a deterrent because her party was during the day and TGIF always has plenty of family diners dropping in at that time The place was lit up childfriendly and the best thing was that the staff was extremely professional she elaborated on her choice Parent Shalini Kumar who attended a birthday party along with her child at Manchester United Cafeacute at InOrbit in Malad had a fun experience in the new environment ldquoManchester United was used as a restaurant for eating and parents grabbed a drink the partyrsquos main attraction was to the play zone in the mallrdquo she saidDay time is goodKumar who always hosts her childrsquos birthday parties at home says that restobars arent a bad option during the day because they are well lit up and more like family spaces in contrast to some spaces that are darkly lit made worse with blaring music ldquoI wouldnrsquot have a party here simply because it is way to expensive and also I would need to follow a set drill and not be able to set the pace and tonerdquo she explainsWill the goodold fashioned birthday party be a thing of the past Maybe not but the reality is that with more options parents will not mind outsourcing these bigticket days in their childrens lives as long as the space makes for a safe fun place for their little ones to let their hair down