Tips On Choosing The Right Entertainer For Your Kid’s Party

Many parents have expressed concerns on what is an appropriate show for their kids. Having been in the birthday party industry for a few years now and seeing how different kids of different ages react, here are some tips on choosing the best entertainer for your kid’s party.

Age

The first thing to keep in mind is the age of your birthday child. If your child is between 1- 3 years old, you may want to keep things simple. Children of this age are unpredictable and there is no fixed formula on choosing the right entertainer for these children. On the other hand, kids aged 9 -12 consider themselves all grown up and usually scoff at what they consider “kiddy” forms of entertainment.

But if your kid is between the ages of 4 – 8, then he/she is at an age where they are old enough to understand jokes and enjoy fun-filled interactive games or activities with lots of movement. This makes hiring an entertainer for kids in this age group easier and more worthwhile for all.

So what’s the best type of entertainer to choose for the different age groups? Well here are the three most common types commonly seen at parties:

Magicians

Magicians are common choices as kid’s party entertainers. Kid’s magicians tend to perform bright and colourful magic such as producing a huge bouquet of flowers from an empty vase or making colourful handkerchiefs appear and disappear in the blink of an eye.

The 4 -8 year olds are generally the most appreciative and participative audience. 1 – 3 year olds are too young to really comprehend magic while the 9 – 12 year olds are more interested to find out how a trick is done than enjoy the show. This is not to say that these kids will not enjoy a magic show, but rather a good kid’s magician will have to tailor his show accordingly to suit children from these age groups.

Jugglers

Jugglers are fast becoming a popular entertainment choice at birthday parties. Their sublime juggling skills combined with entertaining routines make them a hit not just with the kids but the whole family.

Some jugglers also involve the audience in their routines, making the show audience participative and fun for the whole family. It is also not uncommon to see jugglers who combine elements of magic into their show as well.

As with magic shows, juggling shows require the audience to appreciate the skill that the performer is exhibiting. Younger children may not fully understand or realise a juggler’s skill while older kids may tend to get bored after a while seeing the same performer attempt to juggle different things. However a good performer will be able to make his routines entertaining enough and engaging enough to suit most kids of different ages.

Puppeteers/ Ventriloquists

Puppets add an extra dimension of fun to any party. Kids love to see a funny looking puppet animal telling stories and cracking jokes. Puppets also make the entire show look bigger as it appears that there is a cast of performers rather than just one performer doing the show. This is one of the main reasons ventriloquist shows are a hit at parties.

Younger kids will be captivated by brightly coloured talking puppets while older kids will be able to appreciate the jokes and interact with the puppets. A ventriloquism puppet show is something that can be a fun for the whole family.

So it really depends on which and what type of entertainers you would like for your kid’s party!

Should You Hire a Party Planner for Your Child’s Birthday Party?

A party is always something special to do for your child for his/ her birthday. Everyone, adults including, love the joy of birthday party celebrations with the balloons, cake, presents and gathering of friends and family.

However, when it comes to throwing a birthday party, the question on many parents’ minds is: “Do I organize it myself or do I hire a birthday party planner?”

The convenient option is to hire a ‘one-stop party planner’ who will handle everything. This is a tempting thought, especially if you are busy at work and have a million other things to handle. The party planner’s job is to be responsible for the party from beginning to end, which generally lasts between 2 to 3 hours. With their experience and network of party support providers, these planners could easily book the busy parent the perfect venue complete with decorations and a cake, order food from the best caterers, and get a clown or a magician to come entertain your child and their friends. Of course, one can expect to pay a premium for quality, convenience, time and expertise.

Cost aside, there is a tradeoff, however. While you do have the final decision-making power, your choices of venues, caterers, places to get party decorations and gifts are generally confined to the party planners’ contacts. Naturally, due to personal and commercial reasons, their inclinations are to stick with people and venues they are already familiar with or have a business relationship with. This may prove to be limiting and frustrating, especially if preferences are dissimilar.

In addition, your child’s birthday party is a personal project and it is difficult for a third party to meet the expectations or vision that you might have. Miscommunication or misunderstandings may result in the planner’s delivery falling short of what you have envisioned.

The other option is not to hire a one-stop party planner but organize the party yourself. This is not as difficult as it sounds. The first step is to find all the information you can on organizing a birthday party from the Internet. Next, look for a good birthday party entertainer.

An experienced party entertainer will provide a great party entertainment package usually for about 30min – 45min long. A good entertainer can also package in games, balloon animals and host the cake cutting for an even longer duration. However, besides providing entertainment, the entertainer is also a valuable source of information and knowledge… for free!

If the party entertainer is an experienced one of high standards, he/ she would have a wealth of knowledge and contacts. The entertainer will be able to provide suggestions on venues, caters and bakeries. While you will ultimately have to make all the arrangements yourself, this insight from the party entertainer will definitely help you start off on the right foot with the eventual freedom of choice of vendors. So technically, you are getting almost the same professional expertise and advice that party planners may provide, at no additional cost.

Another positive point of just hiring a birthday party entertainer is that you are in direct contact with the party entertainer; you will be able to effectively communicate your child’s preferences and likes. This will ensure he/ she can customize the entertainment package accordingly.

Naturally, organizing the party yourself will take up your time and effort. However, your child’s party should be seen as a personal project and also a chance to bond with your child by involving him/ her in the party decision-making. The usual discussion between just parents can be transformed into a bonding session between the child and parents. And with your child’s inputs, not only do you empower him/ her but you will also be on your way to throw your child the perfect birthday party!