You know all about “swag” … those goodies you get when you attend parties. According to this NY Post article, swag is not just for grown-up parties, conferences and weddings anymore. Kids not only look forward to good swag, they expect it!  From expensive toys to LeSac bags filled with spa goodies and beyond, many parents are giving in to giving swag.

The article also points to parents who don’t agree with the swag-giving trend, citing one parent who is giving a lollipop with a note that a donation has been made to Haiti Earthquake Relief.

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For Hollywood’s biggest night,  celebrate in old-fashioned style with a party worthy of the red carpet. Think of icons such as Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. These stars and those of their generation are the epitome of an era of chic, captivating style and unrivaled talent. Celebrations.com’s Karen Perkins has all the decor tips you need to create an unforgettable Oscar party that channels the glitz and glamor of Hollywood’s heyday.

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I would like to welcome Brian Wishnefsky to the Party Ideas Blog today!  He has over 20 years of experience being a kids’ party entertainer in the San Francisco area.  He wanted to share some top tips to you when thinking about hiring an entertainer for your next kids’ party.  You can find him on-line at: www.pranks4u.com.  Welcome, Brian!

I’ve been a professional full time children’s entertainer for over 20 years.  I would like to provide some advice on choosing the best entertainer for your event at the most reasonable rate. The old saying “You get what you pay for!” holds true when choosing entertainment for your event. 

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A fire truck party is sure to be a favorite among the little ones. Whether boys or girls, kids are fascinated by the the shiny red fire truck that howls down the road in times of emergency. When I was growing up, our neighborhood park had a mock red fire truck that we could climb on. We would pretend we were firefighters rushing off to save the next cat up the tree. Don’t be surprised if your kid wants a fire truck party. If so, here are some ideas for this theme:

One of the most popular places to have this party would be at your local fire station! You might want to call them up and see if they host kids’ parties. Firefighters can offer the kids a tour of the station, a ride down the pole to the trucks, and an up-close look at the nooks and crannies of the fire engines. This activity will truly make the fire trucks come alive and will also be educational for the kids. This would also take up the bulk of the party time, leaving a little bit left for cake and ice cream. Kids’ parties are something a fire station may do gratis; if so, make sure to do something nice in return, such as baking some treats or making a donation.

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Hotels may serve as a good overnight destination for a slumber party, especially if you don’t want your house all messed by a group of pre-teen boys and/or girls. If you decide to take a group of kids to a hotel overnight, it will be a thrill for kids age 9 to 14. This can be especially popular venue if your child wants a swimming party, and their birthday falls in the middle of winter!

If you are going to use a hotel as an outside venue, make sure that the hotel understands there will be a party of “x” amount of children, so they can give their OK. The hotel may also offer you a special price on adjoining rooms and/or rooms that have a kitchen for snacks and breakfast. I would limit the number of guests invited to five, plus the birthday kid. If there are four double beds, three of them are taken with two kids to a bed, and the fourth bed will be for the parent. So, it works out well to have a small number of guests attending the party.

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Peppers and Pollywogs is often asked how to find those really popular characters (think Elmo and Dora) for their upcoming kid’s party!  It is often really difficult to find an actual Elmo or Dora, you may instead find Traveling Girl with Backpack or Red Puppet instead.  Consumers often aren’t happy with these knock-off characters and prefer that the licensed character actually attend an entertain the children.

Recently, the WSJ spotlighted this problem, i.e the fact that entertainers are not legally allowed to appear as the actual character due to worries over trademark infringement.  The WSJ Law Blog has an interesting take on the problem and the comments are worth a read too.  It is unfortunate that the homemade character costumes often look odd and don’t really showcase the character that the kids know and love.  The example of the 4-year-old’s party where Dora seemed scary is often a common problem when these entertainers are hired.  It isn’t the entertainers fault, but rather the law.  It is illegal for these entertainers to appear exactly as the character.

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The younger the kids, the simpler the entertainment can be. For my three-year-olds party I actually kept it really simple – we kicked it off with a “pin the nose on Elmo” game that we picked up from a local party supply store – but the rest of the time was spent eating lunch, then opening gifts, then eating cupcakes. Little ones can’t handle very long parties anyway; usually gifts and dessert are the main attractions, and actually take up a fair amount of time.

As they get older, I look at the child’s own personality first for inspiration – what do they like to do? Arts and crafts? Sports? Play with water guns? Dress up? Then come up with an activity based on that.

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