Candle-Abra-Cadabra!

Posted by on May 8, 2012

It’s supposed to be the highlight of the birthday party..

Family and friends gather round the birthday child and sing (usually out of tune) “Happy Birthday” just before the candles are blown out to applause and cheers. In my life as a children’s entertainer in Kent I must have seen several thousand birthday cakes and perhaps 30,0oo candles blown upon.

However it doesn’t always go exactly to plan.

I’ve seen the presentation of the cake totally flop, I’ve seen a few cakes flop on the floor and what’s worse is I’ve seen children come very close to sustaining a nasty injury.

I’ll be covering several aspects of presenting the cake in my next blog posts… Today I want to take a look at the burning issue of CANDLES

 Here are my top 10 tips to make the most of presenting the cake, making great memories and keeping your children safe!

1) Bring some candles
Yup – I know it sounds silly to say.  Make sure candles are on your shopping list to buy and bring to the party. Assuming you have some in the kitchen draw can end up leaving you in the dark. I’ve been to hundreds of birthday parties where Dad has been sent off in a panic to Tesco (other supermarkets are available) to get candles.

2) Bring a lighter/matches
Again it’s basic stuff… you cant always rely on one of the other parents being a smoker!

3) It’s quicker to light from a candle
It’s also less hard work on your finger tips. I’ve often seen parents having to twist their wrists into all kinds of contortions in an effort to light 7 candles from a single lighter. It takes a lot of time and the lighter gets very hot – plus you might catch your sleeve alight! Light one candle and pick that up to light the others – it is a LOT easier.

4) Light the candles  away from the children
Kids are fascinated by fire… (more on this later) – If you attempt to light the candles on your cake in the middle of a table full of kids they will lean all over you and into the cake to get a better view at that magical flickering flame.It will frustrate you and them – someone might also get hurt.

5) Avoid cheaper “happy birthday candles”
There are a lot of candles that spell out words like a person’s name or even to say “Happy Birthday”. These are great and make presenting the cake at your child’s birthday party  very personal. Beware of the budget versions of these candles… Some of them burn so very quickly that you get a big blob of multicoloured wax that spoils the look of your cake by the time you’ve got round to singing “Happy Birthday dear…..” And when the candles are due to be blown out – there’s nothing left other than a ruined cake. That leads me on to…

6) Watch the wax…
Many cheap candles burn quickly. This is because they have a low melting point. This also means that the wax stays fluid for longer… which can means wax sprayed all over party clothes and faces when the candles are blown out.

7) Take care with sparklers
These are very popular and potentially very dangerous… I’ve seen children lunge at a cake in an attempt to beat the birthday child to blowing out the candles… If there is a sparkler on the cake they can easily get burned. Use sparklers wisely – make sure the cake is “out of reach” on a table or make sure an adult holds it well away from the young faces.

8 ) Take Care with roman candles and indoor fireworks
Follow the same guidance as above but I would add to make sure the cake is safe on a table away from hands and faces. I saw a cake with a roman candle in full flame  slip off the plate – the children lunged towards it… very risky!

9) Relighting candles
Are meant to be amusing… but they can deceive kids. I’ve seen a child assuming the candle was extinguished grab and get burned… Be careful!

10) Position you  cake so it faces outwards…
So you’ve chosen nice expensive candles, on a great looking cake and when you look at the pictures on your computer the writing or decoration is obscured… So arrange your candles sensibly so they don’t obscure the design and angle the cake so the writing is pointing forwards so your pictures will look great!

I hoe you find these party tips useful… and I trust you won’t think of me as a health and safety freak… I’ve seen all these things happen at birthday parties in Kent in my 15 years working as a childrens entertainer.

Enjoy your party, enjoy your cake and enjoy some great party memories!

To find out more about Marli The Magician – childrens entertainer in Kent – call 07904 262138 or simply click to email Marli directly!

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Table Magic – Planning your party table layout

Posted by on January 31, 2012

Can you guess what seems to be the most vexing challenge for parents when setting up a room in their village hall or community centre for a children’s party…?

Let’s help you overcome it and even offer a money saving tip that helps your birthday child feel really special into the bargain.

My extensive research, undertaken during my years of work as a children’s’ entertainer in Kent , shows that the supposedly simple act of laying out the table for party tea confuses, bemuses and baffles even the most prepared of parents.

The first rule of children’s party hall hire is to check where EVERYTHING is – from the tables & chairs through to the kettle and cups. Even things like keys to unlock the windows and the power switch are often hard to find. So ask the hall manager in advance.

Those however are minor challenges, compared to the drama I frequently observe when it comes to making the best use of the available tables at kiddies parties.

You want to have a place at the table for each child, you want the table to be decorated with a nice cloth in keeping with the party theme and you want all the kids to sit and eat together.

So how do you lay out tables most efficiently and how can you make sure you get enough tablecloths… Even better how could you save some money on your party budget?

The majority of village hall tables are oblong and sit 8 or 10 children.

TIP 1

Sit children on both sides of the table. So many times I see people only lay a place on one side, they soon run out of space and often tables. Kids are only small!

TIP 2

Use benches or smaller chairs if they are available. Placing full-sized adult chairs takes up more table space. If the hall you have chosen for your children’s party has a pre-school or nursery during the week, they’ll have some small chairs somewhere. Check with the hall manager.

TIP 3

If you need more than one table (which 90% of children’s parties do) place them end-to-end. Another common mistake I see is two oblong tables being placed with the long edges together. This actually only adds a couple of places and you could run out of tables.

TIP 3

You can’t keep adding tables indefinitely as you’ll run out of hall! So make them into a U shape, or even sprigs. Place the birthday child in the “middle” of the top table – just like the happy couple at a wedding… They’ll feel really special.

TIP 5

You want all the tables to look good so you invest a few pounds in some nice cloths made to match the birthday child’s favourite theme. But OOOPS! So often I see big gaps because people don’t buy enough cloths.  Visit the hall and measure the tables, work out a layout before your children’s party – then check out the size of the cloths your child wants and divide one by the other. SIMPLE – but so often overlooked.

Now here’s a bonus idea I had some time ago which I’ve mentioned to many party mums who have used it, saving themselves some money…

Somewhat flying in the face of the advice I’ve just given, lay out the tables for the party in a U shape, place the birthday child at the top of the U just as in the picture – but leave the front edge of his table empty….

Childrens party entertainer Kent - table layouts

Place ONE decorative table cloth hanging down the front of the table where you’ve left out the children….

On the rest of the tables use cheaper plain cloths or none at all (the tables wipe clean very easily).

Now your child can sit like a Prince or Princess – you can take some great pictures from the front with no other children in the way.

A perfect memory of a perfect party!

I’ll be adding more tips from my experience as a party entertainer in Kent soon.

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Party Tips – Get A Professional!

Posted by on December 10, 2010

Hi.. I’ll be sharing regular party planning tips on this new website and blog.

Although this is a website about children’s parties – most of what I suggest will apply for almost any kind of event.

My first tip, when selecting service providers and entertainers, is to choose professionals!

The key question is  what does “professional” mean? It doesn’t necessarily mean someone who does nothing else for living.

It is more a question of attitude and priorities. A quick look at their adverts and website will tell you a lot. Does it look like they care enough to invest in their business or is it amateurish? How do they sound on the phone? Do they respond promptly to your requests?

There are also many practical and legal requirements – do they have insurance, is their electrical equipment tested, do they have risk assessments, are they CRB checked? You may or may not believe we live in a nanny-state and that these things are merely the result of too much red-tape. Reality is, they matter in today’s society – like it or not.

If you are hoping to hire a hall or venue for your event this is especially important as venues should (although they do not always) insist service providers have these things to cover their own risk.

It is essential you ask your venue in advance if these will be a requirement…

Here’s why – Last year whilst I performed magic at a wedding, I saw an upsetting situation develop.

The Disco arrived. The duty manager demanded to see the DJ’s electrical PAT testing certificates. Without this paperwork he would not allow the DJ to plug-in his equipment. He didn’t have them.

The father-of-the-bride argued that no one had told him they would be needed – if they had he would have made sure all was in-order.

The manager stood his ground – as he was perfectly entitled to. The DJ went home and the evening was a flop.

The moral of the story is two-fold.

  1. Actively check what requirements a venue have.
  2. Insist all service providers carry all necessary paperwork – in that case it can’t go wrong.

Professionals, those who care, will look, act and most of all prepare in a positive and proactive manner.

If they can’t answer questions about their credentials immediately – what does that tell you!

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