Check out our online birthday party booking module to view some of our new great birthday party packages!  You can use the system to check availability for your date, reserve additional items like pizza, goodie bags, or balloons, and can secure your reservation while sitting in the comfort of your home.

Inflatable Kingdom offers a huge assortment of birthday party offerings for all ages of children, and we are very excited to be able to offer party planners a convenient way to check times and select entertainment packages for thier upcoming child’s birthday!

For more information and to view the online party booking yourself, check out our birthday party reservation system!

Just one more ball might find that sweet spot that scores the most points! Unlike other skill games, skee ball requires an unusual combination of dexterity, strength, finesse, and sheer luck.

Online Skee Ball

Online skee-ball is one of the most popular traditional games on the Net. Try out the free version at GreatDayGames.com (http://www.greatdaygames.com/games/skeeball.aspx) for a little break time entertainment! The online version is not as satisfying as the real life game, but it fills the skee ball hunger when you can’t make it to the arcade.

Skee Ball Varieties

Skee ball has become so popular, that it now comes in different varieties to keep the game interesting. You can shoot your skee balls into miniature basketball hoops, or knock over duckies to score points. Other versions may use the classic milk bottles or even bad guys with loaded weapons!

Skee Ball Secrets

Skee-ball players appear to throw better shots when they are short in stature, making it a favorite game for kids. Adults playing the game can often be seen in an arcade, standing on their knees to gain a better perspective.

If you’ve never tried shooting on your knees, give it a try the next time you play and see what a difference it makes in your game.

Thanks to Keith (http://mouthstick.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!CE0B674ED50D90F9!1661.entry), scoring big at skee ball is no longer an ancient secret.

(WARNING! If you play skee bal purely for the enjoyment of the game instead of the points, you may not want to read this next part unless you can show great restraint and not try out these strategies!)

According to Keith, the secret to scoring big points at skee ball is not to roll the ball down the center of the alley, but to bank the ball off the side, similar to a game of billiards. He claims that every alley has its own sweet spot that puts the ball in the money hole with just the right amount of speed. Using this method, you could be landing every ball in the 400-point hole! (You may be wondering if this works for the online version, and it does!)

Keith also recommends sliding the ball down the alley similar to an air hockey puck instead of winging it like a bowling ball. This most likely produces a quicker rolling ball with better aim. It takes a few tries to get the feel for it, but this tip holds true.

Skee-ball is a fun, addictive game for players of ages. Locate your nearest skee ball arcade or check out an online game for a little skee ball satisfaction. Try out a few of these tips and tricks on your game and be sure to share any skee ball secrets you have as well!

Our inflatable play center has all kinds of great fun activities for Portland area kids.  We are open regularly for open play sessions which are $5 sessions- open to the public!  If you are interested, check out our open play page on this website, and you can see some upcoming times which we open our doors for some great kids fun…

In addition to regular open play times here are some of the other kid activities which we offer at our Portland area fun center:

Birthday Parties- Kids birthday parties have never been easier.  Inflatable Kingdom offers a whole lot of fun for any birthday party.

Spring Break and Summer Camp Programs:  Summer camp opportunities are available for kids- call for details!

Drop and Shop Program:  We have an all new Drop and Shop Program at Inflatable Kingdom, which is the perfect solution for a busy mom who needs to get some errands run, or some holiday shopping done!

Kids night out:  The perfect solution.  Kids get some fun time, and parents have a night together.  Kids night out is a very good way to enjoy eachothers company, and let the kids have a blast too!

We offer all kinds of great kids activities in our fun center, several great inflatable games ranging from bounce houses, to slides, tunnels, obstacle courses, and more!  The parents lounge is very comfortable, and in plain view of the play area!

Why Sumo Wrestling?

Sumo wrestling is wildly popular because it is hilarious for watchers and participants. Everyone wants to witness two overly padded people roll around and try to knock each other out of a wrestling ring. This slapstick humor adds instant life and fun to any gathering of people.

Types of Sumo Wrestling Suits

Sumo suits come in two varieties, foam padded, or air inflated. Both kinds offer padded protection from injuries and pain as you knock your opponent around inside a padded wrestling ring.

The protective headgear also keeps you safe and adds to the hilarity of the sumo suits by imitating the long hair distinctive to Japanese sumo wrestlers. Not only do you look like you weigh 400 pounds in a sumo suit, but you can really get into character once you don the wig-covered helmet.

Most sumo suits also come with padded gloves to help avoid injuries during the wrestling match. This adds to the look by covering up normal sized hands with thickly padded, flesh-like gloves. The suits even come complete with an imitation diaper-like covering for modesty.

Considerations for Using Sumo Suits

Since most sumo suits are made of a vinyl type material, adding water to the games is a recipe for disaster. The suits should be kept away from water to help prevent injuries, falls, and chaffing.

Participants using the sumo suits will most likely need some help getting into and out of the suits. This means that more than two people should be present during the sumo match to help wrestlers get in and out of their suits. (The fire department frowns on being called out to pry a wrestler out of a stuck sumo wrestling sumo.)

All safety gear provided with the suits should be worn during play. This equipment is provided for the safety of participants and onlookers. Please read and follow all user guidelines provided by the manufacturer or rental company.

Sumo wrestling suits provide hours of riotous fun for adults and teenagers at nearly any type of gathering. Participants get to experience the sensation of sumo wrestling and outrageous physical combat from within the safety of layers upon layers of padding. Sumo suit wrestling is a guaranteed way to spice up your next special event.

Fundraising with Inflatable Slides

We’ve all seen those fundraisers where some poor soul gets hauled off to “jail” ad your donations are needed to set him free. The inflatable side can be used in this manner by selecting a well-liked or prominent member of your community and forcing them to sit at the top of the slide.

The community enjoys sliding past the prisoner until the cows come home or until the donation goal is reached. This provides a terrific photo opportunity once the donation goal is reached and the happy prison is finally allowed the enjoyment of sliding to the bottom.

Similar to the Relay for Life walks, an inflatable slide can be used to raise money for a good cause while providing healthy and enjoyable physical activity for participants. Participants gather sponsors who donate either a set amount of money for every hour of sliding, or a flat rate fee for participating in the event.

Volunteers climb to the top and slide to the bottom repeatedly for as long as they can. You can hold record-breaking contests and provide small prizes to encourage volunteer participation.

Generating Income with Inflatable Slides

Inflatable slides naturally attract children of all ages, and even a few fully-grown adults. You can capitalize on this attraction by charging patron to use the slide.

You may choose to run special promotions where customers earn the privilege of sliding with a local celebrity, or invite the local newspaper to come and take snapshots for publication in the next day’s paper. Publicity is vital to create a buzz, and placing your inflatable in a high-traffic area yields the best results.

Many business owners spend hours wracking their brains for ideas that will draw in new customers. Why not use inflatable slides to advertise your business? You can quickly set up fun slides in your parking lot or community area with a banner on the side advertising your business. Then, simple provide refreshments, balloons for the kids, and sale flyers promoting your business.

Be sure to offer special discounts for customers who visit the slides then purchase goods or services from your store. Providing a community service, in addition to the entertainment, also shows that you are concerned about your customers. Sponsor a health fair, provide tutoring for underprivileged children, or collect canned food for the local homeless shelter or food bank.

Inflatable slides are natural moneymakers and easily draw large crowds with the proper placement and promotion. The income potential with inflatable slides is only limited by your imagination, good weather, and the amount of daylight hours in a day.

If you need a few luau inspired games, these luau-themed party game ideas can serve as entertainment for your party or as terrific idea starters to help you come up with your own unique ideas for Hawaiian style party games.

Traditional Luau Games

Nearly any party game can be converted to a luau theme, but many hosts prefer a more genuine luau game that conveys a truly authentic Hawaiian spirit.

In ancient Hawaii, the king would be challenged to surfing contests to prove his strength and worthiness to continue to serve as king. You can host your own surfing contest by challenging guests to various tests of balance while onlookers squirt participants with water guns.

You can set up balancing obstacle courses, make guests walk a balance beam, or balance a board over a small barrel for as long as they can without letting the board touch the ground.

Ancient Hawaiians would also sponsor hunting contests for sport. The prey was often a wild boar and sharpened spears were the weapons of choice. You can convert this Hawaiian inspired idea into a dart contest by decorating the dartboards to resemble wild pigs.

Hawaiian food is a large part of any traditional luau. You can invite guests to participate in a timed race to create the most skewers of fresh veggies and fruits for grilling.  In addition, you can hold an eating contest to see who can consume the most skewers in a given time period.

Hula dancing is a staple of luaus. For this game, you provide the grass skirts and Hawaiian themed music and your guests provide the entertainment as they compete in a hula dance. Provide several prizes for the best dancer, the worst dancer, and the crowd favorite. You may need to provide an instructional hula dance to help your guests get started.

Non-traditional Luau Party Games

Some adapted party games for a luau party are hula-hoop contests, the tropical Limbo, seashell scavenger hunt, Hawaiian word scramble, pin the coconuts on the hula girl, lei making contests, decorate the pineapple, or don’t drop the pineapple races.
Other options for Luau Party Games

Luau games can serve as starter ideas for crafting your own versions of Hawaiian party festivities or you can choose to play them as described here. Luau party games provide festive fun for guests of all ages and can be adapted to any type of social gathering. Get in the Aloha spirit and plan your tropical party with these great entertaining ideas.

Children of all ages love playing on our inflatable bounce houses, slides, games and other fuin options.  We have plenty of comfortable seating for adults, and offer a great customer experience to everyone.

At Inflatable Kingdom, we are dedicated to meeting the needs of party planners. And our convenient Lake Oswego Party Place just ads to the ease of getting your group together for a great celebration!

Our 5000 square foot event space is the ideal location for any birthday party, office party, retirement party or special event.  We have all kinds of custom party options which are available to meet the needs of even the most discerning party goer!

Sweet sixteens are our specialty- we can offer a better value than any facility out there!

So what are you waiting for?  Book your party today!  Call 503.718.0994 and let us know what you are thinking!

When it comes to any work related social function the cardinal rule is to remember that regardless how fun the atmosphere is it is all about “business.” Do not make a silly mistake and risk damaging your professional reputation, advancement opportunities, or growth potential due to one evening of inadvertent slip-ups.

Holiday Party Tips…

• Moderation – Eat, Drink, Be Merry- but do not overindulge. The office holiday party is an excellent occasion to have a good time. Where else will you find the President of the company bellied up to the bar with one of the delivery drivers? But keep in mind- alcohol added to you and your boss can equal a serious “open mouth, insert foot” type of situation… If you choose to drink use moderation.

• Attire – What to wear, what to wear… Keep in mind that this is a business function. You should not approach your attire the same way you would if you were going clubbing, out on the town with your party friends, or to the local meat market.
o Ladies, leave anything short, tight, or revealing in the closet.
o Men, the same rules apply! PLEASE!
You have worked hard to create the image and perception your coworkers have of you. Revealing to many of your “personal assets” at the company holiday party can not only alter a colleagues or managers assessment of you as a capable professional, it can also lead to drawing the wrong type of focus from other overindulgent party goers, or other embarrassing situations.

• Schmooze – Get to know, get known. The holiday party may be one of the few opportunities you have to even meet the CEO, VP’s or other company officials. It is time to shine. Introduce yourself and make yourself visible to the management crew. Make an effort to go outside of your comfort zone. Don’t spend the entire time with your regular office cronies… Mingle a bit- enjoy the party get to know people from other areas in the company if possible.

• Guest list- Are you on it? You should never assume. Make sure you have an invitation and can go. Avoid an embarrassing situation… This also applies to your guests. Some companies invite significant others, others don’t. Be sure you know who you can bring before you show up with them turning your holiday party into an uncomfortable situation…

• Formal Recognition - If you are a top level employee, a great performer, or are due for some appreciation one thing that is common at the company holiday party is to be honored with a toast. If you are, accept the honor gracefully and with dignity. Don’t drink to yourself or clap when others are applauding you. Also extend your gratitude and offer a reciprocal toast to the person who mentioned you. Thank them for the recognition and express your appreciation tactfully.

• Fashionably Late, Staying to long… – Little things are noticed. Never be the first to arrive unless you have an assigned task or are the party planner- it is a good way to avoid being uncomfortable from the start of the evening. Showing up 20 minutes before the event is over is also a major boo-boo in the company holiday party world. People might think that you did not want to be there and are simply “making an appearance.” On the other extreme, don’t party all night and stay until the sun comes up… Your colleagues and managers will notice these errors in judgment.

• Manners, Manners, Manners… Always thank the event planner, event coordinator, or the people who put on the event. Gracious thanks to the host or hostess is always appreciated as this person often put out a lot of effort to make sure you would have a good time. Saying thank you and a job well done is a great way to make someone feel good, extend some holiday spirit, and a great way to make you stand out above the many party goers who don’t.

Holiday Party Planners

If you are the holiday party planner, keep these things in mind:

• Diversity is Key… A “Christmas Party” may leave some people feeling a little bit isolated, alienated, or less a part of the group. A “Holiday Party” is a much more acceptable way to term the event so that all your guests feel included.

• Pick a good date/time… Should you hold the event in the evening, daytime, weekday, weekend or weekday? Every company has different needs. Some companies shut down the operation for a day, others shut down early… If you are inviting families/significant others take into consideration school hours, spouses jobs- if you are not inviting children then take into consideration that some employees may have to find baby sitters. Match all those conflicts up with the busy holiday season- and you have a reason to start planning and get those invites out early!

• A central location to everyone. Trying to find a place within a few miles from the place of work is typically best. Some companies choose to hold their holiday events at the office- if you have a reasonable facility this can be a great success. Otherwise you can rent an event space!

• Invitations - Clearly convey all information to the invitees. Let them know everything you can
about the holiday event, host/no host bar, spouses/children invited or not, suggested attire, date/time/location, etc… This is a good time to add some excitement about the event, let people know about a raffle, drawing, games, or other draws which are planned!

• Ultimately if you are planning a company event- do your best to put a party together that reflects well on the company as a good place to work. The right location can make a difference, controlling the flow of alcohol, and the interests of the group are extremely important aspects for planning a successful holiday party!

We are the perfect place for a nice get together where you can meet new friends and families, reconnect with people from last school year, find out what happened this summer- and let the kids have a great time playing!

Our portland event space is the ideal location for any back to school event- here is just one great option we can suggest for a class party:

School Party TOTAL ACCESS - 3HR Event

* Up to 100 kids
* Private Use of Entire Facility
* Bounce House
* Castle Combo Unit
* Giant Slide
* Wacky World Obstacle
* State of the Art Sound System
* Popcorn/Nachos/Lemonade station
* Paper Plates/Napkins/Forks/Cups Included

From $10 per child! Valid Through Oct 12th 2008.

We host company parties for all types of groups and offer space rentals, entertainment planning, event planning, catering options, and complete event hosted solutions for all sizes of groups and budgets.  From formal events, to more casual, laid back type of gatherings- we can provide you with a 100% PRIVATE location for your event.

For more information on your upcoming holiday event- call us today @ 503.718.0994

We have all kinds of great company christmas party ideas available- and can customize our Portland, OR event space to meet your needs.