Throw the Best Fall Parties!

AMJ Fall Event Planning

Use the fall colors, scents and nature as inspiration for your big fall party. Planning and preparation are the key to any good party, and throwing an outdoor fall party is no different. There are certain things that you need to take into consideration, especially the weather (unpredictable as it may be). AMJ Spectacular Events has been helping to plan parities & events for over 15 years, here are some fall planning tips from our experts to ensure your fall outdoor party will be fun, successful and guests will be left wondering when the next  celebration is!

Pick an Outdoor Fall Party Theme

Fall has a lot happening, which opens the floodgates of theme ideas. You can throw a harvest party utilizing pumpkins, apples and leaves as inspiration. Fall is known for football so that can be your theme. Back to school and Oktoberfest are great themes too. So the first thing you need to do is decide on your fall party theme. Once that is in place, you can work on the rest of the outdoor party ideas. halloween_1510982c

Plan a Fall Food Frenzy

There are so many great fall foods and if you are planning on feeding guests you may want to consider grilling it’s always a great option for outdoor events, but it can be time-consuming. If you want fall snacks AMJSE rents Hot Pretzel Warmers and Popcorn Machines for easy on the go fall snacks.  Other popular fall foods are our Mini Donuts with different toppings as well as our Churro Warmer.  

If you something more festive with the season your guests will love our Carmel Apple Bar with different toppings and sauces it is sure to be a huge hit.  The weather can be quite chilly so be sure to warm up guests with Hot Apple Cider or Hot Chocolate, which features customizable options for the table.  amj-hot-apple-cider-hot-chocolate-bar-table-28-111

Keep Guests Entertained

Plan some fall-themed activities or rent some fun games.  Put out some backyard games for your guests to play. Corn hole is always a good option. Additionally, horseshoes and bocce ball can also be played in the fall too. Let kids bob for apples or have potato sack races. Make a pumpkin painting patch for the kids as well.

footballtoss2_295Guest will love playing our oversized version of Jenga, Connect Four or even Battleship they fit perfectly into fall themed events. If your looking for more sports related rentals try our Inflatable Football Toss or Framed Football Toss.

If you’re hosting an event were you have a bit more space your guests will love our inflatable Haunted Mansion  and our all new Happy Halloween Fun Village.  If your event has more of a fall theme check out our Corn Maze, its so fun to see how fast guests can get through the maze.

 

Lindsey Rhea, an event planner at AMJ, loves putting together fall movie nights with AMJ’s inflatable screens,  “Create an outdoor movie party to take advantage of the earlier nightfall and decorate the area with pumpkins and other fall or Halloween items. There are so many great Halloween themed movies you can choose from.” says Lindsey. Please visit us at amjse.com for more information.


You Sunk My Battleship!

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A classic 70’s game that you try to sink your opponents battle ships before yours are sunk. We just blew it up to be giant sized.

Command your fleet and rule the seas! Seek and sink your enemy’s ships before they find and sink yours! Unlock hidden super weapons like torpedoes and heat-seeking missiles to launch a firestorm of destruction. There are more ways to play, so fire away!

We’ve all played it, that wonderful game that pits player against player with warring strategy and tempts us all to throw the board. The game, is Battleship. The goal of Battleship is to hit the opponent’s ships with pegs or ‘missiles’ until you win. Each player is given the opportunity to configure their battle plan however they choose placing their ships around the board.

Our all new Battleship is perfect for college events, team building activities, corporate events and picnics!  Entertain your gusts for hours will keeping them on their toes. This game is the perfect addition to our Giant Games family pair it was Giant Jenga, Giant Hungry Hippo and Giant Twister for a retro theme!

Dating back to World War I, the concept of Battleship originated when war games were popular. Beginning as a ‘pencil and pad’ game, it was published in this form by several companies and in the 1960’s was released as a plastic board game by the toy and gaming giant, Milton Bradley. The game was thought to have originated in France and has changed and evolved ever since.

Battleship is played with two players who each have their own fleet of ships. Each player places their fleet on a grid (squares) that are identified by a number and a letter for coordinates. There are five ships that are placed on the grid and include: the carrier, which is five grid spaces; the battleship that is four; the cruiser that is three; the submarine that is 3; and the destroyer that is two.

Once the players place their ships on the grid each takes turns shooting missiles to sink each other’s fleets. If a ship is hit, you put a peg in it to show that it has been hit. The game goes on until one player sinks all the ships of the other player.

A super fun game – one that we have all played and that is great if you’re looking for a bit of strategy mixed with a bit of luck. This classic is now larger than life, and is perfect for an indoor or outdoor event where you’re looking to add giant synergy, hours of excitement and lasting memories. Rent this today for your next college, fun fair or corporate event!

Festive Fall Treats to Warm You Up and Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth!

Fall is finally here and AMJ is celebrating the season with our fall treats. Our Fall Treat Rentals are perfect for Fall Festivals, Parents Weekend, School and Church events that need a delicious seasonal treat!

Check out our all new S’mores Bar! Our smores bar is a great dessert presentation that is popular with people of all ages. Interactive, beautifully presented and so much fun! Guests will return again and again and talk about your Smores Bar long after your reception ends. Try one and you’ll want Smore!Smores-Bar-Concession-Rentals

Just in time for cooler nights, warm up with our hot choclate and apple cider bar. Sweeten up this years holiday office party or break room by treating your employees to a hot apple cider and hot chocolate bar, brScreen Shot 2015-12-07 at 11.02.27 AMought right to your office by AMJ Spectacular Events! We know it is a busy time of year, so we make this sweet-treat no hassle by doing the work for you. From set up, to serving, to clean up, AMJ Spectacular Events will take care of every detail!

Nothing says fall quite like delicious caramel apples. Make your own Caramel Apples with our Caramel Apple Station, complete with toppings and an AMJ attendant. If you are looking for a splendid treat to offer your guests or hard working employees, then this Caramel Apple Bar is an amazing choice.  Screen Shot 2015-12-07 at 11.02.41 AM

 

 

Finally no Fall Event is complete without the ultimate treat, mini donuts!  Can you smell that temptiAMJ-Spectacular-Events-Mini-DONUT-Barng aroma of fresh baked treats? Wow your guests with these hot and delicious donuts right out of the oven, a definite crowd favourite! Try them in cinnamon sugar, or icing sugar! Make super fast delicious donuts with our Mini Donut Bar. Make the donuts to order in less than a minute! They come out piping hot and ready to eat!   Just sprinkle them with a bit of cinnamon and sugar, or any other sweet topping you would like, and enjoy! Give us a call at 630-833-4386 or visit our website! to rent these and other fall products!

Our professional reservation staff is ready to assist you with all your party planning rental needs

Throwing a School Fall Fest…Tips, Tricks and the How To’s!

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In an effort to be all-inclusive, many schools have moved from the tradition of celebrating Halloween to hosting a fall festival. More than just noting a holiday, these festivals celebrate a season — and take advantage of the educational opportunities it brings. Our expert event planners at AMJ Spectacular Events share there tips, tricks and how to throw a great fall fest for your church, school or corporate event!

Here are some ideas for fall festival games and activities you can use:

“There’s no such thing as an event that’s too organized”, says Deanna an event planner with AMJSE.  Here are a few tips to consider before planning your school fall festival.

Tips for a Successful Fall Festival

1. Don’t forget the cash box

If you’re collecting cash for entry fees, ride or activity tickets, or concessions, make sure someone is in charge of stocking a cash box with a variety of small bills so you can make change when every single person wants to pay for a $3 snack with a $20 bill. Who has signature authority on your PTA bank account? The people who can get the cash box might be limited to the PTA president, secretary, and financial secretary. Make sure one of them is available and knows you need the money. And pay attention to timing – you don’t want to start setting up for a Friday night event only to realize the bank closed an hour ago.

2. Take care of your volunteers

Set up an easy-to-find volunteer check-in station. Make sure someone is there throughout the event to provide guidance and quick training as volunteers arrive. Your volunteers are giving their time and energy – don’t make them guess what they’re expected to do or where they need to go.

3. Include some floaters in your volunteers

You can ask for people willing to serve as floaters, or see if the PTA board members will take on this role. Either way, you’ll be prepared if there’s a sudden rush of people at the cake walk or if the ticket taker needs to leave early.

4. Get older kids involved

Middle school and high school students are great sources for volunteers, and the younger children love seeing the “big kids” be part of their event. Make sure older students know you’ll sign off on their service hours.

5. Have a backup plan for bad weather

When you decided to hold a fall festival, it was easy to envision families enjoying a crisp, clear fall day. Go ahead and plan for a great day outdoors spread across the school grounds – but have a backup plan just in case mother nature doesn’t cooperate. Can you move events indoors? Choose a rain date? If all goes well, you won’t need the backup – but you’ll feel better knowing you’re prepared.

6. Make it fun for all ages

Plan a variety of events appropriate for different age groups. Elementary school students may range in age from 5 to 13, plus younger and older siblings. Don’t try to make everything work for everyone. It’s okay if younger kids line up for face painting, while their older siblings try their prowess at the beanbag toss.halloween_1510982c

7. Include a clean-up crew

When you ask for volunteers, make sure to include a clean-up crew as well as volunteers during the event. You don’t want to wave goodbye to happy, tired participants at the end of a successful festival only to realize you’re all alone and clean-up hasn’t even started.

8. Don’t forget the cash box

At the end of the event, make sure you know who’s in charge of counting the money (there should be two people to do this) and turning it over to the treasurer or someone else with authority to make a bank deposit. Make sure the initial stock of cash doesn’t get counted as part of the proceeds from the event.

Throw a School-wide Fall Festival

A fall festival or harvest party can be just as much fun as a school-wide Halloween carnival. Here are some ideas for pulling one off.

  • Set up booths and stations where the kids can play fall festival games, like the pumpkin pitch game or carnival games for a school festival, and win prizes.
  • Give your elementary school fall festival an educational theme, such as making it all about books and reading. Allow the students to wear costumes, but require them to dress up as their favorite storybook characters.Screen Shot 2017-08-22 at 11.26.57 AM
  • A maze of confusion: Who doesn’t love a challenge and these festive mazes are sure to be a hit! Rent our Corn Maze ,  Haunted Ogre Maze or Haunted House Maze. Kids and adults like will love the challenge to get to the other side.
  • Pumpkin Party: Decorate with lots of orange and pumpkin decorations for this party. Have all of your guests bring their own pumpkin and provide them with paint, markers, glitter, paper, and everything they need to decorate their pumpkin.  Our Pumpkin Moon Jump is great to keep the kids entertained! If the kids are older, or their parents are invited too, try pumpkin carving! An easy party favor from this party (besides their pumpkin) is a photo keepsake.Screen Shot 2017-08-22 at 11.27.15 AM

If you love Halloween, don’t be disappointed if your child’s school doesn’t celebrate it. You’ll find that there are plenty of traditions surrounding the fall season that are just as much fun to enjoy. And as a bonus, most of them are educational, too.

Bring on the end of the year parties!

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The school year is coming to an end, how will you celebrate? With a school field day of course! Here you will find the top 8 field day rentals for elementary students.  These items are fun for all ages and will provide hours of entertainment.

Whether you’re hosting an open house, graduation, alumni homecoming, fundraiser or something else, we’re sure you’ll appreciate our immaculately clean equipment and extraordinary service from the time you call us to through the time our Eventioneers return to pick everything up.

Get a Jump Start

School carnivals require a whole lot of advance planning. It’s best to get a jump on it. (Just a little bounce house humor for you!)

Seriously, get your committees together, plan your budgets, set your dates, and reserve our services of course!

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Your guests can run, jump, crawl, play, climb, and bounce the day away, while visions of sugar plums dance in their heads with our Candyland Village! This decorative inflatable playland will instantly bring a festive feel to your party and will get your guests into the holiday spirit!

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Or rent our 28″ obstacle for kids 10 and younger. Grab a buddy and try our 28ft obstacle course. Race your friends through this challenging course. See who is the first to get to the other side and win!

It’s a super crazy time of year. Let us do it for you.
We can do booths, games, rides, entertainment… and bounce houses too! We have packages for sports or field days. We have one for water slides. We have several different complete carnival packages depending on the size of your group….

Field days, blacktop carnivals, and school parties seem to make the last month of school fly by. Schools that are looking for a fun treat for their students can take advantage of trackless train rentals to end the year with a bang.

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Give one of our event planners a call today and let them help you plan one spectacular field day!

Are Jumping Jax The Same Thing As Bounce Houses?

We have noticed a trend recently, where folks are searching for either “jumping jax” or “jumping jacks” when searching for inflatable bounce houses.  We were curious, so we checked online dictionaries and found that “jumping jacks” can refer to many different things…

  • jumping jacks can be the physical exercise where you move your hands and feet at the same time, in what some call a “star pattern”
  • a jumping jack can be the toy figure with jointed limbs that dances when you pull the attached string
  • and, of course, jumping jacks can be extremely entertaining inflatable products for kids of all ages!!

Interestingly, Wikipedia doesn’t have an article about “jumping jax” – which means there must be no such thing!!  Just kidding…  but if you’re looking for a moon jump, bouncy house, or other inflatable rentals in the Chicago area, look no further!  No matter what you call it, we have LOTS of them to choose from!  Just click on any of the links near the top of the page, and when you’ve found some that look like fun, contact us for pricing and availability.  For safe, clean jumping jacks (or are they jumping jax?!), contact us today!

Rent Jumping Jacks / Jax in Chicago

Unique Activities for Your Next Chicago Area Event!

It seems like everyone is looking for that special activity that will make their next event unique and FUN!

AMJ Spectacular Events is proud to introduce the Chicago area’s newest party rental item: the Mobile Black Mountain Mining System!

Iunique event idea chicagomagine the kids at your upcoming event, as they experience the adventure of panning for amethyst, crystals, and even arrowheads. Then picture the huge smiles on their faces as they learn that they actually get to KEEP the stones!

Chicago event unique ideaThis unique activity is educational, and is currently the only mobile setup of its kind in Chicagoland. Your school fun fair or carnival, corporate event, or block party will become a lasting memory of fun shared between parents and children!

mobile mining system chicagoFind out more, and reserve yours today, by clicking over to our Black Mountain Mining System page, or calling us at 630-833-4386. You can see our other new products right here!  Make your next event SPECTACULAR!