Emazdad or the Venue which comes first?

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Emazdad gets a lot of enquires where the customer has booked the hall only to find that he's booked for the date / time they want.  Alternativly people book Emazdad and then can't get the hall they wanted. So which should you book first? The answers simple, There's more than one venue, but there is only one Emazdad. If you definitely want Emazdad then it's important you phone him first, but don't leave it too late, He gets booked very early.

You can never be too early to book Emazdad, but it's so easy to be too late

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The Venue
 

Emazdad's 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.

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

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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 Emazdad to control the volume of his PA.

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

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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.

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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.

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Important   Contact the venue a couple of days before the party to ensure they know you have the hall booked and what time you want entry. Ensure you get a contact Number for the key holder, preferably a mobile phone number, you can call on the day if the key holder doesn't turn up.

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How long should the party be?

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Emazdad does 100's of birthday parties every year and can say without a doubt that the maximum recommended length of a children's birthday party is 2-hours. After 2-hours the children would have had enough and be tired and ready to go home, and you'll have had enough and be staring at the door eager for the parents to arrive and take their children home so you can sit down and rest with a glass of wine..

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

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A lot of parents think that a mid afternoon, 1:00pm to 3:00pm or 2:00pm to 4:00pm are the best times to hold a party, however if you wish to book a professional children's entertainer like Emazdad then those times are the worse time slots to use.  Emazdad does 2 parties a day on weekends and school holidays and a mid afternoon party would prevent him fitting both parties in, he 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.

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The 11am to 1pm slot is best for  for 4 and 5 year olds because they can get tired later in the afternoon, especially the birthday child who's been running in high excitement mode since the crack of dawn.

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The Entertainer

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Not everyone can book Emazdad so if you're too late to book him and have to look for an alternative take great care to check them out before you make any bookings. Asking your friends for recommendations is a good start, and beware of the really cheap entertainers, they're cheap for a reason. It's important that you ask if they have PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE, if they haven't it's best to avoid them.. 

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The Guests

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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.

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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, also the older kids may find anything you do for the youngsters too babyish. 

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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.

 

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The Presents

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If you let the birthday child open their presents before the party, they may decide that a certain present is much more interesting than the party.  This is especially bad with boys so to avoid this and to help keep track of who gives what and to avoid bits getting lost, have a big bag or box handy to put the all the presents in so they can then be opened safely at home after the party.

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Who's Who?

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

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Bouncy Castles, Toys, Balloons and Noise Makers

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Bouncy castles and other inflatables are a huge distraction and their blowers are very noisey so Emazdad will ask you to switch them off and put them out of bounds to the children during his performance. 

Please do not distribute, toys, squeakers, whistles, Party Poppers or Balloons etc, before or during the party, 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.

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Food And Drink

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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.

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The Party Food

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Keep the food simple, If you want to do a traditional party table just try not to go overboard and weigh it down with a ton of party food, Children often don't eat much at parties, you'll be taking 80% of it home at the end and Mum and Dad will be eating it for lunch for days.

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The best way to avoid all the stress at tea time is to make up individual box meals or plates with a couple of Sandwiches, Crisps, Sausage on sticks, Biscuits, Buns etc, basically simple party food that all kids love and will eat.

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The bonus with this method is not only is there very little waste, but instead of going to all the hassle of setting out tables and chairs, the kids can sit on the floor picnic style and eat. This is the real stress free method.

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Another good tip is to put all the sandwiches and savoury stuff out first, then bring out the sweet sticky stuff after about 10 minutes. that way at least some of your sandwiches will get eaten.

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Emazdad is trying to lose weight, after all he didn't get his manly figure eating carrots. His problem is not a matter of lack of 'WILL' power, it's more a lack of 'WONT' power. So Please don't offer Emazdad any party food. Thank you (Drinks are appreciated thought, entertaining is thirsty work).

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Drinks

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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.

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1, The children love them 

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

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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.

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The Birthday Cake

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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.

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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.

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Adults at the Party

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IF YOU WANT THE KIDS TO HAVE MORE FUN GET THE MUM'S TO DUMP AND RUN!

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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.

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Nowadays this is harder to achieve, parents are less inclined to take the opportunity for a couple of hours peace, so it's best to place some chairs in the hall for these adults. Placing  the chairs in rows behind the children and facing Emazdad so the adults become an audience often helps to ensure everyone gets the maximum enjoyment out of the show.

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Parental Chatter is the number one problem entertainers encounter, although most parents take an interest in their child and love to watch them having fun, some however would rather chat so it's a good idea to have a have a separate room available for the talkers to use so they don't spoil the fun for everyone watching the show.. 

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Pick up time: To avoid distracting the children it's a great idea to ask the parents returning to pick their children up not to enter the party room until after the party has finished.

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Toddlers and Babies

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Emazdads parties are not suitable for children under 4 years old: Toddlers and Babies are really cute but loose toddlers and babies in the party room are number two in the list of problems entertainers encounter.

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Babies and children who're 3 or under are far young for the party, their attention span is a tad short, they don’t understand what’s happening and can get frightened by the noise and excitement of the party. Therefore any toddlers and babies in the room should be kept on an adults lap for the duration of the party.

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Photography / Video

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

The Camera

Spare Film

Mains Leads

Batteries

Camera Stands

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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.