How far in advance should you book party entertainment?
Hosting a children's party can be lots of fun. There's a whole lot of planning behind that two or three-hour event, and if you're in the early stages now, you'll know exactly what we mean! It's not only what you have to consider - but when to take care of the different tasks. This week, we'll give you a few pointers on the timing of booking entertainment to hopefully make things a little easier! Read on for top tips on When to Book a Children's Entertainer...
It's true from the entertainment company's perspective that the sooner you book, the better. When you book your entertainment in advance, arrangements on our side are much easier to make and everything can be in place without any last-minute juggling. However, for you, there are definitely some things that need to be in place before you settle on booking entertainment:
1. Know your guest numbers. Entertainers need to know how many children you'll expect to have them entertain, as they have limits on those numbers to ensure the best performance. An all-round entertainer providing party games, balloons models, etc. can usually entertain up to 25 children.
2. Budget. Have a rough idea in mind of how much money you would like to allocate for entertainment. Then when it's time to book, you can consider just the entertainment options within your budget.
3. Event date. There are less obvious aspects to the timing of an event, such as possible conflicts with national holidays, or events that can cause traffic jams (making travel to your party difficult), or weather. Choose an event date that is likely to suit everyone and also consider that some entertainment options require an outdoors space (such as fire shows).
4. What role will entertainment take at your celebration? Birthdays often call for all-round entertainers to keep the children occupied for an hour or two. Corporate events may require require balloon modellers, stilt walkers, or even fire breathers. The type of celebration you are holding and your specific requirements are important for the entertainment company to know.
5. Venue. Even if you've not gotten a space booked yet, you must settle on the neighbourhood in which your event will take place before booking entertainment. Entertainers need this information to be able to confirm that they can travel to your area in time for your booking time.
There's nothing to stop you putting out the feelers and enquiring with entertainment companies even without the above in place. You can find out their general availability and they can answer questions you might have about anything you're unsure of. However we'd recommend not booking until you're sure of the above 5 points, as they inform exactly what kind of entertainment you will require.
Once you're sure of the checklist, book your entertainment as soon as possible. The further in advance of the event date you are, the more likely your chosen entertainment will be available. Here at JoJoFun, we do our best to secure entertainment even for last minute bookings, however the later the booking is left the more likely entertainers will simply be unavailable. To ensure all is in place, some clients book 4-6 months in advance!
Can you think of any other items to add to the checklist above? If so, we'd love to hear from you. We'll update this blog post with your ideas so others can benefit!
Thanks for reading, and all the best for your celebration!
