Bounce house recommendations

csuave · July 2016

I am on the neighborhood committee that is working on our August community day which will have some free activities. This year we have some money that has been donated and we are deciding what to do with it. The donation was unexpected and there is no way to tell if it will repeat in the future.

One idea is to buy a bounce house. I have seen some on Amazon for around $250 and I know people that have bought them for their kids birthday parties because it seems more MM than renting.

We have one quote to rent and it is $300 for the day but it will be bigger and sturdier allowing more kids at one time. Plus I think it comes with a person to set it up and monitor it.

We don't have a ton of kids in the neighborhood and most are pretty young. I wouldn't think more than 10 kids total would be bouncing or in line at any one time so I think we could be ok with buying something smaller scale that doesn't fit a ton of kids.

For reference our other activities that kids will do include: face painting, lawn games, bingo with prizes, a dj, and possibly a craft area.

Does anyone have a bounce house recommendation for purchase? Or other ideas on what we might want to spend a few hundred on to enhance the day?

als1982 · July 2016

I know I'm a fun killer, but I would personally worry about the liability if you purchase one instead of renting it from an appropriately insured vendor.

hoffse · July 2016

als1982 said:

I know I'm a fun killer, but I would personally worry about the liability if you purchase one instead of renting it from an appropriately insured vendor.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

Rent from a vendor if you are going to do this.

jtmh2012 · July 2016

Please don't take this personally @hoffse, but it's a sad day when people can't have fun without having to worry about a lawyer knocking on their door.

And yes, I know it's been like this for awhile. Only in America....:(

smerka · July 2016

My kids are 5 and 6 and they are too big for those junior bounce houses. And it is very hard for an adult to get in there to fish a kid out. And you then have the issue of who is going to store the thing. What if they use it for a personal party and then break it. Etc. I'd rent one.

MommyLiberty5013 · July 2016

Interesting. We actually own a Little Tikes bounce house. It's about 6' x 6' and we use it in the winter time indoors for our kids and sometimes their friends. It's super easy to store. We bought it on Craigslist for $100 cash.

But, if you're doing a neighborhood event, I would likely rent one and be covered by whatever liability coverage the vendor offers.

If you did just buy one, like a Little Tikes version then who gets to keep it? Can they use it privately in their own home? Or, is it stored by your HOA instead? Who has to run the electricity for it? Where is it placed? What if it's damaged? How do you cover liability?

Seriously, liability stinks but it's a real concern. Many parents are pretty reasonable and know that accidents happen with kids. But some parents are jerks and/or are looking for express ways to get money.

csuave · July 2016

Thanks for the feedback everyone. To answer some of your questions:
-Liability is a concern and would be the major blocker to doing this. Possibly to renting as well because I haven't see enough evidence (in my limited looking so far) that our local rental places are properly insured...and then there is always the issue of the suing party going after our group anyway. Anyway, I'm looking into this because yes it is a concern on both the buying and renting options.
-It would be owned by the neighborhood group and stored in our building which is only accessible by the person with the key (the president). Electricity comes with the building and wouldn't be an issue because it can be run to the grassy area outside of the building.
-Only the group would use it at our limited events. If it became damaged or unusable then that would be the end of it, but that isn't a huge concern because whatever we spend the money on will likely have a limited life span anyway....such as an alternate form of entertainment that can only be used one time. But assuming the other potential issues are solved for, the best case scenario is we get a few years of use out of it.

@mommyliberty5013 how big/what ages are your kids? Would you say 3-4 little kids at once is the limit for your size house?

hoffse · July 2016

jtmh2012 said:

Please don't take this personally @hoffse, but it's a sad day when people can't have fun without having to worry about a lawyer knocking on their door.

And yes, I know it's been like this for awhile. Only in America....:(

No worries, I don't do that kind of law and find it distasteful

But unfortunately, it's a real consideration. One of the partners I ocassionally work for was sued a couple years ago by a UPS driver who "slipped and fell" on her driveway. He filed the lawsuit 3 days before the statute of limitations ran, and he alleged that he fell delivering a package that they could never find a record of having actually been delivered (or ordered). Also, the weather records for that day indicated that it had not rained for several days on either side of the incident. Despite all of this, the litigation went on for about 18 months and actually went to trial (she won, thankfully). In Alabama, delivery people are invitees on your property, so you owe them a heightened duty of care whether you know they are coming or not.

Because of that I don't have packages delivered to our house if it can be avoided. H and I also don't fly the flag of our alma mater because we are concerned somebody will see it and assume we have more assets than we have based on where we went to school (Vanderbilt).

Sad, yes. But as a senior partner I work for likes to say, "The courthouse is always open."

LillibetteV · July 2016

hoffse said:

jtmh2012 said:

Please don't take this personally @hoffse, but it's a sad day when people can't have fun without having to worry about a lawyer knocking on their door.

And yes, I know it's been like this for awhile. Only in America....:(

No worries, I don't do that kind of law and find it distasteful

But unfortunately, it's a real consideration. One of the partners I ocassionally work for was sued a couple years ago by a UPS driver who "slipped and fell" on her driveway. He filed the lawsuit 3 days before the statute of limitations ran, and he alleged that he fell delivering a package that they could never find a record of having actually been delivered (or ordered). Also, the weather records for that day indicated that it had not rained for several days on either side of the incident. Despite all of this, the litigation went on for about 18 months and actually went to trial (she won, thankfully). In Alabama, delivery people are invitees on your property, so you owe them a heightened duty of care whether you know they are coming or not.

Because of that I don't have packages delivered to our house if it can be avoided. H and I also don't fly the flag of our alma mater because we are concerned somebody will see it and assume we have more assets than we have based on where we went to school (Vanderbilt).

Sad, yes. But as a senior partner I work for likes to say, "The courthouse is always open."

I used to do this type of law on the defense side and yes - people will sue for anything. Some people will even lie and make up a lawsuit knowing that they'll get paid a little something just to go away (it's cheaper than paying the lawyers to beat them in court...) And I live in Massachusetts which has surprisingly conservative juries (you are NOT winning a dime for spilling hot coffee on yourself here) but it's still not worth the legal fees sometimes.

Do you have food planned for the event? My first thought would be to rent out an ice cream truck!

csuave · July 2016

Food already covered. That is always the first priority for spending.

jtmh2012 · July 2016

LillibetteV said:

I used to do this type of law on the defense side and yes - people will sue for anything. Some people will even lie and make up a lawsuit knowing that they'll get paid a little something just to go away (it's cheaper than paying the lawyers to beat them in court...) And I live in Massachusetts which has surprisingly conservative juries (you are NOT winning a dime for spilling hot coffee on yourself here) but it's still not worth the legal fees sometimes.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this here, but my wife is from Bangkok, Thailand. When we went over to visit, there's a pedestrian walkway just outside where her parents live. Right next to the side of the walkway, there's a huge bundle of what look to be electrical cables running down the street.

I asked her how somebody doesn't do something about that. Especially with kids going up and down the stairs. Like wouldn't somebody sue over that? She told me the courts would laugh you out of there for being stupid and wouldn't even allow you to file the case.

LillibetteV · July 2016

jtmh2012 said:

LillibetteV said:

I used to do this type of law on the defense side and yes - people will sue for anything. Some people will even lie and make up a lawsuit knowing that they'll get paid a little something just to go away (it's cheaper than paying the lawyers to beat them in court...) And I live in Massachusetts which has surprisingly conservative juries (you are NOT winning a dime for spilling hot coffee on yourself here) but it's still not worth the legal fees sometimes.
I don't know if I've ever mentioned this here, but my wife is from Bangkok, Thailand. When we went over to visit, there's a pedestrian walkway just outside where her parents live. Right next to the side of the walkway, there's a huge bundle of what look to be electrical cables running down the street.
I asked her how somebody doesn't do something about that. Especially with kids going up and down the stairs. Like wouldn't somebody sue over that? She told me the courts would laugh you out of there for being stupid and wouldn't even allow you to file the case.

ha! yea we let people sue over anything, but that looks pretty bad! my favorite are the professional plaintiffs that make a career out of tying up the courts with frivolous suits.

I've been a litigation paralegal for 9 years and most of my work has been defense and the few plaintiffs cases I've worked have been ones that we've gone "holy crap - that's SO BAD. Of course we have to help this person!" Every time my husband complains about stupid lawsuits I remind him that it's my job to defend them and that stupid people are the reason his wife is so well paid.

short+sassy · July 2016

Depending on the size of the bounce house, my friend rented a good sized one for a Superbowl party and...let me tell you...there were a lot of adult guests jumping around in it also. Myself included, lol.

On the subject of lawsuits, my property insurance agent told me that more and more insurance companies are refusing to insure homes that have a broken up/damaged sidewalk in front of the house. In our city (and I think most), the sidewalk is city property and their responsibility. It has zero to do with the homeowner. But, that has not stopped many lawsuits from being filed from people tripping over a sidewalk. They'll include the homeowner and their insurance carrier for the house that is closest to that part of the sidewalk.

It is rare the damaged party is ever awarded anything to be paid by the homeowner/insurance in these cases (according to my agent). But that doesn't mean people don't try, which forces the insurance company to use their and/or hire attorneys to fight it.

MommyLiberty5013 · July 2016

csuave said:

Thanks for the feedback everyone. To answer some of your questions:
-Liability is a concern and would be the major blocker to doing this. Possibly to renting as well because I haven't see enough evidence (in my limited looking so far) that our local rental places are properly insured...and then there is always the issue of the suing party going after our group anyway. Anyway, I'm looking into this because yes it is a concern on both the buying and renting options.
-It would be owned by the neighborhood group and stored in our building which is only accessible by the person with the key (the president). Electricity comes with the building and wouldn't be an issue because it can be run to the grassy area outside of the building.
-Only the group would use it at our limited events. If it became damaged or unusable then that would be the end of it, but that isn't a huge concern because whatever we spend the money on will likely have a limited life span anyway....such as an alternate form of entertainment that can only be used one time. But assuming the other potential issues are solved for, the best case scenario is we get a few years of use out of it.

@mommyliberty5013 how big/what ages are your kids? Would you say 3-4 little kids at once is the limit for your size house?

Yes, I would limit the use to 3-4 kids at a time. Certainly no adults. The Little Tikes houses are NOT the same material as the commercial bounce houses you see rented or at fairs, etc.. They are durable, but not for high weights, adults, or many kids.

The interior size of ours is about 6' x 6' and 3 or 4 kids in there is the maximum. Also, it does not good to mix little kids like toddlers with the older 4 and 5 year olds. The toddlers cannot manage it properly with bigger kids inside. Shoes need to come off, of course. Whatever you buy (if you buy anything) will advise you on the number and weight of people inside at a time.

Whatever you end up doing, you need to have an adult or responsible, assertive teen nearby monitoring the bounse house usage by the younger kids. And, you need to keep older kids and adults out.

vlagrl35 · July 2016

I use to work for a commercial insurance company and I was an office clerk. I would spend my entire day issuing certificates of insurance. Summer was the busy season and people would rent tons of bounce houses so I would totally rent it from a company to cover the possibility of liability issues.

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