Try if possible, to restrict the party to those children who are within a year or two of the birthday child's age. Seven year old Simon may play with his three year old sister at home, but neither he or his friends will play with younger children at a party.

Do not invite more children to your party than you or your house can cope with.

Do not try and do everything on your own. Many parents invite another parent or two along to help them with the food.

Parents and teachers, put in a lot of hard work at parties, but much of this is wasted if the food that they have prepared is not eaten. The trick is to keep the food simple and not have too many choices. Children will often ignore the expensive and carefully made food and sandwiches, but they will devour such things as sausages, crisps, hula hoops, chips, burgers, pizza, ice cream, jellies and cakes.

Do not overfill the children with fizzy drinks, they have a nasty habit of erupting later leaving you a nasty mess to clear up.

Never eat the birthday cake. So many children blow out the candles on the cake that there are often many germs on the cakes surface, which you can easily catch, host and pass on to others. One of our team did this several years ago and passed a nasty case of mumps on to his wife who was not even at the party. You have been warned!!!!

If you are going to hire a children's entertainer, check that they are a member of a recognised society, such as the International Brotherhood of Magicians or the Magic Circle. These societies have a strict entrance examination which should ensure that you will be getting a competent performer.

Check that the entertainer is covered by public liability insurance.
This is important !!!

Book the entertainer well in advance of your party to ensure that they are not already engaged for the date which you require.

We have found over the years, that two hours is more than ample for a really good party, for children in the four to ten year old range. This gives you time for games, food and entertainment. Longer than this and you will have problems keeping the children amused.

Equipment such as bouncy castles and ball ponds needs lots of adult supervision. The hire companies usually just dump the equipment and leave the supervision up to you. Do ensure that you are covered by insurance when using this type of equipment, in case any child is injured, while using it under your supervision and the parents make a claim for damages against you.

Most restaurants and burger bars do not employ professional entertainers, they simply use members of staff to keep the children amused. They will however often allow you to hire in your own entertainer.

Fancy dress is a good idea for older children, but for youngsters it is often uncomfortable and it can be dangerous. Over the years we have seen children turn up at parties with metal swords, pointed fairy wands and even wearing plastic bags on their heads. If you must have a fancy dress party, please advise the parents on safety, (crepe and tissue paper are ignited very easily) or get advice from a local costume hire shop.

Games can pose a problem for some people if you are planning to organise and run the party games yourself.

If you want the children to have a good party, plan it, keep it simple, keep it short. Restrict the age range and the numbers, don't do it all on your own.

Finally, if you want complete peace of mind and you feel that you can afford it, book a good, professional children's entertainer. This will keep the children amused entertained and out of your hair while you prepare the food and refreshments.

REMEMBER, YOU JUST CAN'T BEAT LIVE ENTERTAINMENT

For more information

Phone 07778 387 058

Or email Stevedaymagician@aol.com

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