How to Price Your Kids Party Packages (2026)
Party packages are uniquely complicated and difficult to price.
"Party provider" covers an enormous range of businesses. A play cafe, an art studio, a gymnastics gym and a mobile magician are all in the same category and almost nothing about their costs is comparable. So when you go looking at what other providers are doing to get a feel for what the market is like you can get a lot of mixed signals.
But the truth is that a few tweaks to your party packages and pricing can probably save you time AND make you a lot more $$.
So let's dig in.
In this guide we'll walk through the main ways providers price parties, how to simplify your package selection so you get fewer questions and tire-kickers, and other common set-ups that lead to confused parents and reduced bookings. We'll also get into the 'right' number of packages to list, what should be driving your package pricing in the first place, when it's worth revisiting your numbers, and how to set things up so families can pick what they want without unnecessary back and forth.
Types of Party Packages
The type of party packages you offer is one of the biggest factors that impacts your pricing. There's no point comparing an indoor playground buyout to mobile face-painting so let's get clear on what category you fall into before looking at what you should charge.
Most party providers fall into one of the following categories:
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Mobile Party Packages: If your packages are built around a guided class or activity AND you travel to a location of your client's choosing, this is your category (puppet shows, magicians, guided dance classes, etc ...). Most mobile parties focus specifically on providing party entertainment but some providers can charge more by helping with party set-up and break-down as well. Mobile parties tend to be priced lower than other types of packages because they don't provide a venue.
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Activity Party Packages: If your party is built around a guided class or activity AND you provide a venue/party room this is your category (baking, ninja warrior, STEM, etc ...). If you run these types of parties it's likely that parties are also an incredible source of new leads for your other business lines (after school programs, summer camps) so it can be worth pricing your parties competitively if you don't usually book up. Make sure to factor in materials cost into your party pricing as well. The price range for these types of packages varies widely but if you provide a private party room and hosting help you should be in the same range as Entertainment Center Parties.
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Entertainment Center Party Packages: If your venue is the entertainment (think indoor playground, arcade, bowling alley, etc ...) this is the category you fall into. Things to factor into your pricing include the space itself, the staff on shift, and what you give up by not selling that slot another way. If you're running Entertainment Center Parties that include private party rooms and hosting support you can price higher than most other types of packages.
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Party Service/Rental Packages: There's a lot of overlap between this and the Mobile package category but it's worth calling out the difference. If you provide a party service that doesn't fully capture the party's attention (face painting, balloon artists, photographers, character performers, etc ...) then you fall in this category. Pricing for each type of service can also vary wildly with face-painting/balloon artists on the lower end and rentals/activity stations on the higher end.
Three Ways to Price Party Packages
Per Participant (and Why Most Providers Should Avoid It)
Charging per participant is intuitive and a lot of party providers price this way. And if you're a business that offers ticketed pricing for your other services (like an amusement park or escape room) then per participant pricing might make sense for your party packages as well.
But for most providers, pricing per participant is a bad idea. Parties are expensive to run, so when you factor in all those expenses into a per-participant price it makes your party seem more expensive AND it devalues what you're offering (no consideration for space, opportunity cost, or other services).
Plus parties are about bringing a group of friends together so having a per-participant price can make parents not want to invite as many kids which adds emotional friction. All-in-all, we don't recommend pricing your parties this way.
Package + Add-Ons (Recommended for Most Providers)
This is the gold standard for most parties for a few reasons.
- It allows you to present a competitive price AND charge appropriately for other services you provide
- It makes your pricing legible and easy to understand for the parents booking
- It's the most flexible and easy to change and adapt as your business grows
For most packages we recommend including up to a certain number of participants (10-15 is common) and then charging for additional participants as an add-on. That way you can bundle the party as one price and still include additional charges for large groups without the friction that comes from pure per-participant pricing.
All-Inclusive
If your party packages are super simple, don't have a lot of variation, and/or you serve a very high-income area, then you should consider having just a few all-inclusive packages.
They're not as flexible as packages + add-ons but they do make everything else about booking and running a party a lot simpler. If you're constantly booked out months in advance, you might consider switching to this model as well.
Confused Parents Don't Book
When you look at your packages it should be immediately clear what the difference between your packages is, why they're priced the way they are, and how to book/submit an inquiry.
If you don't receive as many inquiries as you'd like, or if you receive a lot of inquiries that go nowhere, it's probably because your packages are confusing.
Here are some questions to consider when putting your packages together that will keep them simple, skimmable, and attractive to parents.
How Many Packages Should You List?
If you're one location serving one audience, we recommend 2-4 party packages to choose from. More than 4 packages and it can be overwhelming to sort through all the details.
That said, here are some reasons why you might need to list more than 4 packages:
- Different packages serve different age groups
- You run mobile parties AND onsite parties
- Different pricing on Weekdays vs. Weekends
If someone reviewing your package options has to sort through a long and complex menu, it's probably time to revisit your options and start making some cuts.
The Three Package Mistakes We See Most
Turning an activity menu into a package list. We see a lot of art studios do this. Seven art projects become seven packages, and a parent lands on the page trying to figure out what the difference is. If each art project can be run in the same space with more-or-less the same material costs, then that's really just one party package with a choice of activity.
Turning themes into packages. Same logic. If the unicorn party and the dinosaur party involve identical work at identical cost, that's one package with a theme choice.
Turning headcount into packages. A package for 10, a package for 15 and a package for 20 can be one package with an additional-participant add-on.
Make More $$ With Add-Ons
Not only can add-ons help you simplify your party packages but they're a great revenue drive as well.
Popular Add-Ons Include:
- Additional participants
- Additional party time
- Decorations/Paper Goods
- Food/Drink Options
- Additional Activities
Keep Your Add-On List Short and Group It
The close relative of too many packages is too many add-ons. Twenty five individual food items in a flat list isn't a menu, it's an overwhelming wall of choice.
If you're determined to offer a lot of add-on choices, the best way to handle that is with groups. Have one add-on group for food, with all the food choices nested inside. Same for decorations, favors, anything with variations.
Tidybash makes it easy to group add-ons AND allows you to customize which add-ons are available for different party packages.
Try Tidybash for free and get your add-ons set up today.
Factors That Affect Your Pricing Strategy
1. Where You're Located
This can have an even bigger impact on your price than your party package category and it's why national averages are useless when deciding on your package pricing. The same party can differ by hundreds of dollars depending on what city and state you're in. Look at what other providers in your region are charging more closely than similar providers in different areas.
2. What Your Competitors Charge
Look at other providers in your area, especially other providers in your package category. Whether you price lower or higher is up to you but be aware of what other options parents are considering.
3. What's Included
Two parties at the same price aren't the same offer if one comes with food, decorations and a host and the other is a room for 90 minutes. When you compare yourself to someone, compare what's in the box.
4. What It Actually Costs to Run
Parties may be a great source of word-of-mouth marketing for you but they should also be one of your highest profit offerings (at least in terms of direct costs). If you're not making money on your party packages, you should either be doing less or charging more.
5. How Booked Up You Are
If you're fully booked months in advance, you can probably afford to raise your package prices a bit or start making more $$ with add-ons.
How Tidybash Makes Pricing Easier
All of this is easier when your booking tool is built for it. That's why we made Tidybash.
Most of this article comes down to keeping your package list short and handling the variation somewhere else. That's what these are for.
Customize add-ons for each package Stop showing your whole add-on menu to every booking. Tidybash lets you create relationships between your packages and add-ons so booking parents will only ever see add-on choices relevant to their package selection.
Discounts and custom add-ons made easy Take an amount off any individual booking, or add a one-off charge with its own name and price. Neither one needs to turn into a new package or a permanent add-on.
Tax calculates itself Set your own percentage once and Tidybash applies it to your bookings automatically, so you're not working it out party by party.
Parents can compare your packages in one place Every package shows its own description, what's included, and which add-ons come with it. A parent can see the difference between your options at a glance instead of emailing you to ask what the difference is.
Change a price once Update a package or an add-on and your booking page updates with it. No hunting through a PDF, a website and an old email template.
Common Questions
How much should I charge for my party packages?
There are too many factors that go into this to give a quick answer. Instead, we recommend going through the steps outlined in this article to evaluate your price against the competitors in your area. Here's the process we recommend, in order:
- Start with your category. A mobile face painter and an entertainment center with private party rooms aren't in the same range, and comparing them will only confuse you.
- Pick your pricing model. Package + add-ons for most providers.
- Look at what comparable providers in your area charge, especially ones in your category.
- Check what's actually included in theirs before you compare it to yours.
- Make sure the package is genuinely profitable on direct costs.
- If you're booked solid months ahead, you're probably priced too low.
What should I charge for a deposit?
Enough to cover what a cancellation actually costs you. The deposits we see usually land somewhere between $100-500, but the right number depends on what you lose when a party falls through: the slot you turned down, the staff you'd rostered, anything you'd already bought for it.
Two things worth getting right. Say clearly on your page when the deposit stops being refundable. And collect the balance after the final headcount is confirmed, since extra participants and add-ons almost always land late.
Which tool can I use to process payments easily?
Tidybash handles this through Stripe. You connect your own Stripe account, and the deposit and balance get calculated from the package and add-ons the family actually picked, so you're not writing a separate invoice or working the total out by hand. Payments land in your own account.
If you want to charge manually through another tool (like Venmo or Zelle) it's easy to record payments in Tidybash so everything stays in one place.
Should I include tax or gratuity in my package prices?
Tax depends on where you are and what you're selling. Party services, food and admission often get treated differently and the rules vary by state, so confirm what applies to you rather than assuming. Once you know, the important part is consistency: either show prices with tax included or add it at checkout, and make sure the page says which. What you're avoiding is a parent seeing one number on your site and a bigger one on their invoice.
Gratuity is common in this industry, and plenty of providers either add it automatically or make it clear that it's expected, particularly when staff are hosting the party. Any of those work. What matters is that a parent knows about it before they book rather than finding it on the final invoice. If you add it automatically, say so on the package. If you leave it to them, a line about tipping your party host does the job.