Sprog and Sprocket

Tag: Indoor Playground

We’re back to bringing you the safest and cleanest play experiences in town!

Good gracious, is it fall already?

We’ve been laying low in the top-secret Sprog & Sprocket bunker since spring, and have only just resurfaced – so, did we miss anything?! Now that the family has bathed, stretched and had a good meal, we’re back to giving you the very cleanest & safest play experiences in town! If you’ve missed being able to rent the best soft play rentals, ball pools and indoor playgrounds, long no more – WE ARE BACK!

WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?

Truth be told, we have at times been wishing for a real life secret hideaway to escape the upheaval of 2020. No joke. While bunkering down we’ve been working on some other projects that allowed us to keep Sprog & Sprocket safely wrapped up while we got to grips with what a future might look like for a play rental business in this reshaped Covid world.

Like you, our most important project is always our family. These last few months have blessed us with more time to make memories with our children and loved ones. Some memorable moments include a 3rd birthday and a 7th birthday! We’ll be feeding some of those special moments into our social media updates over the next while.

WHAT DOES BUSINESS LOOK LIKE RIGHT NOW?

As we are today, Sprog & Sprocket is still not creating play spaces for mid and large sized events and parties and we are only setting up at rented venues under some strict and specific conditions. BUT, you can still rely on us to help give your little ones a day, weekend or even a week to remember, for your at-home parties, celebrations and play days.

WE DREAM OF HYGIENE

The importance of hygiene and our cleaning processes have been built into our company values since day one. But cognizant of the times, we approach every step during our cleaning and sanitation with the utmost care so that we can continue to provide our customers with the safest and cleanest play experiences offered in Calgary. You can learn about the steps we take to keep our play rentals the cleanest in the business right here – the We Dream of Hygiene cleaning process

CHANGES TO OUR PACKAGES

Portable Playground – An Indoor Playground That Comes To You

You can now rent the Portable Playground for all day for $30 less than our previous four-hour rental rate. We also provide the Portable Playground for weekends and week-long (m-f) rentals. We are so excited to be able to bring the indoor play centre experience into the safety of your home – garage set ups only!

Does a garage set-up sound a little weird? Trust us, they’re awesome! See some example pictures on Instagram here – @sprogsprocket and get more info on these cool garage set-ups over on our Portable Playground page.

Toddler and Pre-School Soft Play

At-home parties are the new normal and it’s the only way you can guarantee that your kids are enjoying the safest and cleanest play experiences during these wild Covid-19 times. In addition to our awesome playground for the older kids, for those with kids under 3, we have you covered. We’ve made the process of renting our small soft play packages (such as The Mini or Lil’ Rollers) super easy – all we need to know is the size of your vehicle and we can tell you how much soft play can fit!

Ball Pool Rentals

Interested in a sensory rich play option for kids 18 mo.-12 years old – our ball pool rentals remain a customer favourite and we now have a longer weekday rental option to accompany the one or two day weekend rentals.

Winter Play Days

Even if you’re not planning a birthday party – our play spaces will be the perfect way to your keep kids active when those cold winter days set in.

No one knows how the winter will play out having Covid-19 lurking around, but what we can do is keep on keeping each other safe. While we currently explore what our business looks like in this ‘new normal’ we remain committed to playing our part in keeping our customers and community safe at every step of the way.

Renting with us is now easier (and safer) than ever, and we can’t wait to serve you and help create those lifelong memories we all cherish so much.

Ever grateful for your support,

Simon & Marija Nash

Playing Peek-a-Boo in the Portable Playground

September 30, 2020
Planning Your Kid’s Party Without Losing Your Mind – Part 1
Planning Your Kid’s Party Doesn’t Have To Be Stressful

Parties are meant to be happy – so why stress yourself out when planning your child’s next birthday bash. These few tips will have you planning your kid’s party like a pro!

Staying stress-free during the party planning process starts with a long hard look in the mirror:
- Are you a craft queen or a DIY-did-I-bother?
- More botch than boss when it comes to cake making?
- What’s your budget (don’t just think about money here – how much time do you have available?).
- Playing to your strengths and budget is half the battle. Stick to what you’re good at and get some help with the rest!
1. Create Guest Lists For Your Kid’s Party

8-12 Weeks Ahead

There used to be this old rule that the number of guests you invite to your kid’s party should be your child’s age plus 1.

But let’s be real here – what kind of party is it with just 2,3, or 4 kids?

Kids entertain each other, so while more than a handful can sound daunting, with a bit of direction and some good activities they’ll pretty much look after themselves.

Our Rule of Thumb:
- For a kid’s party aged 4 and under, anything from 5-9 guests is enough to make it feel like a party – but not a circus
- For a kid’s party aged 5+, 7-14 is ideal for keeping the atmosphere (and yourself!) alive
2. Equipment Rentals for your Kid’s Party

(8-12 Weeks Ahead)

If you are going to be renting equipment for a party, get it done as soon as possible (we are booking into Christmas already!). Ideas for kids’ party rentals that you may need or want to consider are:
- Entertainment such as the Sprog & Sprocket Portable Playground or one of our Softplay packages
- Tables & Chairs
- Catering or food equipment – think chafing dishes, tableware, linens, cotton candy or popcorn machines, etc.
- Tents or gazebos
- Kids’ party props & décor items
It’s good to know what equipment you’ll be having at the party so that you can select an appropriate venue. For example, our Portable Playground can’t be taken up or down stairs.

Anchor Event Rentals out of Cochrane and The Rental Guys in Calgary are two great businesses that supply event equipment rentals

3. Decide When And Where Your Kids’s Party Will Take Place

8-12 Weeks Ahead

Outdoor spaces such as your backyard or another venue that allows you to move the party between indoors and outdoors is ideal when weather permits. This also gives you the choice to move things entirely indoors if inclement weather totally takes over – a good option for the early Spring/late Autumn – especially in Calgary!

Your house & backyard is the obvious choice but also consider a relative’s house if yours isn’t an option.

In Calgary you can also host kids’ parties at:
- A community centre (read our post about Calgary community hall rentals here)
- Cultural clubs around Calgary are also good choices and most of the time they offer really fair rates
- One of Calgary’s beautiful parks make for family-friendly party spaces (though for the younger kids, I’d make sure you have parents stay so that you have the extra adult supervision). In some case you’ll also need a city permit so don’t forget to check that out!
If you’re going to be planning a summer birthday make sure you get the contact details of your child’s school friends before they break up for holidays!

BONUS TIP: Wondering how long you should expect to host for?
- 2-3 hours seems to be the sweet spot
4. Settle On A Creative Kids’ Party Theme

4-6 Weeks Ahead

It’s a good idea to decide on your kid’s party theme early so that you can build your party plan & make your shopping lists.

If your child is old enough to contribute, ask them what they would like – or for younger children give them a couple of choices to choose between.

Helping them feel special through the process will increase their excitement about their special day!

Our Event Planning Tip:
- Start early and leave yourself the time to shop around and wait on shipping times. Sites like ETSY have some seriously talented folk making amazing décor, but you’ll want to get orders in early so you aren’t panicking just before party day wondering if everything will arrive.
Come the big day your kid’s party will be ready for that perfect Instagram post and you’ll be looking as cool as the cucumber in one of my favourite summer cocktails (thanks Minimalist Baker!)

4. Create And Send Out Party Invitations

4 Weeks Ahead

Aim to get your invites out about 4 weeks before your kid’s party. This gives people enough notice that most won’t already have plans. At the same time, it’s not so far ahead that people put the invite out of the way and forget about it.

Paper invites going hand-to-hand are a great way for kids to personally invite their friends (check back soon for some free printable Sprog & Sprocket invites).

When it comes to snail mail vs. email, my go-to for invites is always the electronic route; I love the additional features that you get with email invites! Plus,
- I can manage it all from my phone
- They get delivered immediately (no wondering about lost post)
- It’s FREE (or very nearly)
Our Picks For Electronic Kids’ Party Invitations

Three sites that are worth considering for email invite include Punchbowl, Paperless Post and Evite.

Punchbowl:

I think Punchbowl is awesome for kids party’s because:
- They have a wonderful variety of free designs for kids
- Party invites can include lots of great free features
- If you want some exclusive designs, premium features and to eliminate any adverts in your invite you can upgrade to their premium plan for $6.99/month (1 year plan) or a single month for $29.99
Paperless Post:

another great site, again with great features and they offer some truly beautiful designs. They offer:
- Collaborations with well-known designers such as Riffle Paper Co., Littlecube and The Indigo Bunting
- They also have a Disney collab that looks very chic if your trying to get the best of both child pleasing and style savvy together
- Paperless Post works on a coin system that you buy in bundles; they’re anywhere from $0.07 – $0.30USD depending on how many you purchase and a premium invite will cost on average between 2-7 coins per guest.
Keep in mind, they’re a bit sneaky with how they advertise some of their ‘free’ invites because while the ‘card’ is free the envelope will sometimes cost a couple of coins per guest. They give 25 free coins to new sign-ups.

Evite:

I’ve included Evite in here because it is often what pops to people’s minds when they think electronic invitation, and because it also has some great features:
- You can change the RSVP style to have it better match your party theme
- Set more than one event reminder (3 max) for your guests
- Collect your guests’ photos at the end of an event
Pricing is pretty simple – it’s either free or its premium. For premium invites you’re charged based on the number of invites going out (sort of); packages of 15, 50, 125, 300 and 750 are available and you can’t transfer any unused invites to your next party (so if you have 20 guests it will cost you the same as if you had 50).

Do you have a favourite invite site that I haven’t mentioned? Share it with us in the comments and I’ll be sure to check it out!

Starting the planning process 8-12 weeks ahead may seem early but this allows you time to secure any party rentals before your special day gets booked by someone else!

If your kid’s party falls on a weekend that might be busier than normal – like Canada Day weekend for example – then get your party rental booked as early as possible so that you aren’t disappointed! Booking one of our playgrounds or soft play spaces is super easy! Fill out our contact form here or call us on 403 719 7776.

Happily serving Calgary, Cochrane, Airdrie, Chestermere & Okotoks

Stay Tuned for Part 2
April 16, 2018
You’re Mental If You Don’t Read Our Blog Series On Community Hall Rentals! (Scenic Acres)
So you’ve decided to host Calgary’s most awesome kid’s party and don’t fancy holding it at your house – Now what!? Choosing a Calgary Community Hall that fits your needs!

As if you don’t already wear enough hats through the week (cleaner, driver, bum wiper, negotiator, etc..!) – you’ve now taken on the job of being a kids party planner. Yay!

You’ve made the wise decision (we might be biased here) to not book a bounce house rental or get stressed out in one of the crowded indoor play places. Congratulations! By hosting a Sprog & Sprocket Soft Play Party or being one of the first in North America to have your very own play centre with our Portable Soft Play Playground, you have taken step one in kids party planning enlightenment!

Now, what about where to host the party? Well, Calgary’s Community Centres have fantastic hall spaces and are a great option for hosting a kids birthday party! Luckily for you, we have the inside scoop from each hall we set up in! We’ll be documenting our findings in a series of blog posts, with the idea of helping you select the perfect calgary venue and making planning your kids birthday party as easy as possible.

The series starts in the North West of Calgary and we begin with Scenic Acres Community Association…

Scenic Acres Community Association

8825 Scurfield Dr NW

Calgary

T3L 2A8

Tel: (403) 547 9589

www.scenicacres.ca

What Is The Access Like?

The first thing we look at when viewing a community hall is what the access to the space is like. It should be important to you too as it’s not just us bringing in our play equipment, you will also likely be bringing in birthday cake, party decorations, food and a herd of excitable party animals!

Not having any stairs to climb here is super helpful, and when planning your party equipment rental whether with us or another event rental company, it is something we always look out for. Parts of the soft play equipment can be very heavy and not able to go up/down staircases.

Community Hall Features:

Mountain Views

As soon as you walk through the door at SACA, you can see the community hall space to your right and you may also be slightly distracted by the INCREDIBLE mountain views across the back. The hall’s large and panoramic windows show off the view and really elevate the space into something quite special.

Kitchen

Another great feature of SACA is the kitchen attached to the mail hall. From the kitchen, there is a large open hatch into the hall and all utensils and cooking equipment are clean and in good working order. It is important to note that the kitchen is ‘residential’ and so you aren’t able to prepare meals from scratch due to fire regulations, but you are welcome to bring in any prepared foods and use the cooker to heat them and maintain their serving temperatures.
- Residential kitchen: all major appliances
- Basic mixing bowls/utensils/serving trays
- 12, 36 or 100 cup coffee makers
Amenities

Next to the kitchen is the storage room where you will find tables and chairs – all good quality and clean with very easy access to bring them in to the hall and move them out at the end of your rental.
- 24 rectangular tables 6 feet x 2.5 feet
- Chairs for 125 people
- Built-in sound system: CD/Cassette/MP3 capacity (speakers in ceiling)
- Microphones
Size

Depending on the size of your party, you may also wish to use their boardroom as an additional party/cake/present opening room. The main hall is 1600sqft (12m x 13m) so you would need to be throwing a pretty big bash to need that extra room, but it’s good to know that it’s available! It’s also bright and spacious with lots of wall space to put up your party decorations and accomodates up to 36 people!

Other info

Some other features of SACA which makes for a good choice as a birthday party venue are fantastic access from Stoney Trail and Crowchild Trail, a large parking lot and friendly and helpful staff. They are a very busy community hall and we recommend booking your birthday party or event with lots of notice.

In fact, when you’re looking into your soft play rental or playground rental with Sprog & Sprocket, we advise reserving your date with a minimum 3 month notice. It’s April at the time of writing and we do have Christmas party bookings in the diary).

Can we easily set up the Portable Playground at Scenic Acres? YES

Can we easily set up a Toddler Soft Play Package at Scenic Acres? YES

Have you hosted an event at Scenic Acres Community Association? Leave us a comment, we love hearing your thoughts and ideas on what makes a good birthday party location!

Thanks for reading : )
April 9, 2018