Glasgow Sport Birthday Party

I like a homemade DIY birthday party.  However, at eight months pregnant, hosting Angus's third birthday party seemed a bit much.  Just as I was thinking about where to hold it, Glasgow Sport (part of Glasgow Life) put up a big display at Palace of Art, where we go for Play Gym, advertising their revamped party programme.  There are lots and lots of choices but one entitled "Parent and Child" seemed remarkably similar to Play Gym and I thought it would be ideal.

For £50, you get two hours in the venue and it is all set up for you.  We chose Palace of Art as it has decent car parking and we knew a lot of people would be coming from other parts of the city.  It's also a venue we visit weekly and Angus is familiar with it.  I wasn't sure where the tables would be squashed in but when we arrived the usual gymnastics equipment had been cleared away, with just the soft play parts, bouncy castle and balls, bats etc. left out.  Lots of tables and chairs had been arranged in a well-thought-out manner.  There was space left over for party games and they provided a sound system.

The staff were very helpful too.

At Palace of Art there is no option to have the party catered for but this didn't worry us.  I kept it very practical as the party was 10-12, with snacks, fruit etc. straight out of the box from the supermarket and birthday cake.  You have to bring your own decorations and everything else.  Again, you are left to clear up your own mess.  I brought lots of bin bags and threw everything in but the member of staff who came after the party said we were the tidiest party he'd ever seen.  If you want a party where you just turn up and it is all arranged for you, this isn't for you (at least not this option, at this venue) but it was perfect for a very energetic three year old and his very energetic friends.  They ran around for a solid two hours, were not fussed about any organised games and occasionally stopped at the food tables to grab a treat.  They absolutely did not care that there was no mascot, face painting, entertainer, decorations...  They just wanted to enjoy themselves.

The Parent and Child parties are available at a number of different locations.  It was tricky finding a date for the party at Palace of Art as we didn't want to clash with a game at Ibrox.  This left us with one option only.  This is the only criticism I can find though.

Overall, Angus was thrilled to be at Play Gym with his friends and to have a really long time to boss them about with his favourite activities.  If your child is into one of the sports on offer (swimming, inflatables in the pool, athletics, football, bowls, gymnastics, golf, hockey, skating, tennis, squash), then this is a brilliant option.