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Ride On Time Party Diary – Miles Of Smiles on the Road

by Justin Taylor (Co-owner of Ride On Time) – 21st April 2024

Ride On Time had a busy party schedule this weekend with 4 deliveries to eager birthday boys & girls across the county.

A sunny Saturday morning found me in Long Hanborough delivering 15 assorted vehicles to the Hanborough Recreation Hall. A very happy lad who loved his motorbikes. Then off to Brize Norton where we delivered another 15 vehicles to an excited family. Sometimes the Mum’s & Dad’s are just as excited as the children!

Sunday morning saw a big delivery to Ardley Village Hall where along with 15 vehicles. We delivered most of our extensive accessories range including the roller coaster ride on, mega lego bricks, construction soft play, construction bundles and fancy dress box.

Our accessories can be added to any package giving the children extra fun and also to offer something for all ages. They can all be viewed on our website www.rideontimehire.com/parties.

The final party delivery was to a lovely village called Horton just North of Banbury where the birthday boy was ‘tractor crazy!’ We delivered a fleet of 10 tractor/construction themed toys.

We meet such lovely families when we are out on deliveries and all the children have such an amazing time. We love being able to help create wonderful memories!

Looking forward to next weekend and another fully booked weekend!

10 top tips – how to make sure you enjoy the party too!

Planning a birthday party can be fun but it can also be a bit stressful. After 7 years in the party industry, we have seen every size and type of party and dealt with lots of scenarios. So

Here are a few tips to make it a great experience that you get to enjoy!

Decide what scale the party is, how many children will attend, and keep it manageable.
Decide on a venue. Book at least two months ahead if not more. Venues get very booked up. If you leave it too close you may need to have flexibility about the time of your party and date. If you have fixed ideas you’ll need to plan ahead to ensure you get the date and time you want. If your party is in the garden, will you have a wet weather option? Ensure you know what the cancellation policy is for the weather with any entertainment you book, especially bouncy castles as they are restricted by high winds.
Most parties are 2 hours long. That’s plenty of time for under 5’s.
When choosing a venue they will charge an hourly rate. You should allow plenty of time either side of your party to set up and clear away. This means it’s not stressful and you have enough time to get everything ready.
Make sure you know the arrangements for access to the hall. Will someone open up for you, is there a key code? Make sure you have any relevant information, contact numbers to hand for the day of your party.
Get plenty of helpers. Recruit family and friends to help you so that it’s not all on your shoulders to do everything. It also means you can watch your child having a great time and be part of the celebrations!
Send invitations out about 6 weeks before. Set an RSVP date. Provide your mobile number for people to text a response. A response isn’t always guaranteed so do keep in mind these children may still appear!
For ideas and inspiration places like Pinterest are great to give you lots of brilliant ideas to create a theme or Wow factor.
Try not to feel under any pressure based on peer groups or expectations. The most important person you want to please is the birthday boy or girl and as long as everything is for them that’s the key element.
Get other people to take lots of photographs so you don’t miss out on capturing great memories!

27th/28th April – Tip Tip Tip Dig Dig Dig

Saturday the 27th saw the Ride on Time van loaded up and ready to play en route in the morning to Brackley and the amazing Egerton Hall. A lovely party for a play session regular who absolutely loves the blue Police Truck….ne nor ne nor what a great time was had by all.

Back in the van and vrooooom off to Wardington near Banbury for the afternoon where Tractors and Diggers were the main attraction. 25 vehicles plus the realistic bricks made for a constructive time in the lovely village hall. A very helpful crew brought all the vehicles out for me at the end of the party. “That’s the Wardington way”

Sunday afternoon saw the Ride on Time van in Bodicote where again Tractors and Diggers plus the Roller Coaster were the dish of the day. A cosy but charming village hall. I absolutely loved my party, the birthday boy said. That’s our job to make birthday wishes come true.

4th/5th May – Will it or Won’t it…..Rain??

Saturday the 4th and off we go with a fully loaded van of ‘Big Stuff’ for a young ladies party in the City of Oxford. A great space at the Woodstock Road Baptist Church saw the Unicorn and Princess Carriages get a good gallop up add in the 4×4 Dinosaur, Taxi, Fire Engine and some large tractors made the party a big hit.

Sunday the 5th and the first outdoor garden party of the year in the lovely village of Aston. Would the weather be kind after a lovely morning more changeable conditions for the afternoon for Noah’s Tractors and Diggers. Amazingly it didn’t rain and the King Tractor Driver had the afternoon of his 2 year life.

11th/12th May – Far and Away the warmest weekend of the year so far.

Saturday 12th ‘If you need a party just yelp for help’!!

Paw Patrol was the theme so vehicles to fit the theme included Construction for Rubble, Police for Chase, Fire for Marshall and Pink for Sky. The location Eaton Bray near Leighton Buzzard is a lovely bright hall near the church.

A return party for a family we saw 2 1/2 years ago a fantastic time was had by all.

Sunday 13th a real warm day 25 degrees and a visit to Harpenden and the Batford Memorial Hall. Monster Trucks and cars were in order today and they were actively played with by the 15 children. It was a bit warm for them but they enjoyed it.

18th/19th May – Back closer to home this weekend

Saturday 18th saw a trip to Botley and the Seacourt Hall. Tractors, Diggers and the construction accessories were in play this afternoon. The whole family loved the afternoon.

Sunday 19th and an afternoon visit to the lovely Beckley Village Hall. Pink Pink and more Pink for the birthday girl. Unicorn, Princess and the whole pink procession were played with both inside and outside as the weather was superb.

Cheap Transport Days Out

If you have a little one obsessed with transport and things that move, here’s a few ideas for cheap, easy a fun activities to do! There’s always something to see out and about and if you find the right spot it can keep young ones very happy.
Always pack a snack or picnic as the combination of good food and great things to spot is a winning formula!
Even just going for a walk and finding a safe bench where a road is visible, you can talk about all the different types of vehicles you see & play games like count the red cars.
Obviously our list is local ideas for Oxfordshire but all these ideas can be applied for places near you.
If you have any other great ideas we can add to our list get in touch!

Planning a Birthday party successfully

Planning a birthday party can be fun but it can also be a bit stressful. After 7 years in the party industry, we have seen every size and type of party and dealt with lots of scenarios. So…

Here are a few tips to make it a great experience that you get to enjoy!

Decide what scale the party is. How many children. Keep it manageable.
Decide on a venue. Book at least two months if not more. Venues get very booked up. If you leave it too close you may need to have flexibility about the time of your party and date. If you have fixed ideas you’ll need to plan ahead to ensure you get the date and time you want. If you’re party is in the garden, will you have a wet weather option. Ensure you know what the cancellation policy is for weather with any entertainment you book, especially bouncy castles as they are restricted by high winds.
Most parties are 2 hours long. That’s plenty of time for under 5’s .
When choosing a venue they will charge an hourly rate. You should allow plenty of time either side of your party to set up and clear away. This means it’s not stressful and you have enough time to get everything ready.
Make sure you know the arrangements for access to the hall. Will someone open up for you, is there a key code. Make sure you have any relevant information, contact numbers to hand for the day of your party.
Get plenty of helpers. Recruit family and friends to help you so that it’s not all on your shoulders to do everything. It also means you can watch your child having a great time and be part of the celebrations!
Send invitations out about 6 weeks before. Set an rsvp date. Provide your mobile number for people to text a response. A response isn’t always guaranteed so do keep in mind these children may still appear! These days you can send online invites out or what’s app group invites. Check out our downloadable invitation on the website!
For ideas and inspiration places like Pinterest are great to give you lots of brilliant ideas to create a theme or Wow factor.
Try not to feel under any pressure based on peer groups or expectations. The most important person you want to please is the birthday boy or girl and as long as everything is for them that’s the key element.
Get other people to take lots of photographs so you don’t miss out on capturing the memories! The whole party can be a bit of a blur and you can be busy so asking other people to take photos means you get some lovely images.
Have spare party bags or extra party bag contents just incase an unexpected sibling turns up or someone who hasn’t rsvp’d does actually turn up.
Dont forget to enjoy it! Try not to stress. Whatever happens your child will have a great time and that’s all that matters.