You’ve possibly never organised a children’s party before and it’s a scary thought having a lot of children running around a village hall and causing chaos!
Let me put your mind at rest with some frequently asked questions (I get asked a LOT of questions!) and how I deal with things
In a nutshell…yes!
I’m a fully qualified Scout Leader (it’s a lot of training and hard work) and hold an enhanced DBS certificate to prove I’ve not done anything wrong. Although the DBS certificate is only relevant to my role in Scouting, you can rest assured that the training from that role is passed onto my role as a children’s entertainer!
Definitely!
The last thing I want to see is a child at a party electrocuted by faulty equipment (it’s the stuff of nightmares!).
All of my equipment is tested annually for safety and I’m insured for £10 million just in case the worst should happen!
YES!
I take great pride in my reputation and once I’m contracted to be at a party…I’ll absolutely be there!
Please don’t add “the DJ didn’t show up” to your already mahusive stress levels. I’ll be there to entertain the children come Hell or high water!
Yes I do!
A deposit covers the cost of setting up your booking in my event planning system and my time to do the admin (sorry – this is my job and I need to be paid for what I do!)
My deposit is a flat £50 fee which is offset from the final balance and can be paid either by Bank Transfer (BACS) or via credit/debit card
Definitely!
It protects both you AND me should things go wrong (especially in the current COVID climate).
My contract states exactly what I’m going to provide for your party and is regularly reviewed by a solicitor to ensure it’s fair to both you AND me
In the ideal world, 45 minutes would be brilliant! (I’m not getting any younger and the kit is big and heavy)
But…I appreciate that most venues give you half an hour either side of the party to set things up and take them out again. To this end I’m ALWAYS refining how things are set up and can get in and out in 30 minutes depending on how easy the access to the venue is and how close I can park the van to the setup area. The Glow Party needs at least 30 minutes to allow for the lighting to cool down at the end!
I’ll do my very best to be up and working in 30 minutes – but it might mean that I play a few songs at the start of the party until I’m fully set up and start playing games.
This is a resounding NO!
Mrs Imagine/Ely Kid’s Disco suffers from epilepsy and I regularly programme the light-show at home. Strobe lighting is out of the question!
Whilst the lighting often flashes (it’s what a disco does!), I’ve never yet triggered an epileptic seizure!
YES!
I have an online event planning system which allows you to select the music played on the day!
I really try not to (and it’s getting harder!)
My music policy is simple…unless something’s been pre-requested by you as a parent I’ll only ever play music which has been played on the radio or appeared on a NOW album, The children may fill in the “gaps” of the radio edits and I really can’t help that!
I try my hardest to ensure nobody gets hurt during the games. The last thing I want to see is tears at a party!
I plan the games to be played on the day dependant on the ages and abilities of the guests!
I aim for everything to be safe and enjoyable for the guests at the party,
YES!
Every child that attends one of my parties will receive a winner’s medal and certificate just for taking part!
I don’t do absolute winners or losers for every game, and with the nature of how children react at parties, it’s not always feasible to play games to the bitter end and having an ultimate winner.
That all depends on the floor of the venue. On some floors, it can turn it into an ice-rink. On others, it has the opposite effect!
At the end of the day, the snow is bubble fluid which is fired under pressure through something resembling a sock. Sounds simple but trust me, those machines are the bain of my life and are so unreliable that it’s unreal!
The way I work with the snow effect is to make it as safe as possible. If you’re feeding the guests, it’ll be used just before they sit down to eat. This gives me time to clear the residue from the floor and prevent accidents.
Otherwise, it’s used right at the very end of the party when the guests will be going home afterwards
No you don’t…but it’s preferable.
The children (especially the younger ones) will burn a LOT of energy during the party and it’s always a good idea to have at least a 10 minute rest at around the halfway point to give them time to recharge their batteries.
Even if it’s just a quick drink and a snack as opposed to a full birthday tea…they’ll appreciate it!
I get asked this question a lot.
The answer I’m afraid is a resounding NO (sorry!)
I’m blimmin’ good at doing what I do and my fees absolutely reflect that – I make no apologies!
It costs a lot of money to run a business from the cost of the equipment, the music, repairs, replacement and even transport to get to your party in the first place (don’t talk to me about the cost of diesel at the moment!).
Add in the costs of having the equipment tested, insured, stored and lots of other boring expenses behind the scenes (oh…and my wages for being there because this is my job) and Ely Kids Disco runs on very tight margins indeed!
There may be others who can offer a disco party at a much lower price, but ask yourself what corners are they cutting to work at those rates?
Is the lack of safety for your child and their guests really worth it?
Yes, several…but I rarely use them!
Why?
Because they’re flippin’ dangerous things. They make most venue floors act like ice-rinks and cause the children to slip and slide all over the place.
They’re really not worth the risk of running…but if you absolutely want me to provide bubbles and understand the risks….
Sort of…but not as loud as an adult party!
I understand that the ear-drums of the average 6 year old haven’t fully developed and certainly WON’T be making their ears bleed with the volume!
It’s loud enough for them to enjoy the party, but not loud enough to damage their hearing (trust me as a wearer of hearing aids….the sound levels are constantly monitored!)
I ask, but don’t always get…and that’s really not a problem!
I’m not the pushy sort (it’s not in my nature!). My booking system will automatically send you a single request email for an online review a couple of days after your party…whether or not you respond to that is entirely up to you and it won’t send further emails begging for feedback (because that’s not how I work).
BUT, if you could spend just a couple of minutes giving a review (good or bad), it’d be really appreciated!
The way the online world works now is heavily biased to customer feedback and reviews, and the more reviews I get, the higher I rank in the search engines.