White canopy tent with side walls

[dreamin_disney]

DD will be 15 this year and I'm looking to plan her party. We usually have it in the backyard. Shes a winter baby and we've always been lucky with good weather living here in California. Last year the weather wasn't great. It rained and it was so cold!!!!!!! We clear out our dining room and set up tables and chairs. We managed to get 4 in there but only 3 were used comfortably. We bought tarps for our patio and had 3 tables outside. Problem was people didn't move to the livingroom after eating and hogged up the tables. Luckily some people didn't show up because they thought party was cancled due to rain and some were sick. We still had about 30-35 people.

Anyways I don't want to chance dealing with bad weather this year. We want to accomdate our usual family crowd of about 50-60 plus a few more distant family another 20. Well I found a simple hall but its $500(includes table, chairs and hall. Plus the added cost of table cloths, decoration, food, cake its all adding up!!

I've looked into white canopy rental with walls and those are running about $300-$400 not including tables and chairs or anything else.I'm starting to wonder where do these party places buy their canopy tents and if investing in one would be good. DD's bday the weather is always unpredictable, plus Her grad party in 3 years (hot sunny summers here)

Has anyone ever invested in one and where did you buy it? just thinking about it if it would be worth it

oh if you have a 20x30 or 20x40 how many people does it seat?

 

[englishteacha]

I just saw one on Maine Craigslist for $2500. We have a big family reunion every summer at my mom's camp, and we'd thought of getting a big tent. Unfortunately, there are many trees and the ground is not level, so it wouldn't work very well. We've ended up with ropes and tarps on many occasions.

 

[Kellydelly]

Have you called any local hotels to see about renting their meeting rooms? I know the hotel near me (A Hyatt) rents out a good sized room for $250 for 5 hours. You supply everything for the party, of course. Just a thought .

 

[supergoofy]

I don't know where rental places get them but they are expensive new and if the rental company is selling it then its pretty worn out.


Down side to those units as I have put up/taken down hundreds of them is the space they take up and the time it takes to put up/down.

We usually sent out 2 guys to put up/take down a tent and it was about an hour each way. The top is seriously heavy and took 2 of us to throw in the truck. The poles are 8' long 2" round steel poles and we had a pile of concrete blocks to keep it from flying away.


Personally I would buy/borrow the 10x10 easy up style canopies that's the name brand. You can also get generic for cheaper. They are great as they fold up into a small easy to handle case and can be used for all sorts of things.

 

[Tink9295]

Check Amazon. They have a white 10by30 tent with side walls for $159. Prices differ based on size.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

As PP suggested, keep checking for halls and meeting rooms. Our local 4wd club gets the back room of a tavern for free if we agree to buy the food from them. And they're very reasonable on their food prices.

 

[plummer925]

Sam's Club sells 10x10 Ez Up canopies for about $200 - you can buy 4 or 5, use them and resell them on Craigslist for $175 each.

 

[pjlla]

I had always wanted to rent a tent for a party (my DD has a summer birthday), but the cost always held me back. But we went ahead and rented a smaller tent (20 x 20 if I remember properly) this summer for her graduation party. It held about 4-5 round tables with 8 chairs each and could have held more if needed. It was the type from Taylor Rental that you put up yourself and it took DH, my Dad, my DS and my Mom about an hour and a good deal of patience and good humor. That being said, it stayed up well, but it did have the pegs in the ground plus the ropes. If memory serves, it was about $200. It did not come with walls. I can't imagine trying to put up a large one.

For what you will pay to either rent or buy a big tent or buy a quantity of EZ-Up tents, you could probably rent a hall. Look around to some more unusual places.... our old town hall can be rented on a daily basis for $10 (for non-profit functions). It isn't fancy, but it is big and bright and clean with restrooms and tables and chairs. We also have a recently renovated Grange hall that is available to rent (not sure about the $$) and there are church halls, Masonic Lodges, etc that will rent to non-profits (check the liquor rules if you plan to serve it) fairly inexpensively too. Some of kind of run down, but others are really nice and can offer things like tables, chairs, dishes, ovens, etc. Of course, that being said, if you BUY tents, you will have them for years.... as long as you have the space to store them, of course.

FWIW, I also had a back-up plan for the party this past summer, in case the weather ended up drizzly. I was going to buy some LARGE tarps/drop clothes and tack one side up high on the side of the house (over the deck) and then angle them down and attach them to some PVC pipes and then zip-tie the PVC to the deck railings. It wouldn't have helped in a downpour, but it would have definitely worked (I think ) if it was just one of those off-and-on sprinkling kind of days. I think that would also work to keep the sun off, but our deck gets shade by 2pm, so that wasn't needed for our purposes.

Have a wonderful party!.................P


ETA: Have you asked friends and family about borrowing tents? I know, if you are like me, you wouldn't want a hodge-podge of various colors, etc, but if you just ask about borrowing WHITE tents, it might work out. Or do you have any friends or family who might ALSO be looking into big parties in the next few years (Sweet 16, Quincenera, bat/bar mitzvah, graduations, etc) and would maybe share with you? You could buy half and they could buy half, you could store them separately but share for big events?? Just some other thoughts.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I've been doing some more searches on Craigs list. I've found a 20x30 with walls for $140-$180. I also sent a few more inquiries so lets see what prices I get.


Now if I use a tent and its cold (California weather in Dec) will those heat lamps work good ? It might be a night party

I like the idea of owning one but putting it up and taking it down might be a problem but not as bad as everyone wanting to borrow it and expecting up to lug it around-lol!


We own 6 rectangle tables but I love the look of the round tables for a more fancier look.I figure we can use our rectangle tables to put food, dessert buffet, drinks, gifts
If you have rented a 20x30 how many round tables fit?? Thanks


so far
Hall, rectangle tables and chairs $500 (list on website but I need to confirm)


Canopy-$140-$180
round tables $5-$7ea
chairs .50 each

-Dh's friend said we can borrow his heat lamp
-I'll make food

Dh thinks it might just be to cold for a canopy party but thinks hall is way to much. Its mainly his side of the family though

 

[auralia]

Have you looked into churches? Church basements often rent for 100$ or less around here and are just as well for these things. We have rented at churches we are not members of.

 

[dreamin_disney]

-moose lodge $500

-American legions $750-$1000 plus security guards @ $75 ea, plus kitchen fees and clean up fees

elks lodge-$1000+

Cultural Hall-$750. plus security guards, kitchen fees, clean up fee

I haven't tried hotel banquets or churches. Incase we have a DJ not sure how churches will be with a night party and DJ if we go that route.

Local community center- no food allowed