The Venue

If you've planned far enough ahead you'll have more chance of getting the venue you want, however if you can't get the venue you want at least Emazdad can advise you on another venue near you.

His VENUE INDEX lists suitable venues in and around Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall. It's split into Towns and Areas to make it as easy as possible to find a venue, there's even a section for Wedding Venues.

You need to chose your venue carefully, You want one that's not too big, a smaller hall is much better as it eliminates any extra un-needed run around space..

You want a hall that doesn't have a big echo, bad acoustics will spoil the children's enjoyment of the show, and make it hard for the entertainer to control the volume of his PA.

Good parking is a must, you need to ensure the hall has at least enough parking spaces available for both you and the entertainer. The are a few very nice halls in Plymouth that Emazdad can not work in purely because there is no parking.

A Carpeted hall is better than a hard floor, 1, the carpet eliminates some of the echo that you get in a lot of halls, 2, boys can't launch themselves down a carpeted floor and 3, It's more comfortable for the children when they sit on the floor to watch the show.

Balloons prominently placed outside the venue and if necessary at the end of the road, will help both Emazdad and all the guests find the party.

How long should the party be?

What's the best time to hold a children's party?

A lot of people try to arrange their Childs party from 1pm to 3pm or 2pm to 4pm, they seem like a nice time's for a party, however you'll struggle to get a good entertainer for those time slots.

On weekends and during school holidays like all good entertainers Emazdad usually offers 2 time slots 11am to 1pm and anytime after 3pm. The further you are from Plymouth the greater the gap between the time slots to allow for travel time.

The 11am to 1pm slot is best for younger parties for 4 and 5 year olds, because they can get tired later in the afternoon for older children any time slot is OK.

The Entertainer

Not everyone can book Emazdad, so if you have to book another entertainer, it's very important that they have PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE. 

The Guests

Try not to invite any more children than you can comfortably handle,  20-25 is the maximum Emazdad advises for a child's Birthday Party. 15-20 is the maximum recommended for 4-5 year olds as they can sometimes get a bit scared in larger crowds.

Try to avoid mixed age ranges

An 8 year old and a 4 year old have different needs and it's not fair on either age group as the older kids will try and dominate the party and spoil it for the youngsters, and the older kids may find anything you do for the youngsters too babyish. 

Don't feel pressured to invite know trouble makers

If you've been to a party with your child and seen a certain child run amok and spoil the event, or your child talks about a child in their class who's always causing trouble don't be tempted to invite them to your party. It's not worth it, you are paying good money to ensure your child has the best party ever and if you invite this child they will spoil the party for your child and their other friends.

Adults at the Party

IF YOU WANT THE KIDS TO HAVE MORE FUN

GET THE MUM'S TO DUMP and RUN!

The other parents are welcome to watch the show, (and join in the Party Dances) they will enjoy it,  however you want your Childs party to be the best ever, and in my experience to achieve this it’s best not to encourage the parents to stay at the party, a drop off and go policy is always best.

If the parents stay it leads to a whole host of additional problems, and extra work for you:-

1/ Some Adults that stay won't want to watch and enjoy the show, they'd rather chat

Parental Chatter is the number one major problem entertainers encounter, although most parents take an interest in their child and love to watch them having fun, some however would rather chat and don't consider the enjoyment of the others around them.

My priority at the party is for your child and his/her friends to have a fantastic time. So to stop these talkers spoiling the show for the children, and those adults that do want to watch the fun,  have a separate room available for the talkers to use.  They can then chat away to their hearts content and not ruin the show for everyone around them.

2/ Children whose parents stay often wont join in the party.

The next time you go to a party watch how many kids don't join in, they'll all have something in common, a parent has stayed with them.

Even if they're not usually shy they'll stand by Mum or Dad and it can take an entertainer (Even one as good and experienced as Emazdad) quite a while to entice them away from their parents side. Some kids will never join in the fun and spend the whole party next to their parent.

If the parents go within 5 minutes these kids will normally join in with their friends and have lots of fun.

3/ Parents will take up space in the party room

You'll also have the additional work of being hostess and supplying them with tea and coffee. You'll then miss out on a lot of the fun yourself, and may even miss your child's moment of stardom when they perform with Emazdad.

4/ They may bring extra uninvited guests in the form of siblings of an invited child

They have to come because Mum's staying, but to be honest this is a bit cheeky as they haven't been invited and you'll feel obligated to feed them and give them a party bag.

Remember these kids may also be far too young for the party room, and if not kept on Mum's lap may spoil the party. See the Toddlers and Babies section below.

Toddlers and Babies

Emazdads parties are not suitable for children under 3 years old

Toddlers and Babies are really cute but loose toddlers and babies in the party room are the number two in the list of  major problems entertainers encounter.

Babies and children under 3 are far young for the party, they don’t understand what’s happening and can get frightened by the noise and excitement of the party. 

They  may be really cute, but they're extremely disruptive, especially if the wander into the performance area, or dive onto their older sibling in the audience who's trying to watch the show. (For some reason their Mum's never stop them). The end result is the show having to stop until the toddler is retrieved, which spoils the show for everyone else..

Therefore any toddlers and babies in the room MUST be kept on an adults lap for the duration of the party.

The best advice I can give is that (with the exception of the birthday Childs siblings) you limit the minimum age in the party room to 3 years old.

Who’s Who?

It’s a good idea to put name stickers on the children so that both you and Emazdad know who they are. Emazdad will supply you with the name stickers

It also makes the kids feel really special when Emazdad uses their name, especially if they have seen him before. "MUM! MUM! The magic man remembered me!" is something I often hear after greeting my old friends at parties.

Please ensure they are written in big, bold capital letters using a black or blue marker pen so Emazdad can read them easily on a moving child from across the room.

Toys, Balloons and Noise makers

Please do not distribute, toys, squeakers, whistles, Party Poppers or Balloons etc, before or during the party, It only takes one or two noisy restless characters to spoil the enjoyment of the majority, Save them for the party bags.

WARNING PARTY POPPERS ARE DANGEROUS!

I've seen a few children get hurt when a popper is set off in their face at the table. I'd recommend you don't have them at the party unless the children are supervised at all times when setting them off.

Please clear any toys away before the party and avoid covering the floor in loose balloons, The children will lose total interest in any organised entertainment if there are balloons or toys laying around.

If any toddlers stay at the party, ask their parents not to give them balloons from the wall to play with, not only are balloons dangerous for toddlers and babies, ( They bite them, they burst and they can choke on the bits of balloon) But the resultant BANG will distract the other children from the show.

Food And Drink

If the children are allowed to have access to food and drink during the entertainment, it causes a big distraction, if one child gets up to get a drink they’ll all jump up to get one, and the show may have to stop until they come back.

You also run the risk of spillage and the children will not be able to shout or participate while clutching and eating cake, ice-cream or cola.

Drinks

Spillage is a 100% certainty at a party, no matter what you do at least one child will send their drink flying. To avoid the mess use cartons with straws, or better yet the pop-up drinks bottles like Fruit Shoots.

1, The children love them  2, if they knock them over it's just a drip not a flood.

If your going to give them fizzy pop, buy the sugar free diet drinks. Normal fizzy pop can turn even the nicest child into a HYPER MONSTER, and we will still need to be able to control the children for the after tea games. 

REMEMBER TO BRING A LIGHTER OR MATCHES FOR THE CANDLES!

You would be amazed how many people forget, and the number of times Emazdad has had to get the birthday child to blow out the invisible magic candles.

At Emazdad's parties he will give you the nod when it's time to do the birthday cake, lead the children in singing the Happy Birthday song, and get the birthday child to make their wish and blow out the candles.

Photography / Video

To avoid the major disappointment of missing the chance to record your Childs special moments at the party remember to bring:

The Camera

Camera Stands

Emazdad encourages you to photograph as much as the show as you wish, and there are numerous photo opportunities, after all, the stars of the show are the children, especially the birthday child.

Emazdad only asks that while you're taking your snaps you don't distract the children, and he will advise you on where it's best you to stand while taking photo's or recording the fun.