Bits of advice for throwing your own Rollerskating Birthday Party: March 8
Everyone had a blast at my rollerskating party. I’m already planning on buying my own pair of skates and attending a monthly rollerboogie night. I wish that you may all know rollerskates and cupcakes and joy in your birthday parties!
Find a roller rink. It’s amazing, but not only are they still around, some of these rinks sport the same style they were built with decades ago. That’s right! Carpeted wall murals of planets and rollerskates! Do your research. A lot of rinks have a special themed night like “80’s” night, perfect for a carefree party.
When you speak to a rink:
Ask for their schedule and what the average crowd for various events might be. It seems that at most rinks daytimes are for kids and families, evenings are for younger teenagers, and later nights are for adults only. We chose a monthly event called “Space is the Place” at World on Wheels. The event is so popular that people who arrived 10 minutes after the doors opened were in line for 40 minutes and the joint eventually ran out of skates. Yes, I birthday partied amongst a throng of hipsters… hipster cooties!
Tell them you want to host a party. Some rinks offer a party package that includes cover charge and skate rental for a number of your pals. There’s often a cheaper fee to simply bring in food. That’s the option we chose. So my friends did have to pay to get in, but no one seemed to mind.
Ask about the music. Is this a club type event with a DJ mixing the tunes? Are you allowed to request that perfect Rollerskating song?
Go ahead and check the place out in person. You need to practice your skating skills anyway!
The food! It goes without saying, bring what you like! Folks were pretty respectful of the “Birthday Tables” that the different birthday parties had staked out that night. We did catch one stranger who thought he should have one of my cupcakes. And our stash of water bottles drew a lot of attention as the skating crowd grew sweatier… One stranger offered us 2 dollars for one bottle…
Here’s what you need to set the scene for your birthday table:
* Paper Table Cloths in your favorite color
* Disposable Plates, Cups, Napkins, and Utensils
* Your favorite sweet treat. I went all the way with my cupcakes. We honestly didn’t do anything too fancy to decorate my table, we let the precious yummy cupcakes do the talking.
* Small candies that folks can grab and run back to the rink
* A case of small water bottles
* Try to keep someone at the table at all times to keep an eye on things.
Extras:
The sky is the limit as far as decorating goes. Go wild! Balloons are a useful and easy way to mark your territory. Like I said, we didn’t go so far with the decorating. The ladies at the table next to us did (see the photo above). I don’t know their names, but I will always think of them as “The Tiffany’s” thanks to their awesome 80’s get ups! The were totally decked with balloons and bright decorations.
Here is the genius bit. You know those portable, battery operated tap lights? They had a few of those at the table! Take one of these lights, place a clear plastic flat bottomed bowl upside down over the light and Voila! You can place your yummy snacks on top of the bowl to save surface space… It was a totally awesome effect. Yay for the Tiffanys!
Attire: Remind guests to wear/bring socks! Nobody wants to go barefoot in those rental skates! Also, once you’ve skated a few laps you’ll be bit warm. Dress accordingly. Remember, outfits that might be slightly silly with normal shoes can look awesome with skates…