Does time really matter? Yes and no. There are some consideration when choosing a time for the party. Here, we discuss some of the pros and cons of the different periods in the day, to help you choose the best time for you.
To begin, we contemplate the times of the day. Morning, noon, afternoon, late afternoon and night. Majority of people tend to book within the first 3 periods, with noon or the lunch period being the most popular. In some cultures, night seems pretty popular. Here are some things to consider for each of these time periods.
Mornings
- children’s extracurricular activities
- difficult to find undercover areas at parks
- can provide more snack type foods for guests
Noon
- difficult to find undercover areas at parks
- can be the hottest time of day in summer
- need to provide more substantial lunch type food for guests
- most difficult time to book children’s entertainment
Afternoon
- easier to find undercover areas at parks
- can provide more snack type foods for guests
- nap time for babies and toddlers
Late Afternoon
- dusk is a common time for insect bites
- can start being cold in winter
- easy to find undercover areas at parks
- can provide more snack type foods for guests
- easy to book children’s entertainment
Night
- not suitable for park celebrations
- greater risk of insect bites if outdoors
- need to provide more substantial dinner type food for guests
- tired kids
- may clash with kid’s sleep time
- easiest time to book children’s entertainment
Specifically, when it comes to the children’s entertainment business, the lunch period between 11-1pm is the most popular time requested by families. Whilst this may be the case for our clients, within the industry, it is the least coveted time. For a business to be a success, one of the things that contributes to this is the ability to fit as many bookings throughout the day. In the face painting and balloon twisting industry, it is not uncommon to find that there is a 2 hour minimum booking policy.
In most cases, morning bookings start as early as 9am and are usually done by 12 or 12:30pm. And in the afternoon, 1-2pm is another common start time, finishing usually before late afternoon. A lunch time booking can sometimes restrict a business’ ability to fit at least 2 bookings in the day, depending on the times they have been booked. For those who tend to book at the last minute, they may find that noon bookings are the hardest to find. On the contrary, booking for a night event is often the easiest.
After considering all the pros and cons mentioned above, the goal is to help families to choose the best time for their parties.