I had no idea what to expect but I do remember the eighties roller blading craze and associated dress code which did provide the whole family with a huge source hilarity for some time as the elders reminisce and the younger members can’t quite believe what they are hearing! Neon leg warmers and satin shorts!!! What were we thinking?

We arrived a little late as I had trouble parking the car so the party was in full swing when we got there, with whole hall booked for the party it was great to see so many kids from school whizzing around having a great time and it certainly inspired us to get on with it, personally I had really enjoyed so many of the parents getting on the act as well, with some surprising results… just goes to show how little we all really know about those parents we see every day in the school playground, some of them have dark roller blading secrets! Hmmm I wonder if any of them have any neon leg warming satin shorts pictures hidden away anywhere?

So we join the queue for some boots and have to make the all important choice in-line skates or quads (boots with four wheels) now for us grown ups here are the things you need to consider when deciding which type of boot you need, beginners should use quads, it is far easier to balance in quads and this the first skill to master, you have less agility that’s the trade off but lets face it, balance first then you build up speed and then may be try a few a tricks! So which boots did my two young novices choose? Yes you guessed it. My two boys went for in-line skates!!! With hilarious results, I had two little Bambi’s on my hands!

Eldest went straight back the table and got himself a pair of quads but youngest was out of luck and stuck with the boots he had. It did him no harm though, small and light he was soon off and whizzing around just like all the others, yes he had a few tumbles but being fairly light on his feet he did well. Eldest who has zero balance skills needed a little help and we soon enlisted some professional help from the table, before long there was my eldest son with no balance on his way around the hall with no help at all, I won’t pretend that he was the most elegant of sights, but I am pleased as punch at his progress and feel able to strap on a pair of skates of my own…. The lady at the table having just witnessed the difficulty my children had looked at me with a fair amount of horror as she handed me a pair of in-lines, I am lets say a chunky lady, I guess she thought I might struggle, but I am actually quite an able skater, my two boys watched with a little amazement to see their mum blading with the best of them!

The party tea was a feast of hot dogs, crisps and cake! And all that sugar and calories are burned off in the last half hour session around the hall.

And the Party Bags? Full of goodies with an eighties theme, Fizz Whizz popping candy and skooby doo chocolate drops, if it were me I would have added some punchball balloons, fun snaps and maybe an exploding bag or too!

We left the party very happy and excited as, we as a family have discovered and activity we can all do together and really enjoy! We are going back and hope to make roller blading a regular activity.

If you are local to the Huddersfield / Halifax area I can heartily recommend the Halifax YMCA for both roller blading parties and regular sessions on both Saturday and Sunday afternoons.