It's no secret that hiring help at a party makes sense. We outsource plenty of other tedious parts of our life; why not entertaining our children! Honestly. I mean that in the nicest possible way. For Mimi's 4th birthday last year Happy-Husband and I dressed up as a Pirate and Mermad and did our best to organize a few games, such as the pirate-v-mermaid tug-a-war (see the pictures here). Six months later when Little Lotti turned 3, Mimi and I hosted a much smaller gathering for Lotti's first ballet lesson, we decided to get a professional in. The ballet teacher held a short lesson, did stretches, taught the girls some moves, and the guests all danced quite happily with her, content that this was something of a special treat (especially for those who had never had a ballet lesson before) and then the girls put on a short concert on a stage we had made behind plastic table cloths outside (pictures here). The mothers meanwhile were equally content sitting in the garden sipping champagne.
I'm not saying that the outsourced entertainment was better than the do-it-yourself variety, but I do know that I got to sit down more when we paid someone else to be Lady-Fun.
Mimi recently went to a 5th birthday party where they had hired a magician and for at least 30 minutes he kept a large group of children (and their parents) amused. The hosts had to do little other than circulate and chat to friends. Nice.
Last year we went to a fairy party where a fairy hid in the cubby house and popped out to paint faces and sing songs. The group of guests was smaller and younger, and again, the results were magical.
When inviting people to your party remember that people have an expectation to be entertained as well as fed.
Whether you choose to have games, crafts or a performer is up to you, your venue and your budget, but something, even the simplest of things (such as our short game of tug-of-war or the ballet concert) brings a sense of cohesion to a party, it creates a moment around which all the guests come together, it's the perfect photo opportunity and it's also a sure way to make memories for the guest-of-honour.
So go on; make your next party memorable; and be entertaining; one way or another!
