This weekend, we had the pleasure of celebrating at my twin boys’ 8th birthday party.  This year we opted for a movie party at Le Colisée Kirkland for a viewing of Kung Fu Panda 2. It was a little more cumbersome to plan & host than we had anticipated.

Here are some of the problems we encountered:

Before the day of the party:

1. We would only know the actual movie time the Tuesday before the movie
2. The original time frame that the theater had given us was wrong so we were to be at the theater an entire hour before the movie began
3. When we requested a room to serve cake during that hour pre-movie it was denied based on lack of staff
4. When we offered to supply an animator, paid by us, we were told this would not be possible
5. We therefore had to adjust the start time & call all the parents to reschedule

The day of the party:

1. The greeting of the kids was chaotic as they were not “contained” in a room
2. We could not go into the theater without our designated staff member
3. When she finally escorted us into the theater, the movie had already started
4. A section was supposed to be reserved for all of the kids to sit together (3 rows of 6 kids).  The seats reserved were in 2 separate section across the aisle from one another.
5. Staff member had forgotten the 3D glasses & by the time she brought them in, distributed & unwrapped them with our assistance, another 5-10 minutes of the movie had elapsed
6. When the movie was over we were escorted to the party room downstairs by escalator.  This may not have been a problem for the 8-year olds at the party but we had some younger children amongst them.  Not a safe practice.
7. At payment time the staff member tried to pay me $2/child extra (over & above the  $3 /child surcharge for 3D glasses)

Things that worked:

1. The bin provided for jackets & gifts.
2. The pickup of the food at the counter on the theater went smoothly.
3. Once we were finally settled in the theater, the kids were happy & enjoyed the film (some were a bit scared).
4. Some of the kids spilled popcorn & when my hubby went to buy some to replace it, it was given to him free of charge.
5. My Scene membership got me about $10 off on the food portion.
6. The $5 Cineplex gift cards we gave as lootbags were a hit!

All in all the kids had a great time, but what was intended to be a headache-free party came with its fair share of stress.  Suffice it to say this party did NOT get the montrealmom.com thumbs-up, but at least the kids enjoyed it 🙂

Have you ever hosted a movie party birthday?  Where?  How was your experience?  Should I give up completely or is there still hope? Please share your experiences…