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Why I’ll Never Spend Another Thanksgiving Without an Inflatable!

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Inflatables: A New Thanksgiving Tradition
Inflatables make the holidays easier for parents, and more fun for kids!

 

If Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday, you’re not alone! It’s the perfect culmination of food, family, and football! Whether your family is large or small, inflatable bounce houses can help make an already special holiday like Thanksgiving, even better! Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude, usually celebrated with a traditional, family-style meal. When planning for a day like Thanksgiving, one must be open minded. Sure, things might not go perfectly, but when the family gathers around the table, perfection no longer matters. When we’re surrounded by the people we love, all feels right in the world.

Food

When it comes to the food at Thanksgiving, you might associate this holiday with turkey, mashed potatoes, or pie. These are common dishes, but as America becomes increasingly diverse, so do our Thanksgiving meal time traditions. While every family is different in what they’re dishing up for the holiday, many holiday dishes like turkey, take hours to prepare. This can be big fun, especially if you love to cook!

While plenty of junior chefs will jump at the opportunity to help in the kitchen when they get the chance, Thanksgiving may not be an ideal time for kids to practice their cooking skills. In some cases kids in the kitchen can be quite dangerous, particularly when there is a boiling pot of potatoes on the stove top, and the turkey requires you open the oven for occasional basting. In these moments, an inflatable for home-use is the perfect distraction. With a back yard bounce house set up outside (or indoors if you have the space), kids can keep a safe distance from the kitchen, and have lots of fun while they’re at it!

Family

For many, family is what the holidays are all about. Whether your family is large or small, chances are you’ll be spending Thanksgiving with someone you love. This is a great time to catch up with your favorite relatives, and it allows your little ones to get to know their relatives better as well. Inflatable bounce and slide combos give kids a chance to show off for their grandparents, and it’s usually where you’ll find young cousins spending their time. Inflatables can help keep your family entertained before or after dinner, and they make for the perfect ice breaker for shy kids.

The beauty of adding an inflatable bounce house to your arsenal of Thanksgiving traditions is that it can be used all year long. Many Blast Zone inflatables can easily be set up indoors so your family can bounce whenever, in any weather. Many find that while inflatables make the holidays more fun for kids, they also make life a little easier for parents too! Kids today are more accustomed to constant entertainment. With an inflatable at your Thanksgiving celebration, you won’t find a bored soul in sight.

Festivity

Thanksgiving is a holiday surrounded in traditions. From the foods that are commonly shared on this day, to the activities that happen in between, Thanksgiving is filled with familiar festivities. It’s a holiday where establishing traditions is part of the fun, and when you find something that works, you keep it going each year! Many families celebrate in different ways, and inflatable bounce houses are a great way to amuse your little ones between football and family dinner.

Whether you’re planning on watching Thanksgiving day parades, piling onto the couch for a holiday film-fest, or simply hanging out around the house, inflatables are a great supplement to any family’s Thanksgiving festivities. With your own Blast Zone bounce house Thanksgiving will never be the same, it will be better! You might even find that when you have an inflatable of your own, you’ll break it out for Christmas, New Years Eve, or even on a random Tuesday, just because you can!

Every family has it’s own set of unique holiday traditions. Some have customs passed down from generation-to-generation, while others make the holidays their own with a modern spin on time-honored traditions. No two families celebrate Thanksgiving exactly alike. Whether your traditions are old or new, the memories made become the string that ties everything together. Once you’ve experienced Thanksgiving with a Blast Zone inflatable at your disposal, you’ll never want to go back. Inflatables are an easy way to infuse any holiday with wider smiles and belly laughs galore. Thanksgiving will be just the beginning!

Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving from Blast Zone!
Get Summer Ready

Get Summer Ready With Blast Zone Inflatables!

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Get Summer Ready
Get Prepared for Summer with Blast Zone!

Summer is coming quickly, are you prepared? Summers are often a challenge for families. Kids are on break from school and they want some fun in the sun.  Taking kids to the water park each day isn’t exactly practical, so how do you ensure that your kids are making fun summer memories the way that you did growing up? What if there was a way to make family fun more accessible? What if the place to be this summer was in your own back yard?

You can make that fantasy a reality with Blast Zone Inflatables! With inflatables, you can keep your kids entertained while also encouraging fun physical activity. You can keep kids active without even realizing that they’re exercising. You can also get hours of fun each day without the admission fees associated with amusement parks and summer fun programs. Having an inflatable at home is a great way for families everywhere to get ready for summer, and with the variety available at BlastZone.com there’s an inflatable to suit any family’s needs.

What if there was a way to make family fun more accessible? What if the place to be this summer was in your own back yard?

If you’ve got a group of high energy kids at home, a huge bounce house like the Big Ol Bouncer is perfect! This large capacity bouncer is a great way for kids to expend their energy while they’re out of school on summer break. The beauty of a backyard bounce house is getting kids outside again! Because it can hold up to six kids at a time, there’s also plenty of room for friends! You might be surprised to find that the sounds of laughter and the view of a bouncer in your yard is enough to attract even the shyest of neighborhood friends!

If a little variety is what your family craves, we have several combos with multiple features. The Sidekick Bounce House, Ball Pit, Slide and Hoop combo is always an exciting way to spend an afternoon. The colorful combo features a bounce area and a ball pit so kids can bounce and play until they’re legs get tired, and then crawl into the ball pit to practice their hoop skills. The multiple features of an inflatable combo mean that even if your little ones have different interests, there will be something for everyone to do!

Spray N Splash 2
Bring the Water Park Home with You!

We all know that summer is all about staying cool in the heat, and if that’s your goal for the summer you are probably wondering, “what about water?” With the Great White Wild Slide, kids can beat the heat and really impress their friends! Water slides use much less water than a swimming pool would, making them a more economic option for summer fun as well. If sharks aren’t your thing, there are a bunch of fantastic slides to choose from, ranging in themes and color schemes.

If you’re looking for something to blow their minds, look no further than an incredible play park, with a bouncer, a water slide, a climbing wall and crawl tunnel all in one! You won’t need to pay to visit a water park again with an inflatable play park in your back yard.  These exciting inflatables allow your kids and their friends to beat the heat and stay entertained all summer long! Because they can be used wet or dry, your family can enjoy them even as the seasons begin to change and the weather cools down.

No matter what kind of summer you’re planning, Blast Zone can help you to get summer ready with an inflatable perfect for you and your family!

Recap:

  • Summers are better with Blast Zone Inflatables!
  • With inflatables, kids get fun in the sun and plenty of exercise.
  • Having your own backyard inflatable cuts down on entertainment costs.
  • A huge bounce house is perfect for entertaining groups of kids.
  • Inflatable Combos give everyone something to do!
  • Water slides are an exciting way to beat the heat.
  • Inflatable play parks bring the amusement park to you with multiple features!
  • With a variety of choices, there is an inflatable for every family.
5 creative ways to use an inflatable.

5 Creative Ways to Use an Inflatable at Home

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5 creative ways to use an inflatable.

To some people the appeal of a bounce house is a mystery. Perhaps for lack of personal experience, some might wonder why it is that kids flock to something so simple. The primary objective in a bounce house is to bounce, which could raise some questions among the non-believers. “What’s so fun about that?” they might ask themselves. If you have ever experienced an inflatable bounce house while growing up, you probably get it.

Remember the excitement and curiosity that struck you the first time that you spotted a bouncy castle? From afar it’s a colorful palace that appears to be made up of giant balloons! Up close it’s a safe place to get silly, play games, and defy gravity all at once! Once inside, you’d quickly realize that bouncing was just the beginning. For children, this magical, giant balloon castle could open the windows and doors of your mind. Bouncing definitely happens, but it happens in between the fun and games that are inspired by the bounce house.

Bouncers are not just good for jumping up and down repeatedly, they inspire all kinds of creative play for children. If you’re not convinced that there is more to a bouncer than just bouncing, check out these 5 creative ways to use an inflatable at home.

Set The Stage!

1. Hold a Talent Show or a Dance Contest, using your inflatable as the stage.  Arrange a few chairs in front of your bouncer for the viewers. Short on playmates? Mom and Dad, or even a few stuffed animals and toys can act as the audience or judges as the little ones take turns showing off their stuff. With a raised bounce platform, an inflatable makes for an excellent stage. The Superstar Inflatable Party Moonwalk is big enough for one star on the “stage” or for a group performance. The soft bounce platform is great for gravity defying dance moves and the mesh walls allow for visibility from all sides.

2. Have a look-a-like contest. While everyone is inside of the bouncer, call out animals or their favorite characters to imitate. You can draw animals and characters out of a hat or make them up as you go along. One by one, call out a character or animal and give everyone playing time to do their best imitation. The bouncy element adds to the fun and also helps kids really get into character, especially when imitating jumping animals like a frog or kangaroo.

To add a competitive element, grant points to the best imitation each round. Have an adult or extra player stand outside to judge and keep score. The player with the most “best imitation” points at the end of the game wins!

3. Play Crack the Egg. Have everyone playing form a circle in the bounce castle, while one person sits in the center. The person in the center is the “egg” and must curl up into a ball, wrapping their arms around their knees. Using their powerful bouncing legs, the surrounding players bounce around the “egg” trying to get them to let go of their knees, thus cracking the egg.

4. Try some classic games like Red Light, Green Light or Simon Says. Many of us remember these classic games played outside with family or neighborhood friends as children. Both games call for a leader, while the rest of the participants follow the instructions given. In Red Light, Green Light the leader instructs players to bounce and then freeze. When the leader calls out “green light!” everyone starts bouncing. As soon as the leader calls out “red light!” everyone must freeze. Anyone who moves is “out” and the last player “in” wins!

Similarly, with Simon Says the leader is Simon and must speak in third person. When the leader says “Simon says bounce in a circle” everyone must bounce in a circle. The players should listen carefully because they only want to do what Simon says. If the leader simply tells them to sit down on the bounce floor, but does not include “Simon says…” it doesn’t count. Anyone to follow an instruction given without “Simon says…” is “out”. Much like Red Light, Green Light, the last person “in” wins!

Have an adventure in the world of make believe!

5. Play make-believe, using your inflatable to create the world around you. The coolest thing about watching kids as they play is how they can utilize their surroundings to create an entire world of make believe. Inflatables can help to set the scene for many epic adventures.

You’d be amazed to see how easily an adventure develops with an inflatable. The Misty Kingdom can easily become a fortress or a grand palace for your royal highnesses. The Pirate Blaster becomes home to the toughest swash-bucklers on the seven seas! The Rainforest Rapids means kids can spend their days exploring the canopy with monkeys, snakes and sloths! Because the only limitations in the world of make-believe come from within, the possibilities for play are endless.

Guided play is great, but for most kids all you need is a little inspiration. Blast Zone Inflatables are about more than just bouncing. They offer inspiration and an environment that encourages creativity and playfulness.

Recap:

  • Bounce Houses may seem like they only serve one purpose.
  • There is more to an inflatable than just bouncing.
  • There are many different games that can be played in a bouncer.
  • Game ideas include talent shows, athletic games, and classic games like Simon Says.
  • Inflatables inspire imagination and creativity.
halloween-bounce-house

5 Ways Inflatables Can Make This Halloween Happier and Healthier

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Can you even bounce inside a Haunted House?
Can you even bounce inside a Haunted House?

Halloween is a festive favorite for many adults and children alike. What is not to love? You get costumes, pumpkins, and all things spooky, and let’s not forget candy, candy, and more candy! That is a lot of fun to fit into one fun evening. While some may rise to the occasion, not everyone has the time or the mind to make Halloween night an experience to remember. Fear not! We’ve got your back! We’ve found 5 ways to make this Halloween happier and healthier with the help of inflatables.

Make Your Halloween Planning Easier

While many find Halloween to be a great excuse to get creative with their costumes and decorations, it is also a lot of work! Sometimes Halloween falls on a Saturday, which provides a few extra hours to make some magic happen. This is a luxury only afforded to us every few years. We won’t have another until 2020! Can you imagine the stress that parents endure when Halloween falls on a school or work night? I bet you can, because it happened last year. When you have a bounce house at your disposal, you may be able to get away with skipping an evening of door-to-door candy collection. Set up the inflatable, dole out treat bags to your little ones, and call it a night.

Sure, you may still find yourself handing out candy for other kids but at least it’s from the comfort of your own home. You might even get a few trick-or-treaters who forget all about candy when they spot the bounce house, asking for a minute or so to bounce around instead. Having your own inflatable means hours of fun without leaving your yard.

A Great Addition to a Halloween Party

Even if you’re already planning to skip Trick-or-Treating, perhaps by planning to host a party at home, a bounce house can help take a Halloween party to the next level. A lot of parents have realized that inflatables are easy entertainment for parties. With Halloween being all about imagination and make-believe, your bounce house becomes an extension of the fun. At Blast Zone, you can find several inflatables with themes that can go hand in hand with several classic costumes, like pirates, princesses or even wild animal costumes paired with the Rainforest Rapids Combo.

Keep an eye out for those scary pumpkins this year!
Keep an eye out for those scary pumpkins this year!

Burn off those Candy Calories

Some might argue that while it’s certainly fun to eat your weight in candy, it may not always be the best choice, all things considered. Candy calories count, and they can definitely add up. This is especially true if Halloween night spreads into something more like Halloween week, like it does for so many families. Between Harvest Festivals at your local community center and classroom Halloween parties, the sweet treats really start to stack. Now you’ve got belly aches and spoiled appetites to contend with. With an inflatable, kids have a fun way to burn off some of the extra calories and sugar.

Kids Stay Safe

Halloween traditions vary by the community, but the most widely known is Trick-or-Treating. Each year, kids all over head out after dark to collect candy from their neighbors. It is a fun tradition, but with each passing year neighborhoods everywhere are experiencing dwindling numbers of trick-or-treaters. This is because many communities are resorting to hosting private carnivals and parking lot trunk-or-treat parties in an attempt to keep kids safe. These events can be made more fun with good planning and great entertainment. There is something to be said about being the family that brought the bounce house.

Is this where all the ghosts come from?
Is this where all the ghosts come from?

Adults Stay Sane

Halloween is fun for adults as much as it is for kids, but the reality is that a lot of the traditions were started for kids to have a good time. For a lot of parents, holidays and festivities are all about making sure that their kids have plenty of fun and fond memories to look back on. While creating these memories can be a lot of work, their smiles make the work worth it.

The grown-ups are responsible to make sure that it all goes off without a hitch. With a bounce house at your disposal, it takes away a lot of the guess work in making the evening filled with fun. While kids bounce around and work up a sweat, you don’t have to worry about how to keep kids warm in costume. Inflatables can also give you a few moments to relax and enjoy the sound of their laughter. An inflatable might make for a happier Halloween but best of all, the evening of Halloween is just the beginning. After the capes are hung and the make-up is washed away your bounce house will remain, ready to entertain.

 

kids-exercise-infographic

Trick Your Kids Into Exercising with Inflatable Bouncers

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Nasa seriously said that!
Nasa seriously said that!

If you’ve ever had to drag yourself into the gym after a long day, you probably know that it’s not always something that we want to do, it’s something that we need to do to keep ourselves happy and healthy. It’s not always fun, so you might imagine that some children probably hold the same sentiment toward the idea of exercise. Not only do the words “exercise” or “workout” hold negative connotations for some, but a kid that wants to get outside to go for a run each day is probably pretty hard to come by.

We have goosebumps after reading those facts!
We have goosebumps after reading those facts!

General childhood laziness aside, now more than ever there are so many fun things that can be done without moving a muscle. The right video game can keep children busy for hours and all they’ve used are their eyes and thumbs. With instant streaming, kids’ favorite TV shows and movies are available to them on demand. With an almost endless supply of digital media available at any given time, we live in an age where kids aren’t always out playing each night until the streetlamps come on.

Where were these bounce houses when we were kids!
Where were these bounce houses when we were kids!

Kids need their exercise just like adults do. Getting them active at a younger age helps to create healthy habits that will stay with them for life. While the perfect amount of exercise may be different from one young person to the next, the CDC recommends that children get about 1 hour of physical activity each day. Beyond that recommendation from the Center for Disease Control, the benefits of keeping kids active speak for themselves. Regular physical activity helps kids stay happy and healthy, just like it does for grown-ups. Exercise is a known mood booster and when they are having fun with it, physical activity can be a great way for kids to connect with their peers.

So how do we get kids to put down their devices and get active? You can try putting your kids on a fitness schedule, but where is the fun in that? Most kids don’t see a point in running a 5k if there is nothing cool waiting for them at the end of the road. The answer to this dilemma is to make exercise fun. Turn it into something that they want to do.  Sports are always a great option, but sports may not provide the year-round activity kids needs, especially in areas with “weather,” and some youngsters may be too young for, or just not into sports.

There is a cure after all!
There is a cure after all!

Enter: the Bounce House. With a Bounce House, Inflatable Water Park or Inflatable Combo your little ones get the exercise that they need without even realizing it!  In healthy Children, simply having fun bouncing around in an inflatable means that kids are using their muscles, potentially making them stronger, developing motor skills, and burning energy. It may help to elevate lung capacity, increasing their stamina. It could get their heart pumping and their blood flowing, potentially promoting cardiovascular and circulatory health. Above all, bouncing is fun! Rare is a person (young or old) who doesn’t enjoy a good bounce. You try bouncing and see if you can keep a silly smile off of your face.

With inflatable combos like the Misty Kingdom, the fun and physical activity go beyond just bouncing. Combos offering numerous activities, like jumping, sliding, climbing, splashing, hoops, etc,  provide different types of exertion, and keep kids occupied longer. 

From a parent’s perspective, one of the best advantages is that after an afternoon of bouncing, bedtime is no longer a hassle. You may even find your little ones ready to tuck themselves in after an exhausting day of playing in their bouncer. Your family getting enough exercise doesn’t have to be something to stress over. Set up an inflatable and enjoy the sound of their laughter as they play their way through daily exercise. With a bounce house, the hardest part is getting them to come inside for dinner.

kids-exercise-infographic
Trick Your Kids Into Exercising