What is the best way to do your child's next birthday party? Well, some parents are the "make a reservation at a kid's birthday place and let them deal with the details" kind of people. Nothing wrong with that. Being a parent is difficult enough on a daily basis without having to deal with 20 kids and their parents invading the house.
There are plenty of places to go, too. Mini golf, laser tag, go karts, tea parties and bounce house businesses are everywhere in almost every city. They all have their particular birthday party packages that cater to making it easy for everyone to have fun. When I'm not doing private parties, I am the house magician at a mini golf place that includes golf, pizza and a magic show. I've also done magic at most of the other places I just mentioned. Parents just bring the kids and these party businesses do the rest. At the end, the parents pay the bill (anywhere from $250-$800) and the child goes home with presents and some good memories.
The upside of doing it this way is very little responsibility in running the party and no mess to clean up.
The downside is it can be costly, depending on how many children show up. Not to mention the time limit. Most of these places limit the party to about an hour and a half. Plus, there is probably a party before you and one right after so there can be a feeling of being rushed. Although, most people seem to think it's enough time.
Then there are the parents that feel they want to be in control of their child's party. They don't mind the preparation, planning and eventual cleanup that comes with having the party at home or a rented room. these are the people that want to have the party as more of an event for the child, as well as for the family. For these folks, there are certain things that need to be looked at. Following are some points that you may not have though of when planning the party at home.
| HOW MANY CHILDREN SHOULD I INVITE? Figure about 15-20 kids. This is a number that is managable, as long as there are enough other parents attending, they can keep the children under control. Once you get into the 30 or more mark, it can get crazy. Keep in mind, you will have to invite 40-60 kids to get about 15. If your party is on a weekend, you are up against soccer, football, camping trips and of course, other birthday parties. By the way, almost no one RSVPs anymore, so be prepared for more than you hope to get. BUT SOME KIDS CAN'T COME SATURDAY, OTHERS CAN'T COME SUNDAY! There will always be someone who can't come regardless of the day & time you set. Plan your party when it's convenient for you, and enjoy it with whoever can attend. HOW LONG SHOULD THE PARTY BE? Unless you’re having an all-day or all-evening event for families, I find that 2-3 hours is the ideal for most children. After that, the get bored and with boredom comes destruction! As a leading children's magician in Las Vegas, most people hire me to do my ultimate party. This consists of a magic show and then balloon animals after the show. I am there about an hour and a half. that leaves an hour and a half for food and cake, then presents. I also offer a package that includes magic, balloons and games after. This would last about 2 hours. It all depends on what kind of event you want to have. WHEN SHOULD YOU START THE SHOW? Allow time for everyone to get there — there will always be a few who come late and others who never show up at all. For the usual two-hour party, you might start my show 15-30 minutes after you've told them to arrive. While they're arriving, they can just play (after all, they're all friends already.) For an all-day or all-evening event, plan to start the show MUCH later - nobody's going to get there before dinnertime. Note: I cannot "come back later" if no one is there yet. I can usually (not always) wait up to 15 minutes before we must begin SHOULD I PLAN GAMES AND ACTIVITIES? Not unless you want to. I think my show is all you need. I have them pretty well occupied for the full length of my visit. After that, there's usually just enough time to feed them cake and let them go home (Doesn't that work out nicely?). Even at a longer party, after my visit they’ve usually enough structured activity — they’d rather just run and play some more. WHAT KIND OF FOOD SHOULD I HAVE? Most kids are fine with pizza and juice. Ice cream and cake for desert. If you want to get sandwiches for the adults, go for it. Some families cook all day and have other people bring dishes, too. That can be good, but more work and cleanup at the end. HOW DO I KEEP FROM GOING CRAZY? Stop fussing, relax and have some fun! My job is to make it possible for you to enjoy your child’s special day! Your child will never be this age again, and the day will be full of special moments you can share if you're not so busy. YOUR PRESENCE AND ATTENTION is much more important to your child than anything else you could be doing. Make sure you take pictures and/or video of the event. There will be many moments that you will want to capture. As long as you have entertainment and food in place, the rest will just come naturally. Good luck! |
No comments:
Post a Comment