Success Secrets for Planning a Holiday Kids Party (Pt 1 of 2) - RI Magician Kids Party Ventriloquist Steve Zany
September 1st Marks the Kids Holiday Party Planning Countdown
The holidays always seem to arrive before you know it. If you are planning a children’s holiday party and seeking such things as kids party entertainment, give yourself plenty of time to get organized. It will benefit your company, organization or youth group.
Otherwise, your best-intended efforts can get stressful, quickly. Things book fast just after Labor Day. There’s lots of competition for everything that goes into planning a great kids holiday party. This is because more organizations are now giving increased attention to family events, rather than adult-only gatherings.
Given that kids holiday parties often begin as soon as December starts, the savviest event planners give themselves a window of three months to plan.
That means you should consider getting your plans in order starting around September 1st.
Here’s some suggestions to make sure everything goes smoothly. It also will help ensure your event is stress free and successful and that you come out looking a top notch event planner.
During September:
- Form a committee to assist you and begin to determine what roles people are interested in.
- Choose a date and time for your kids holiday party
- Set your budget.
- Determine how large your group will be.
- Decide on the party length.
- Book a venue that will accommodate your group as soon as you can. (The availability of function halls, country clubs, restaurants and community halls can go quickly.)
- Reserve a caterer, if necessary.
- Figure out the itinerary and account for ‘schedule creep’ (i.e., delays that occur that are often beyond your control). For example, if you will want to schedule kids party entertainment, be sure to build in 30-minutes extra time for food serving delays. Such delays happen more often than not and most kids party entertainers who are busy this time of year have tight windows of availability.
- Speaking of kids party entertainment, now is the time to book that magician, clown, balloon twister, puppeteer, musician or the like. Be aware of the pitfalls of dealing with an entertainment agency. Please refer to my A-Z Party Checklist for Hiring a Kids Magician, which contains criteria you can easily apply for selecting any form of kids performer.
- Be sure to get a performance agreement, W-9 form and certificate of insurance from the kids party performer, if necessary . If possible, withhold payment on a final balance until they arrive at your party.
Stay tuned in my next post for other suggested action items for September through November including when to secure Santa, when to buy presents, when to invite guests and what to do the week before and day of your kids holiday party.
Sincerely,
Steve Zany, RI MA Kids Party Magician Ventriloquist
RI Magician Kids Party Ventriloquist Steve Zany - Nickelodeon Parents Pick Award Winner!
