We know that it’s been a tough year for kids but we have also been shown how resilient and adaptable they are. Your child’s formative years are special and you may all be disappointed that you can’t celebrate in the usual way but we have the technology at our fingertips to ensure that your child’s birthday can still be celebrated in style with their closest family and friends with an online party.
Where do I start?
It can be daunting for us parents and we have all had to learn new ways of doing things as we navigate through this pandemic. We have found that children have been brought up with technology and they have adapted really well to our online parties and facetime – much more so than we could have ever anticipated.
Firstly we will talk you through the technology you need:
The most effective way is to use the conferencing platform Zoom (search ‘download zoom’). Zoom can be used online, on an app on your phone or iPad or as a download on your laptop. The free version allows you 40 minutes of time with up to 100 guests. This is adequate time for your party allowing 5 – 10 minutes for everyone to join and then 30 minutes with your character.
- If you don’t have Zoom then it is very easy to download on your laptop, tablet or phone.
- You can find a beginners guide for Zoom herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbYHaNvCw9M
- Make a list of all the people you want to invite and if possible grab their email addresses as this makes the invitation process to you online party really easy.
- Schedule your party on Zoom – You can create a group on WhatsApp or Facebook and copy and paste the details of your party or you can send the invitation by email.
- Full instructions on how to schedule your party can be found herehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI3fMrEthgk
- The youtube guide above can be shared of your friends and family are unsure.
- Allow 5 minutes at the beginning of you party for people to join.
- If you are able you can ‘airplay’ the meeting to a TV. If you have a smart TV that’s very easyhowever on older TV’s you can purchase an inexpensive HDMI cable to link your laptop /tablet / phone to your TV. HMDi cables are available with many different connectors.
- If you are new to using Zoom please do a trial run using a few of your friends so you knowexactly what you need to do on the day of the party. Make sure you are familiar with the app.
- We are on hand should you have any problems at all
- It is much easier for you to host the party as it gives you full control
- Please remember to send the details to your entertainer so they can also join
What party theme should I choose?
Treat your online party in the same way as an actual party. We specialise in character entertainment from pirates through to princesses and superheroes. Ask your child what theme they would like and ask all the children attending to dress up in the theme as well – you never know even the grown ups might take part!
If you cannot see the theme you are looking for please just ask – we have over 70 characters to choose from.
Personalised to your child
As with all of our parties, the party is customised to your child. We adapt based on age and interest and how many are attending the party. Each party we do is as unique as your child.
We ask a few key questions at booking including their age and name but we also ask for details about them such as what makes them giggle, what music do they like- anything you feel we ought to know please add this to your booking form.
Before the party
Your entertainer will make contact with you within the week of your party to finalise any details.
On the day
- Make sure you have everything ready to go including your costumes and birthday cake.
- Open up your party at the agreed time at which point your guests can request to join using the link that you sent them
- Please keep your character / actor in the waiting room – they should be the last person to jointhe party
- Once everyone is settled and online text/make contact with your character to ensure that they join the party if they are not in the waiting room
- For best results please mute all participants except yourself and the entertainer once the party gets started. This prevents the party from being overwhelmed – your guests can still see and hear but you won’t be able to hear them. You can unmute them when it’s time to sing happy birthday – your entertainer will usually give you instructions on when to mute / unmute – your guests can also mute themselves
- There is an option in Zoom to record the meeting-we strongly recommend you do this so you can record your party to look back on
- You will want your entertainer to have the largest screen on Zoom – you can do this by switching from ‘gallery view’ to ‘speaker view’ in the top right corner
- For a more comprehensive breakdown of running a meeting on Zoom this video is very usefulhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozJS9bvdVp8
What happens during a party
Much of the content for an online party will depend on the character but typically will include:
- Ice breakers and introductions
- Superhero Training or Princess Training
- Superhero Oath or Princess Promise
- Sing along / Story time
- Quiz / Game
- Dance routine
- Singing happy birthday
What happens after your party:
- We will contact you for feedback to make sure that you were happy – as a small business online recommendations really help us and we will send links
- We will send you a downloadable character message for you to keep as a memento
- We will send a personalised letter and certificate through the post for you child
- If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us on 07795 342639.
