What are the key things to keep in mind when taking your baby or toddler classes to a kids party?
You might already get asked if you do parties by parents who attend (and love!) your classes. And while you might well be able to use some of your usual activities, there are some definite things to bear in mind to adapt your class successfully for the birthday party format.
We’re joined by Liz Mullen from Little Fizz Music, Movement and Play Classes, who has been running baby/toddler classes and providing party entertainment for over 18 years, with her top tips for making your birthday parties loved by parents and children alike.
The Benefits Of Running Your Baby Or Toddler Class At Parties
Benefits Of Running Parties For Parents:
It’s good to understand what it is that makes parents want to have their classes with you. Why should parents want to pay you to run entertainment at their parties? Here’s just a few highlights:
- They know their little one loves your classes and they do too!
- Your activities have been tried and tested (often over many months) so they feel they will work well at a party
- They feel comfortable with you and have confidence in your abilities to relieve stress for them.
- Their friends also attend and enjoy your classes so their guests will be happy to attend. If it’s a party for their little ones (and it’s a regular attendee in your class) then it’s likely they’ll be inviting other class regulars along.
Benefits for Class Providers Providing Party Entertainment:
From a class provider point of view, there are many benefits to providing Party Entertainment but also many considerations.
- Sharing in the joy of the celebration and the privilege of being part of a special occasion.
- Satisfaction of making the party special and helping create magic memories.
- Meeting other parents and demonstrating your skills. Classes are excellent publicity and a great way to attract more bookings. You’ll really get your name out there.
- A challenge and opportunity to develop your skills. You will need to adapt to different spaces, new situations, different group dynamics and unpredictable factors to various degrees.
- Additional income – if you are happy to work weekends.
Now you know the benefits, and if you think that offering parties feels like the correct step forwards, lets figure out what the process needs to be. How do you go from wanting to offer parties to making it a regular service for your business?
What To Start Discussing (Needs And Logistics For The Party) With Interested Parents
Start by finding out as much as possible about the occasion from the parent before taking the booking. Other class providers often refer parents to me, which tells me that they will have had a discussion with the parents and decided that the occasion or party type is not suitable for their activity. Which is totally fine! But figuring out those details are important.
- Ask them about the venue, parking, party timings, number of children and age range (this one is incredibly important!) Also ask: How many adults will be attending? If there is any other entertainment? What are the catering arrangements? Is there a theme? Get as much information as possible.
- Consider carefully whether what you can provide is going to work within the party setting. Is your skill set compatible with providing a successful experience? For example, if you provide calm, developmental sensory classes with small groups of babies, this probably won’t work at a large first birthday party with lots of adults, a buffet, a bar and a herd of “lively” older children running around. Simply put, loud adults drinking, food everywhere and the cast of Ben Hur on twenty cups of coffee is a no-go zone!
TOP TIP If the enquiry is from a parent who has not been to your classes, offer a couple of free classes to get to know the child and parent and they can see which activities they like. You can then be familiar with the child and it will inform the activities you include.
Preparing A Party Similar To Your Classes
If the party setting is going to be similar to your class setting, it’s an ideal and significantly less challenging situation. But it will still need consideration, planning and being prepared to adapt. Here are some of the things you’ll need to do in preparation for running your first baby or toddler party.
- Find out the age range. Of all babies/ toddlers this is ideal. If it’s mixed a different approach is needed. More on this later.
- Plan timings for maximum success. Ideally 1 hour of entertainment with a start time 15 minutes into the party. (Allowing for settling in / latecomers).
- Check with the parent how much of your usual class content they would like at the party. Are there certain songs, props, activities or elements their child especially enjoys? Then consider how much of this you can include whilst keeping little guests who don’t know you engaged. Then plan a mix of activities to include the birthday Child’s preferences and general “Crowd Pleasers” – more on my best Crowd Pleasers coming up!
- Make it clear to the parent that babies/ toddlers will need parents to join them with the activities to provide reassurance and supervise them. Also make this clear when you start the entertainment. This may seem obvious, but many parents will expect to socialise while you entertain their baby who has never met you. I usually say: ” Let’s all get together to have some fun for (name)’s party! Parents, can you bring your little ones over and help get them settled and join in to make (name’s) party really special!”
- Prepare to adapt activities continuously in response to the group dynamic, individual personalities and level of parental engagement.
Adapting Your Classes to New Environments
If you know you are going to be in a very different environment to your usual class setting, you will often be faced by multiple factors you need to adapt to. But, it’s up to you to decide on whether you can make it work and overcome challenges. Here are some things to keep in mind that you may need to do:
Mixed Age Parties:
- Find out from the parent whether their priority is their baby / toddler’s enjoyment or keeping older children happy. Maybe surprisingly, they will often choose the latter. Both are ideal. I often start with the baby / toddler’s favourite activity / song then move on to broader entertainment.
- Get older children on board and involved. As I greet guests with my bubble machine I chat to older children making them aware that there will be fun activities for them too and rewards Party Patter:” I need you to be a helper to make sure this party is really special!” Make friends with these kids – you need their help, not their sabotage! Also, use lots of Crowd Pleasers (more on that below…)
- DO NOT bring anything from your baby class which can get broken. No optic lights or equipment that you’ve put a lot of money into. They will be stamped on. Also, avoid toys that can be broken or used as weapons. Yes, it can get that rough out there!
Parties With Lots Of Adult Guests
These can be challenging. Especially if it’s a joint Christening and there is a bar and lots of alcohol. It can get especially rowdy in those environments. My best tips are:
- Make sure you have a separate space with the children where adults can see their children and use a headset mic to overcome adult noise and call for adult supervision if behaviour becomes problematic. Try to involve adults with Crowd Pleasers.
- Accept that you are there to entertain the kids and do what it takes. You will get out of there and get paid! Happy kids mean happy parents.
The Magical ‘Crowd Pleasers’ For Children’s Parties
These are items that I would typically recommend for all kid’s parties. They are simple bits to bring along that shouldn’t be super costly, but they will help you to involve older kids and adults more easily. Here are my usual crowd-pleasers:
- Novelty Hats. I have a large collection of novelty hats. And everyone loves them! Babies, children and adults love wearing them and getting fun pics.
- Silly Glasses. Also a large collection. See above! I use these for “Baby Shark”– another crowd pleaser!
- Parachute Game. With children underneath and adults moving the parachute. Get those adults up and involved. They will enjoy seeing the smiles on the kid’s faces and the bonus of air conditioning from airflow! You can get it started like this: “Children, get me your grown-ups! Grown-ups, we need you! You only need to hold the parachute and it’s good for the upper arms!’
- Sweets / Rewards. I have a “treasure chest” of sweets/ chocolate for “good joining in, being kind and making the party special.”
- Praise. Tell those kids how wonderful they are as helpers.
- Party Dances. If you can get everyone up and joining in, this is a winner. You judge it at the occasion. If everyone seems game for a dance, go for it. If they don’t, then don’t do it. Don’t end up doing the Hokey Cokey on your own – It’s not a good look!
- Light up toys. A very popular one with all ages. Great for popping bubbles / waving about. Consider safety and breakability when choosing what you want to bring though.
I hope you feel armed and confident to be a successful party entertainer. It can be hugely rewarding – especially if you like a challenge. When done right, parties is a great way to get extra business all-year round and to find new families to regularly be in touch with.
Thank you to Liz – Little Fizz!
Liz Fizz is the owner and founder of multi award winning music, movement and play classes “Little Fizz” and children’s party entertainment “Party Fizz” and recently celebrated running both businesses successfully for 18 years. She regularly raises money and works with children’s charities, having raised over £60,00 for various charities including NSPCC and NCT.
Liz’s class programme aims to provide a variety of exciting and engaging activities which are fun and educational and, most importantly, accessible and enjoyable to ALL children and their families. Liz also loves providing party entertainment for ages 0-8 and is joined by Emily Quinn – first Little Fizz Franchisee for the Cardiff North area – who is very much loved for her classes and parties and has been working with Liz for 10 Years!
Find out more about Little Fizz here!
And check out Little Fizz on Happity
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