Watson Wilkins, 4, hangs onto his mother, Lydia, as he tries skating for the first time at Saturday’s open house at the Axe Cave in Delphos.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
DELPHOS — With Christmas just around the corner, the holidays are in full swing. With children now home from school for their holiday break, the question for many parents is how to fill their time before Christmas.
On Saturday, the Axe Cave and A&S Party Rental held an open house to give parents and children some time to put down the tablets and remote controls and enjoy a fun time together.
The event included bounce houses, slides, face painting, cookie decorating, games like air hockey, foosball and pool, “iceless” ice skating and even a ride on the mechanical reindeer. For Axe Cave general manager Logan Heiing, Saturday’s event was all about giving families a chance to just have fun now that the holidays are under way.
“That was definitely one of our main focuses,” he said. “Everyone’s on break. Everyone’s getting ready for Christmas. So we’re trying to do some good for everybody, getting kids out of the house and things like that.”
The Wilkins family, from Bath, was one of the families that took advantage of the opportunity to get out of the house and have some fun before Christmas, with the two boys, Waylon, 7, and Watson, 4, trying on ice skates for the first time.
“It’s always nice to get the kids out and do Christmas activities,” their father, Kyle Wilkins, said. “Kids are going to be kids, so when we see outdoor activities and stuff like that, it’s nice to get them out and interacting with other kids.”
Lydia Wilkins, their mother, added, “It’s not focusing so much on the presents. It’s focusing more on family time. It’s good to have things like this where we have the excuse to get out of the house and do fun things.”
The Twining family made the trip from Cloverdale to have a fun day together. For Brittany, the mother, it was gratifying seeing her kids running around and having fun now that school is out.
“They go to Kalida and they went until Friday, so it’s nice to be able to get them out of the house and have other things for them to do other than just be sitting in the house,” she said. “We try to limit (time on electronics). We like to give them more social interactions and have experiences with them. Even with Christmas presents, we try to do things where we can have time together, like building a Lego set.”
Brandon Hemker, of Spencerville, enjoyed some friendly competition at the foosball table with his children, Ava, 12, Jack, 6, and Jillian, 3.
“We’re having a blast,” he said. “It’s good to have fun family entertainment close to home.”
For more information on the Axe Cave and A&S Party Rentals, call 419-339-9701.
