HOW TO STRUCTURE A CHILDREN’S BIRTHDAY PARTY
The most successful birthday parties are those that are carefully planned, structured and orchestrated so that everyone is engaged and has fun throughout the entire party.
1. Arrival Time
Jumping Jacks recommend that you ask your guests to arrive around 15 minutes prior to the entertainment start time so that you can greet your guests and welcome them into the party. Usually guests are no more than 10 minutes late from experience so no one will miss out on our entertainers doing their introduction. Our entertainers will arrive around 15-20 minutes prior to the booked start time in order to set-up a table with electrical equipment including speakers, microphones, disco lights (indoors only), prizes, certificates and anything else needed for an action packed party!
2. General Itinerary
Our standard 2 hour party would usually run as follows (as recommended from our experience, this is the itinerary that works best);
- Introduction and ice breaker (10 minutes)
- If you have a unisex tattoo & glitter bar booked this will run alongside the entertainment (for 3 hour parties we can do the glitter bar during the first or last hour if you have added on additional DJ hours).
- Party dances, games and competitions (40 minutes, if you have a character booked they will come out after the initial intro and ice breaker and we will include time for you to get pictures)
- Balloon modelling or alternative with background music playing (25 minutes. This is usually a good time to sit the children down to eat food as while our entertainers make enough balloons for all attending and some spares too of course, the children are not waiting in line for a balloon and they will all be ready to give out at the same time. We do not recommend children grazing throughout the party as they will be jumping around and dancing so eating during this would not be appropriate)
- Happy Birthday (if applicable, with the cake, 5 minutes. This also gives you enough time to cut up the cake ready to give out at the end of the party)
- Pass the parcel, pass the prize challenge, parachute games, quiz or other sat down activity or game (10 mins. This gives the children’s food a chance to settle before they are jumping around and being active again)
- Party dances, games and competitions (30 minutes, if you have a second character booked they will come out now or for Happy Birthday depending on your preference. If you do not have a preference we can decide on your behalf)
- Goodbye’s (5 minutes)
3. Alternative Itinerary
If you would like a bespoke itinerary please contact us and we will be more than happy to assist you. A 2 hour package with one hour of entertainment and one hour of balloon modelling alongside the unisex tattoo & glitter bar with background music. There is no difference in price for this package.
4. Content
We tailor the content to suit the age and ability of the children, number attending, space available, venue location and any specific special requests.
Please note that we do not give out details of our exact party plan but rest assured that your entertainer is experienced enough to deliver the perfect party entertainment for you and your guests! We can also include requests for your favourite songs, games and party dances! If there is a theme, the party content will be tailored to the theme.
For your peace of mind, we always plan more activities, games and dances than needed. Each game, activity or dance does not go on too long as the children would get bored. We do not play exclusion games so no one is sat out and is included throughout the entire party. If we play team games, we choose the teams to avoid any child having their feelings hurt if they are not picked.
5. Party Closing
Now you are in the home stretch with the closing. This means that the party is nearly over. 5-10 minutes prior to the end time, make sure you are prepared for our goodbyes and you have everything you need to give out to guests if applicable.
This is the part of the party where you will want to make sure that every guest or child has their belongings and if you are giving out cake, party bags or other favours or treats, now is the time to do it!
5. Questions & Requests
If you have any additional queries or requests please get in touch and our entertainment team will be more than happy to help you.