The school summer holidays are nearly here. Six weeks of later mornings, trips to the park, family visits, summer events and, inevitably, adults wondering how on earth they are going to keep the children occupied tomorrow.
At Dancing Cubs, summer is one of our favourite times of year. Children are out of school, families have more opportunities to spend time together, and London fills up with parties, festivals, weddings, hotel events, community activities and family days. Our London Soft Play Hire service provides equipment for all sorts of summer occasions, from a toddler’s birthday at home to a large public event with hundreds of families attending.
Our equipment is not only for private parties. We work with parents, businesses, hotels, leisure centres, event organisers and other organisations that want to provide younger children with somewhere suitable to play during the school holidays.
Six weeks is a long time when you are two
Older children might have holiday clubs, sports sessions and days out to keep them busy. Babies and toddlers have their own priorities. They want to crawl, climb, move things around, investigate, repeat the same activity seventeen times and occasionally sit in a ball pond refusing to leave.
Our Soft Play Packages give younger children opportunities to move and play at their own pace. Depending on the package chosen, children can climb soft shapes, crawl through tunnels, use slides and spend time playing among the balls.
You can read more about the way children interact with play equipment in How Children Play on Soft Play, Why Play Matters and What’s the Point of Play?.
Summer entertainment does not have to mean leaving London
A children’s party at home, a play session at a leisure centre or a family event at a local venue can provide something different to do during the holidays without requiring a long journey or an elaborate day out.
Summer birthday parties at home
Having a birthday during the school holidays has its advantages. There may be more time to organise a celebration, relatives might be visiting and children are not rushing home to finish homework before the party starts.
Dancing Cubs provides children’s party equipment for homes and suitable gardens throughout London. Our 1st Birthday Party Ideas, 2nd Birthday Party Ideas and 3rd and 4th Birthday Party Ideas can help parents choose equipment for different age groups.
You can hire Soft Play, Ball Ponds, Bouncy Castles and Toys & Big Games, depending on your venue, the children attending and the space available.
London gardens are not always enormous. If you are planning a party at home with limited room, take a look at our Small Spaces equipment.
When the weather sends the party indoors
British summer weather has never shown much interest in following anyone’s event plan. A sunny forecast can change, rain can arrive unexpectedly and very hot days can make an indoor venue the more comfortable option.
Soft play works well in halls, hotels, leisure centres and other suitable indoor venues. An indoor booking can also make it easier to plan ahead without spending the week before the party repeatedly checking the weather forecast.
Our Setting Up Indoors and Setting Up Outdoors pages contain practical information for anyone deciding where to hold their summer event.
Summer holiday soft play for leisure centres
Leisure centres are busy places during the school holidays. Families are looking for activities, children have time away from school and venues may run additional sessions or seasonal programmes.
Mobile soft play can be used to create temporary play sessions for younger children without requiring a permanent installation. Equipment can be selected according to the available floor space, age group and length of the programme.
For organisations planning activities over several days, weeks or longer, Dancing Cubs also provides Long Term Soft Play Hire and Play Installations & Exhibitions.
Keeping younger hotel guests occupied
London hotels welcome families from the UK and overseas throughout the summer. While adults may have a packed itinerary, younger guests still need opportunities to play.
Hotels can use soft play for family events, brunches, holiday programmes, weddings and temporary children’s areas. Our Hotel Soft Play Hire Ideas include options for hospitality venues wanting to provide play equipment for babies and toddlers.
Depending on the available space, equipment can include soft play shapes, Soft Play Climbing Frames, ball ponds and White Fencing to help define the children’s area.
Summer festivals and community events
London’s summer calendar is full of festivals, fairs, community celebrations and outdoor events. Families can spend several hours at these occasions, so providing activities for different age groups is worth considering.
Our Festival Soft Play and Large Musical Festivals services are intended for organisers planning family areas for younger visitors.
We have commercial soft play equipment, ball ponds and more than 100 metres of White Fencing available to help create clearly defined children’s play spaces at suitable large events.
Children’s entertainment for summer weddings
Summer remains a busy season for weddings, and young children are often among the guests. They may not be particularly interested in speeches, table plans or waiting patiently while photographs are taken.
Our Wedding Entertainment For Children can provide babies and toddlers with their own activity area within the venue. Soft play, ball ponds and fencing can be chosen to suit the available room and style of the celebration.
For events where appearance and colour schemes are particularly important, browse Luxury Colours Soft Play, Luxury Colours Ball Ponds and our thoughts on All that glitters is gold not - aesthetics in the soft play realm.
Summer office parties and corporate family days
The school holidays can also be a useful time for businesses to organise staff family days, summer parties and workplace events that include employees’ children.
Dancing Cubs provides Corporate Fun Day Entertainment For Toddlers, Office Party Ideas For Children and equipment for Bring Your Child to Work Days.
Businesses running promotional activities can also use Brand Colours soft play and Product Launch equipment to create children’s areas that fit the wider event.
A ball pond in summer? Absolutely
Ball ponds are not seasonal. Children are quite happy to play among hundreds of balls in January, July or any month in between.
Our Ball Ponds come in many different colours, sizes and themes, giving families and organisers plenty of choice. They can be hired with soft play or used as part of a larger children’s entertainment area.
Cleaning ball pond balls is a substantial job when you own as many as we do. Dancing Cubs uses specialist Ball Pool Cleaning equipment to clean and maintain our stock between hires.
Planning a summer play area
Before choosing equipment, think about the ages of the children, the number attending, the available space and whether the event will be indoors or outdoors.
A toddler birthday party for eight children has different requirements from a hotel family day or a public festival. Choosing equipment according to the event rather than simply filling every available metre usually creates a more practical play space.
Our Safe Play Guidelines, Delivery & Collection information and FAQs can help answer some of the practical questions that arise before booking.
Summer dates can fill quickly
The school holidays bring birthdays, weddings, festivals, corporate events and seasonal programmes into the same busy few weeks. If you already know your event date, venue and approximate number of children, booking earlier gives you more choice when selecting equipment.
Summer soft play hire throughout London
Dancing Cubs provides children’s entertainment throughout the capital, including Central London, North London, South London, East London and West London.
We also work throughout individual London boroughs and neighbourhoods, including Lewisham, Lambeth, Chelsea and Hackney.
From a few toddlers playing at a family home to a temporary children’s area at a hotel, leisure centre, office or summer festival, our team handles the delivery, setup and collection of the equipment included in your booking.
What will your children be doing this summer?
Six weeks can contain a lot of play. Birthdays, family gatherings, weddings, festivals, holiday activities and afternoons spent with friends all give children opportunities to move, socialise and try something different.
If soft play, a ball pond, a bouncy castle or a larger children’s play area is part of your summer plans, browse our Play Equipment, take a look through the Gallery or read Why Choose Dancing Cubs.
To discuss summer holiday soft play and party hire in London, visit Contact Us and tell us about your event, venue and the children attending.
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