Inexpensive function hall needed!

[pjlla]

DD's 16th birthday is coming up QUICK and we are absolutely STUMPED about where to have it.

First of all... home is OUT. I just cannot make myself NUTTY trying to get the house/yard/pool spiffy and sparkling for this party. I mean, I could, but

Second.... we do have a "hall" here in town that is plain and decent (no kitchen), but DD claims that "everyone" else has had their party there and she doesn't want to repeat.

Third.... no "fire halls" or "bingo halls" around here, like they have down south. We live in a small town in the boondocks.... no restaurants and no hotels. I've checked other local hotels and restaurants, but the prices are crazy for the food. I'd rather find a place where I can bring in my own food, if at all possible.

What kind of places should I be looking for? I have googled "function halls" and "banquet halls" and "restaurants" to DEATH! I'm about to just give up. Any ideas? (BTW, we are in a suburb of Manchester, NH.).............P

 

[deezeealum]

what about your local rec center or church hall? We have also attended a couple of functions at the local sr center. Not a sr lving center but they had a kitchen and was very reasonable.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Instead of the money for a function hall (not sure what rental would cost) would it be more cost effective to just bring in a cleaning service for a "one-time" cleaning before the party? Then you don't have to worry about making the house spiffy. As for the yard/pool, isn't that what 15 year olds are for?

 

[lisabarr]

I am having the same problem finding a place for DD's Bat Mitzvah. Prices are crazy.

 

[MSSANDRA]

We use our church. If you do not have a church, check with friends to see if they can book theirs. Our huge life center with a full kitchen is like 40.00 for church members.

Maybe a park shelter??

 

[Tink-aholic]

Hi neighbor -- Londonderry here! I have a few ideas for you:

Do you know anyone who lives in an apartment, condo, or townhouse? Frequently, complexes have nice community centers that can be rented out by owners for a nominal fee. If the complex has a pool, the pool area and lifeguard can often be included in the negotiations.

Mel's in Litchfield can be a good place. Go karts, batting cages, video games, laser tag, mini golf, stuff like that. There is a restaurant on site, so you can feed everyone or just give out ice cream. Lots of people do parties there.

Have you considered one of the airport hotels? I know lots of people who have had birthday parties at the Homewood Suites (us included!). Depending on what size room you get, you can use the pool, the kids can stay over, and everyone gets a hot breakfast the next day.

I've personally always wanted to do a party at The Puritan Backroom on Hooksett Road in Manchester. They have multiple different function rooms, to-DIE-for chicken tenders, and they make their own ice cream. (seriously, I call their Baklava ice cream "heaven in a bowl").

If that doesn't work, how about the park across the street from the restaurant? Lots of places to eat and hang out, they have stationary grills, and a pretty awesome pool.

Whatever you decide, have a great time! Good luck!

 

[ntink]

sorry to hijack but Baklava ice cream?? sounds so delicious I am drooling. Is this a place where you can walk in and get a cone/dish or a sit down restaurant?

 

[semo233]

Pavilion at a local park

Barn party - anyone have a barn you can borrow?

Teen Center

 

[Tink-aholic]

sorry to hijack but Baklava ice cream?? sounds so delicious I am drooling. Is this a place where you can walk in and get a cone/dish or a sit down restaurant?

Both! They have a walk-up window where you can get a cone (or a gallon!) or you can go in to the restaurant and eat in there. Yum!

 

[Lucille1963]

VFW or American Legion?

 

[Swimalie]

Local fire hall?

 

[Priorityonecb]

I am going to second the idea of hiring a professional company to come do a deep clean. Cheaper than a rental, and a bonus of a deep clean! It shouldn't take long at all to clean up after the party if it was sparkling ahead of time! You could also spring for a karoke set up, or one of those blow up projection screens for a movie for a "Dive In" movie theme!

 

[dizluvah]

I live a bit north of you in Concord area but I have a few ideas:

Fishercats Baseball game - they have a great patio you can rent for parties during a game - we always fun at the games - some nights they do fireworks after the game

indoor rock climbing place - there are several around but in Manchester I think its called verticaldreams or something like that -

Christa Mcauliffe planetarium offers party package options

That's all I have off the top of my head...

 

[Pooh2]

The Audubon Society has nice room rentals, and will rent just the patio as well.

I know some towns who have rec centers will rent pretty cheaply.

I would not worry about getting things "sparkly clean and spiffy" for a bunch of teenagers if you go with having it at home. Having a pool is a big plus!

For our daughter's 16th, we had a campfire in the backyard, pizza, junkfood, soda. The kids were outside the whole time. They had a ball.

http://www.nhaudubon.org/facility-rentals/memorial-services

 

[C.Ann]

Any veterans in your family? If so, VFW..

Elks Club..

A friend or family members church hall..

Town park.. (Most have at least once section covered with a pavillion..)

Fire House..

Bowling alley..

Farm/barn..

Lake park..

Campground rec room..

Community Center..
-----------------------

Good luck!

 

[mkandjpsmom]

The Puritan Back room is very reasonable. I had my sisters shower there and they were the cheapest, and the food was so good! They have many different size rooms we only had 35 people. The hotel idea was also a good one. Many hotels have a hospitality room that they let you bring your own food in.
Good Luck!

 

[Aliceacc]

Try the Knights of Columbus-- there are lots of them and they frequently have halls you can rent.

 

[scrapquitler]

What kind of places should I be looking for? I have googled "function halls" and "banquet halls" and "restaurants" to DEATH! I'm about to just give up. Any ideas? (BTW, we are in a suburb of Manchester, NH.).............P

Elks Club, Moose Club, Masonic Temple, Local Churches, Fire Department, Park & Rec Dept., Senior Center, YMCA, VFW, American Legion, around here (CT all of those places commonly have a hall that can be rented out for functions, and many of them allow you to bring your own food).

 

[pjlla]

Thanks EVERYONE for so many great suggestions.

We do have an American Legion hall here in town, but it isn't very large.

We do NOT have most of the other things mentioned (like I said, we are a pretty small town), but perhaps I could find things like that in a surrounding town.

Y is OUT! DD swims on a Y club and we are pretty tired of seeing those walls!

We have given the church some thought. Nice room downstairs with a kitchen.... but our church is pretty active plus we would want to have the party the week leading into VBS, so that area might be pretty busy. But it still is in the running for consideration.

We'd LOVE to find a nice quaint barn... but no luck.

DD is a Rainbow Girl, so we could probably swing use of the Masonic Temple.... but our temple building is old and musty and a bit smelly... so it is out.


I will definitely be looking into some of the other suggestions, like the Audubon and the planetarium!

I did mention to DD that maybe rather than putting the money into a hall, perhaps I should put it into a pool service and a yard service... but she's had all of her parties here at home and was looking forward to doing something a bit different. We weren't going to offer swimming anyhow.... these kids swim together ALL the time and I don't want to be responsible for 20-30 kids in my pool at once.

I will definitely look into the Puritan asap! Didn't realize they were so reasonable.

Thanks again for so many helpful suggestions!.................P

 

[maleficentmom]

If your daughter has any hobbies that take place in a studio type setting ask there. We borrowed the studio where my daughter takes clogging lessons(for free,but we cleaned well after and got teacher a gift).We also have community centers(some of these are attached to volunteer fire halls) and ruritan clubs that might be a poosibility