Booking a Party? 1/26/10
I usually get a phone call inquiry or email inquiry from the mother of the child first but I occasionally get contacted initially from other family members such as the father, grandpa, grandma, cousin, aunt, brother, sister, and even a friend. It seems that the mother usually calls or emails to compare pricing between companies and to see the different services offered and of course what the character looks like. Then they usually check with their husband to make sure that they want to book. That is usually what happens but occasionally different things happen. I get inquiries from family members who live out of state but want Children's Entertainment for their niece, nephew, grandson or granddaughter that live in the SoCal area. I've even had hearing impaired people call to book parties. I usually answer my phone on the first or second ring when someone calls or if I miss their call I usually call back immediately. I take phone calls 8am-8pm Monday-Sunday.
I believe that many factors go into booking a Children's Entertainment Company for your child's birthday or booking entertainment for a corporate event. One of them being quality of service which we pride ourselves on everyday. I make sure that my performers are up to date on their performer skills such as being very familiar with the games, characters, and brushing up on their balloon animals and face painting skills. I also occasionally check up out my performer's first hand by going out and doing parties with them. I also believe that pricing is usually the biggest factor for most people who want Children's Entertainment. The great thing about Party Animals pricing is that we offer so many services at very reasonable prices. We also have specials, a half hour package, and rentals available if you want to save money. I usually suggest our party package #1 if you are only planning on having a few kids at the party or you just want an appearance and to take pictures with the character. I usually suggest party package #2 if you have up to 15 children expected at the party and you want more of the services that we offer. I usually suggest party package #3 if you have 15-25 children expected and you definitely want balloon animals and face painting. I usually suggest party package #4 if you are expecting 25+ children at the party and you want enough time for balloon animals and face painting. We have a variety of different games that we offer for party package #'s 2-4. You can request to play a certain game or have the performer lead a specific game. The games we typically play include parachute games, tug-o-war, jump-the-snake, obstacle course, duck duck goose, simon says, and some other age appropriate games. We also provide hand stamps and themed music. We can also sing Happy Birthday, help with presents or the pinita, and make time for pictures if requested.
Reliability is also very important when booking a party because you don't want to run the risk of a "No-Show" or a bad performance. I make sure that I tell my performers frequently to notify me if they can't do a party for any reason and to notify the parents if you're running late. I also always have back-up performers to cover a party. Showing up to the party on time is very important but there is traffic, bad directions, accidents, weather, human nature, and other circumstances that we can't control but can make anybody late. This is why I suggest that my performers allot for any abnormal circumstances by planning to be to the party at least fifteen minutes early. Our confirmation letters do state that we allow fifteen minutes beyond your current schedule time due to these conditions. I also know that the quality and look of the costume are very important to clients and that is why I am constantly updating my costumes, adding new ones, repairing and remodeling old ones, and buying only the best quality costumes I can find. It is sometimes very difficult to find or create an authentic looking costume especially when we advertise that we only have look alike characters.
Party Animals will show up to a party or event anywhere there is one. We have done parties and events at restaurants, businesses, parades, the beach, backyards, frontyards, homes, inside the home, military bases, clubhouses, parks, street parties, pools, auditoriums, summer camps, weddings, etc. There are many factors that go into deciding whether or not you want to have your party or event indoors or outdoors. I usually suggest outdoors because we live in beautiful sunny California except lately it's been rather cold and rainy. An outdoor party is also usually better because it usually provides more room to play the games and for your guests to have room to breath. Indoor parties are also nice because it's usually easier to decorate the inside of the house. I usually prefer parties that are part of the time indoors and outdoors because usually they make more sense.
I suggest booking the character to come about a half hour after the start of your party to leave enough room if your guests are running late. If you always expect really late guests and you want them to enjoy the entertainment then I suggest 1-2 hours after the start of the party to have the entertainment start. A lot of parents want to know when the best time to have the entertainment when you are serving food at the event. I think that really depends on which package you decide to go with, the age group of the children, etc. I think it's usually better to have the character before the food is served because then the kids will have burnt off all of their energy from playing and enjoying the entertainment and then they will have to re-energize themselves by eating. Sometimes I suggest balloon animals while the children are eating. You can serve food before or while the entertainment is going on. A lot of the scheduling of the entertainment is personal preference and should be planned around what you have planned for the whole event. You can always suggest to the performer that you would like to have certain things done in a specific sequence such as games first and then face painting if there's time or balloon animals and face painting first.
You should plan out your party and book a character well in advance. Some people call me and reserve a character all the way up to a year in advance which is sometimes necessary. I usually suggest at least two weeks in advance especially because some weekends book up really fast. I don't charge extra for last minute parties and you can try to book a last minute party but it's definitely not suggested and not always guaranteed that we'll be able to cover the party. It takes time to put together the costume, cover the party, and get a performer to pick up the costume. Although, I've booked some parties within an hour or two of the actual performance time but that is very rare.