Advice For Booking Children’s Entertainment
Booking a good entertainer will make your party special, and memorable for your guests.
Children’s parties can be great fun, or absolute nightmares for parents, for a variety of reasons. However, there are a number of hints on what to do and what not to do that I recommend you take into account when making plans.
Planning
Do plan well ahead of time who you wish to invite, the type of party you want, and the sort of food to serve. It is most important not to invite more children than you can easily cope with, or have room for – it spells disaster to have a packed house you cannot control It is just as important not to mix the age groups. Your two-year old may get on well with your six-year old at home, but at a party you cannot mix the age groups two through seven without problems.
Confine the party to those within a year of two of the birthday child’s age, and don’t give in on the doorstep when two-year old William arrives with six-year old Emma, and looks as if he wants to stay.
It’s also quite unnecessary for mum to stay because six-year old Jane looks tearful on arrival. After all, they don’t stay at playgroup or school, and the children survive. I often find that the child who arrives looking lost and tearful turns out to be the one who needs the most control after a short while.
Venue
Choose your venue carefully. If you have a small house, or you do not have any rooms that are suitable to hold a childrens party in, then consider hiring your local church or village hall. You will find that they are easier to clear up, and you won’t have to worry about children knocking into the television, and smashing it. Always book your entertainer first, as you will find they get booked up to two months in advance, or more for busy times like christmas.
If you plan to hold your party outside, then make sure that you inform the entertainer at the time of booking. As a general rule of thumb, try not to have a ‘show’ in the garden, as the slightest gust of wind will send props flying, and the entertainer will be chasing after them for half the party. If you are considering a bouncy castle, then have a back up plan for bad weather. You may still have to pay for the hire of a castle even if it rains on the day. Why not have the castle in your hall, then it can rain all it likes.
If you book an entertainer who will run the whole party for you, then it is unnecessary to book a castle or any other type of entertainment, as well. Most entertainers have a fun filled party worked out, and there will be no time left for the children to bounce. A professional entertainer will make your whole party run smoothly, and stress free.
After school parties are very popular. Everyone seems to think that a party has to be held on a weekend, but if you think about it, weekends are family days, and if your child is invited to ten or fifteen parties in a year, it does start to eat into these days. Consider an after school party on Friday, or midweek. You will also find that entertainers are more available for these days, and may be happy to travel further than they would on their busy weekend days.
Food
Food should be a simple affair without too much choice, frills or ceremony. Whatever we adults like to think, our children, on the whole, are not sophisticated, nor do they have educated tastes in food. I have seen the most expensive foods ignored or wasted, while the crisps, Hula Hoops and Monster Munch have been devoured.
Sandwiches, on the whole, are also a dismal failure, and there is a great tendency for small children to be over supplied with fizzy drinks, often resulting in a nasty mess from one or both ends to be cleared up.
Far too many children’s parties are spoilt by going on for too long. Experience has shown that two hours is the ideal needed for a really good party for children in the four to ten-year old range.
Party Themes
Fancy dress parties are fun for the older children, but not so with the younger group. Many of the costumes worn at fancy dress parties are home-made, and in a lot of cases impractical and sometimes dangerous. There are always those who cannot see, cannot eat, cannot sit, and cannot stand, together with those who have sharp sticks, bows and arrows, knives, and plastic bags over their heads. Again, why not try the professionals if you want costumes?
In recent times there has been a tendency to have video parties at home, or visits to hamburger restaurants for children’s parties. In my opinion neither is a great idea, as the first is like watching television all afternoon, and the second is tiresome for parents. Getting umpteen children to a place usually situated in the centre of town is not easy, especially if there are parking problems. Then finding that the children do not eat the goodies provided is not much fun.
You can avoid these pitfalls by providing professional entertainment.
Key Points
* If you want a good party, plan it, keep it simple, keep it short
* Restrict numbers and age ranges
* Plan ahead of time, what sort of party you want
* Book your Entertainment in plenty of time
