Buying a Residential Bounce House

Kids just love the bounce house. For their birthday parties we normally rent a bouncy house but as the family keeps growing we rent them several times a year. When you get to this point it might make more sense to invest in the purchase and buy a non commercial bounce house instead of continuing to rent. Not only will we save money in the long run but the kids will be able to enjoy it year round.

• Adult supervision is required at all times.
• Observe weight limits and maximums
• Children only - group in close age range
• Remove shoes before using
• No sharp objects in or around the bounce house.
• Keep pets away
• No food or drinks
• Do not use in inclement weather

Bounce house have the potential of tearing at the seams through misuse or accidents. Patching material is available for repair, whether the bounce house is made from lightweight vinyl or commercial-grade PVC for use with continous air blowers, some models come with pre packaged repair materials.

So recently I undertook the mission of volunteering to find a bounce house to rent or buy for my niece's 3 year old Dora birthday party. They rent starting at about $200 dollars for a 24 hour period. If you want a particular character be prepared to dish out on the higher end.

I'm thinking I'm in the wrong business!

Where I live there is no local party supplies store, everything gets brought down from the nearest big city. To get a bounce house I would have to pick it up and return within 24 hours as they won't deliver unless there is a minimum package purchase.

Driving 40 minutes to pick up and 40 minutes the day after the party to drop off sounds like something I'm not willing to do. I'll have my hands full with clean up and out of town visitors as it is. Plus, it's not like they offer a discount for not having to drop it off or pick it back up.

Then I will look into purchasing a bounce house. The commercial grade ones, meant for everyday use and to accommodate a larger number of kids run upwards of a thousand to a few thousand dollars. That's not going to work. Wow, guess my little niece will have to do without!

I feel guilty. I know how much my grandkids enjoy the bounces we have rented. Just a few weeks ago they removed a half body cast from her legs. She is only three, a replica of the character Dora. She broke her femur bone on Christmas Eve when a shopping cart flipped over and landed on top of her while strapped in the carts front seat. It was accident, her older brother was pushing her and he slipped, both his feet went right underneath the cart, his weight brought down the cart on top of my nieces thigh. Needless to say she didn't have much of a Christmas as far as I'm concerned, to her I don't think it really mattered. Kids are resilient and even though a terrible situation she was a happy little camper with her bright red holiday cast.

I have not promised her one for her birthday. As a matter of fact her party is a surprise for her.

I think about all this and decide before I give up I will look up bounce houses on amazon, target, toysrus and walmart. What do you know? They have some great looking ones, colorful ones of varying shapes and styles. Are these really up to par? Will they literally blow up after a few uses?

I spent the whole evening looking at price, quality, size and best value for my money. I am now the proud owner of a multi colored reef scene bounce house capable of accommodating about 5 kids of 100 pounds each or total limit of 500 lbs.

I decided on a mid ranged price one with great reviews from others buyers. These non commercial jump houses are good for outdoors or indoors if you have the space. They come with a commercial 1hp blower, stakes for attaching into the ground, and a repair kit that I hope not have to use any time soon. Just like at carnivals the rule is, shoes off - only socks allowed. I might even invest in a metal detecting wand make sure these kids aren't carrying anything prickly. Just kidding!

As much as the kids in our family love to bounce the bounce house and as much as my collective family rents them I figure it to be a pretty good investment. The kids can make use of it at every gathering be it a birthday, pool party, or plain old weekend. It will give the adults a bit of rest and relaxation and allow us to enjoy a nice cold drink while the little ones bounce their way into exhaustion and hopefully a good nights rest.

The themes, colors and and sizes vary but the one constant is plenty of fun.