Let's Go To The Movies

Each year I struggle to come up with a reasonable (reasonably priced that is) birthday party destination. We used to have the boys' parties at home and those were always a lot of fun but also a lot of work. It was the cheaper option too. A couple of years ago we broke away from having them at home. We've done Kids Party Jumps (with inflatables) and the skating rink. In my opinion the skating rink was extremely affordable compared to other options.
This will be the first year that we have Aidan's away from the house. Always wanting to be like his big brother, he asked to have his at the skating rink too. I decided that 10-15 three and four year olds on roller skates may not be the most fun- especially for the parents who have to walk around the rink holding their hands the entire time.
Someone suggested having the party at the movie theater. Great idea, especially since Aidan's birthday is in August and being outside in August in Middle Tennessee is just plain HOT! I contacted Regal Cinemas here in Hendersonville and was blown away. I'm going to give you the breakdown. This may be useless information for a lot of you but I wanted to share just in case any of you here in Hendersonville or the surrounding areas were thinking about this option.
To have a birthday party at Regal Cinemas Indian Lake here in Hendersonville the cost is as follows:
Rent the party room $50.00
Per Guest: $15.25
The cost per guest gives the guest a movie ticket, kids combo meal (popcorn, drink, and skittles) and a tour of the projector room
For 15 guests grand total: in the range of $280
What????!!!!!
So, I scrapped that idea that is until I was talking to my neighbor and she suggested I check with NCG Movie theater in Gallatin. I have to say that I didn't get my hopes up. I had resigned myself to the fact that having a birthday party at a movie theater was not for us. I did call to check and here's the breakdown:
Rent the party room: FREE
Per Guest: $8.75
The cost per guest gives the guest a movie ticket, kids combo meal (popcorn, drink, skittles), and free drink and popcorn refills. You must have a minimum of 10 guests
For 15 guests grand total: $131.25
That's a huge difference. The key to finding a good date for your party is to log on to fandango.com and check their movie calendar. It offers you release dates for upcoming movies months in advance. This way you can be sure there will be an appropriate movie (for us that would be a G movie) showing on the day of your party.
If this is the option we go with, we'll definitely be doing it at the Gallatin theater. :)