Although I have told you about a party that has already taken place, this was the biggie!
Twenty One children joined me in the afternoon, to experience a PartyEase party. It was daunting as their parents were asked to stay and fill in an evaluation form. But they were all lovely and supportive, which made things easier.
As the children arrived, I introduced myself and guided them over to the table where there were crayons and stickers, and explained it was their job to decorate the tablecloth. This helped settle them into the party, and also avoided the running around waiting for the party to start that happens all too often.
Most of them enjoyed themselves, and before long the table was covered with hearts, rainbows, animals and many random shapes!
One parent on their evaluation said of this activity
"Great idea!"
Another commented
"Loved the tablecloth idea, all involved and no children running wild!"
Our first game was Musical Islands. Lots of fun dancing, and less stress for the parents as I provide a basket of prizes (both edible and non-edible - another job that you don't have to do!
A quick game of musical statues followed before sitting down to play Pass the Parcel.
Now, there were 25 layers to the Pass the Parcel. It took nearly an hour to wrap, and over 8 metres of wrapping paper. It's one of the jobs that many dislike doing because of it being so time consuming. As one parent said "I hate wrapping pass the parcel!"
Simon Says proved a popular game. I chose to play this as a time filler while my wonderful friends set out the party tea (which is not included in the package price - sorry.) We played for fun, nobody was out, and the children enjoyed following regular actions as well as the more silly ones, while trying not to be caught out.
While a few children finished their tea, I kept the children calm by telling them a familiar story, and encouraging them to join in with actions. This was mainly aimed at the younger children, but the older ones did listen and mostly join in too.
"During the story, every eye was on Rachael."
Then it was time for the parachute games.
I chose a selection of team games using balls, and a game of cat and mouse where the children could chase and let off steam. This particularly appealed to the older children, and it was good to see that they took care to be gentle with the younger ones.
We ended with a game of Musical Bumps,
before handing out the party bags. Again, the party bag service seems very popular with the parents, who thought the £1.50 charge per bag was good value and meant another thing that parents didn't have to organise!
 |
| Not quite the musical bumps we expected... |
There were a few brilliant suggestions which I intend to implement to make the booking process smoother, and the pricing structure easier to follow.
What did the parents conclude? Here are a few statements from the evaluation forms.
"2 hours of stress-free entertainment! Parents can provide food and enjoy the party as much as the children! ...Lovely to see the children enjoying 'proper' party games and not just sat watching an entertainer."
"Rachael engaged with the children really well and kept them interested. It was very well organised."
"Rachael was very personable and welcoming. There was a good variety of games for the children... My boys were both entertained and had great fun. I would recommend to friends."
"Great value - having recently been looking for a party like this, this is a great price. ...Rachael did an amazing job of entertaining a wide range of children."
"She has the patience of a saint!"
"I would recommend PartyEase to my friends with younger children. All of the children were kept entertained through the whole party."
"I would def. recommend especially for parents that like a traditional plarty but don't want to do it themselves."
This evening I had a message from the parent of two children who came to the party.
"Thank you for having us. When we left the party, my two commented on what a great party it had been."
I agree - I had a fab time too!
(a big thank you to Lisa and Emma for helping me with putting out the party tea and clearing it up afterwards. As this isn't part of the plan, it was great that they could act as party host/client for me in this way. )
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