Updated #25: Would you be disapointed with just cake at a party place b-day party?

[AnnieW625]

Be honest with me.

We are debating about having DD1's birthday at our local Pump It Up! as DD1 has been requesting a party there since January (the last time she went to a party there), and truthfully at the two parties she's been to there she has had an amazing time. However to have the party there on a weekend is $315 (so $343 with tax) and that doesn't include an add on of food. Two slices of pizza per child and a drink is $2.95 per child, and if I just wanted pizza a whole pizza would be $15, so I figure we'd need 3 pizzas, total cost including pizzas and tax is almost $400. We can't bring in our own pizzas (would save at least $20 by buying just two large pizzas from Costco, and having them cut in squares vs. large slices), but can bring in cold salads, and dry snacks (what 5 yr. old is going to eat a cold salad?). I know you can have water bottles on the play floor, but I was thinking of just having snack packs of various cracker snacks like Goldfish, pretzels or fruit snacks available for them to have during a break, and then just do cupcakes in the birthday room. Maybe I could do grapes, strawberries, or orange slices in the middle of the table too. Does that sound reasonable? (I still need to call PIU and see if they will the dry snacks on the play floor)

We could save almost $100 by doing it there on a Monday through Thursday immediately following school, but since we have daycare friends too (and have to be out of town the one day the previous week that daycare is closed (district furloughs) for DN's christening we can't use that day) I would feel really bad if we couldn't have them at the party too, and don't want to inconvenience those parents. We could an all food included party for parents and adults on Friday afternoons for $375 and the party could be from 5 to 7 pm, but that is such a hard time esp. with WOTH parents IMHO.