Children's Entertainers
Strange
though it may seem, these apparently normal and well adjusted people actually
enjoy facing countless groups of expectant offspring, day in and day out, often
with nothing more than a magic wand, a ready wit and a gaily coloured bow-tie
between them and their audience. So much so that in recent years the numbers
of Children's Entertainers have swelled to the point where a bewildering array
of Clowns, Magicians, Puppeteers, Jugglers, etc, etc, etc are available to anyone
in need of their considerable skills and bravery. What's more, for a modest
fee (it says here), they are prepared to travel anywhere (within reason) at
a moments notice (the more moments the better) and entertain those little or
even not so little ones with their many varied talents.
The main problem for
the potential booker is, who do we book and where do we find them? This
site aims to make the process much easier by creating:
THE WORLD WIDE
DIRECTORY
But before diving headlong
into the database here is a short guide to booking Professional Children's
Entertainment.
Booking
an entertainer for the first time can be a somewhat daunting experience.
Many people will thumb through the Yellow Pages, phoning one number after
another with no real idea of what they are looking for or what kind of
performer will be best for their party. It is of course very difficult
to imagine what the show will be like from a verbal description on the
phone. Most entertainers will do their very best to paint a clear picture
of what they do and, if they sound cheerful and enthusiastic, it is a fair
bet that they will deliver their performance in a similar manner.
These
days an ever increasing number of Children's Entertainers are full time
professionals who will, in the course of their careers, have entertained
a wide variety of children in many different situations. They will have
appeared anywhere from television studios and theatres to village halls,
front rooms, back gardens and shopping centres. Their audiences will have
included children of all age ranges and they will be used to audiences
as small as one child and as large as five hundred or more. Bearing this
in mind it is important to listen to the entertainers advice about the
best type of show for your party. One of the major mistakes is to have
a fixed idea of what you want and, despite all advice to the contrary,
to stick with that idea until you find someone who will take on the job.
This invariably leads to disappointment on the big day when you realise
that the show is not being received as well as you would like.
Price
is of course a major consideration for many people but beware of allowing
this to cloud your judgement. In any given area the majority of entertainers
will charge a similar fee. Rest assured that they will all be aware of
the average price being charged by their colleagues and the chances are
that any price differences will not be more than a few pounds. In this
situation it is simply not worth basing your choice purely on price. There
are of course always exceptions to this rule and you will undoubtedly come
across one or two who are either way above or way below the average. As
a general rule stick with an average priced entertainer, by all means check
out the other ends of the price scale but always ask why their prices are
so different from the rest.
Always
book your entertainer before finalising the party date or venue. It is
a mistake to send out the invitations or book the hall before checking
to see if you can get an entertainer for that day. Even if they have a
free time slot for the day in question, it is highly unlikely that it will
fit in exactly with your arrangements. The most popular time for parties
is of course the weekend and if you are booking entertainment for a Saturday
or Sunday be sure to do this well in advance of the date. Seasoned bookers
will have reserved their entertainers several months in advance. In the
case of Christmas Parties it is not unusual for people to book a year ahead.
As a general rule of thumb try and have a couple of alternative dates to
hand when you are booking and it is never too early
to book. This advice is doubly relevant if you
are trying to engage the services of one particular entertainer who has
been recommended to you or one that your child has particularly asked for.
Bearing in mind the above points here is a list of the main questions you need to ask when phoning round for an entertainer.
| Availability | Establish this at the outset. If you have to have the party on a particular day or at a particular time, you need to know if the entertainer is available before anything else. |
|---|---|
| What type of entertainment they can provide | In response to this most entertainers will ask you how old the children are, how many guests there will be and where you are holding the party. Based on this information they will be able to give you a description of the different services that they provide. Listening carefully to this and possibly making notes, will avoid any misunderstanding later. |
|
Clarification of any details so far |
Check over any points that you are not clear about and ask any questions which you feel are relevant at this time before asking the $64,000 question. |
| The fee | Establish the charges for each of the services which the entertainer has described. (Hopefully these will be a little less than $64,000) |
| Any other questions | Anything else you can think of at this point. |
Once
you have decided to book a particular entertainer he/she will ask you for
all details pertaining to the party. Many bookings are completed over the
phone with a minimum of fuss. Remember you can always call back to confirm
anything you are not sure of. Many people call a couple of days before
the event to make sure all is well. Not all entertainers send out confirmation
letters automatically. If you are desperate to have something in writing
you can always ask and in most cases this will not be a problem although
you may be asked to provide a deposit in this case. You will normally not
be asked to provide written confirmation yourself but feel free to do so
if you prefer.
One
final point, do make a careful note of which entertainer you have booked.
It is not unheard of for people to phone round so many different ones that
they end up forgetting who is coming to the party and have to contact everyone
in their original list which can be a trifle embarrassing. Worse still
people have been known to book more than one entertainer for the same event.
If you feel that this could happen to you, then a written confirmation
from both sides is a good idea.
Armed with all of the above you should now be well prepared to pick up that phone and book youself a children's entertainer. We're really very nice people, (well most of us :-) and will be looking forward to your call. To view the directory click on the "ENTER" button below.
Happy Hunting!
Comments, queries and suggestions (polite ones of course) will be gratefully received at: Mail@kidspartysurvivalguide.com
Site Design
All contents of this website are protected by international copyright
Important: Inclusion or absence of a party service provider and/or an internet site on these pages does not constitute or in any way imply any endorsement or criticism of the site, advice, information or products shown therein. If you intend to avail yourself of, or purchase goods or services from any of the companies, partnerships, individuals or organisations listed herein you should satisfy yourself through referrals and other research as to their bona fides, experience, insurance coverage, skills etc.. We can assume no liability for the content or accuracy of the listings or from any costs or damages arising therefrom. Agreements to deliver a party service are made between the party provider/supplier and the individual requesting that the party be performed. RNG Internet can assume no liability for the failure of any party provider to perform a party as requested or contracted for and shall not be liable for any costs or damages therefrom. RNG Internet reserves the right to refuse or edit all listings.