The Party Magician

You’ve hired an entertainer to perform at a holiday function. Whether it’s in your home, a hotel, banquet hall or even a restaurant, there are a few things to keep in mind in terms of putting on the show.

Has the performer given you a list of things that are required? In the industry this is sometimes called a “technical rider” and would be part of the contract you signed. These are essentials for the performer.

This could be as simple as a table or chairs, or access to an electrical outlet. It can be quite elaborate and complex and include stage requirements or placement, microphones, lighting, dressing room. I’m sure that you’ve read some of the stories about A-list personalities that require specific red candies or exotic brands of brands of bottled water.

When is the performance scheduled?

If it’s strolling entertainment (the performer walks around and mingles with your guest and performs up close and personal), consider what else is happening at the same time that might interfere. Are there speeches or door prize drawings?

Unless it’s background music, do not schedule any kind of entertainment while people are eating! Your guests will not give the entertainer the attention deserved, and it’s downright rude: both to the guests, and to the entertainer. As a performer, I simply won’t do it.

The only times to consider are before the meal and after the meal. I have also seen and suggested the break between the main course and dessert. Often the meal is so large that the guests actually appreciate the “intermission” and then have a renewed appetite when dessert is served.

Have you considered the ambience of the room where the show is being held?

If you’re in a banquet hall or hotel, how thin are the partition walls and what is happening in the adjoining rooms? Is there an overly loud band playing next door?

If you’re in a restaurant, are you in a separate private room or are you simply curtained off from the main room? This can be a real challenge to the performer. The ambient noise that is a part of most restaurants, and is part of the ambience of the venue, can be a real distraction to both the performer and to the other restaurant patrons. If you are having entertainment in a restaurant venue, then at least select a restaurant with a private dining room. This is really a win-win-win situation.

If you haven’t booked your entertainment for the holiday season, you may be too late! Most of the top performers have already filled their calendars.

And if you haven’t dealt with the items mentioned here, there may be some challenges with the quality of the performance you receive.

I’ve spoken about large events and I’ve looked at the question of how big is too big. Now I want to look at the other extreme and ask the question, “Can a party be too small?”

I don’t think so, unless there’s only one attendee. Like the song says, “One is the loneliest number.”

Think about it. Just about every night of the week, couples sit down to an intimate dinner and celebrate some kind of event thinking three’s a crowd. For them, two is the absolute perfect number.

But let’s be realistic, and consider a children’s birthday party. Do you really need to have 8, 10, 12, 15 or more to make it a special event? Can you have a special celebration with only three or four?

Absolutely!

Ask yourself this. Isn’t it really about quality time and not about the number of people?

Mom, dad, child and siblings put everything else aside, forget about all the regular routines and spend some quality time together doing something really special with the guest of honour. This is often the stuff of special memories that will last well beyond the silly gifts that make up so many birthday parties.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I’m not advocating either a minimalist approach or a super-sized approach. My message is very simple – use the right-sized approach!

Regardless the nature of the celebration, consider the following:

• Is this a regularly scheduled celebration like a birthday party or is this a once-in-a-lifetime milestone or life-cycle event?
• Will your budget support your vision of the event?

Of you get these two things right, you’ll be on-track for a right-sized and memorable event.

When planning a party, one of the first questions you need to ask yourself is, “How big is too big?”

It all comes down to one thing: budget. For example, weddings, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and Confirmations are typically large events; birthday parties are not. But it’s not that simple.

The question of size permeates virtually every aspect of the event planning process. But how big is “too big”?

It’s too big if your guest list is larger than the occupancy limit of your venue.

It’s too big if your cost exceeds your budget.

It’s also too big if your guest list includes people you’d rather not invite.

How can that be so?

I often see this in children’s birthday parties. The school “suggests” that if anyone from the class is invited, then the entire class is to be invited.

This is nonsense.

It’s your home and it’s your party, so you get to choose. Period!

I am not going to try to offer any advice on family politics: you know, the Smith side doesn’t want to have anything to do with the Jones side and they haven’t had a civil word in years! You’re on your own with that one.

Back to children’s birthday parties: I can offer this simple guide to size. The average children’s party has 12 to 15 guests and the majority of children’s parties have 8 to 20 guests. This is not counting grownups: aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.

One other suggestion on size: how many guests can you comfortably accommodate? If you can’t accommodate the guests, it’s too big!

That’s right, you are an event planner, and you didn’t even know it.

Businesses have been hiring professional event planners to manage the organizational aspects of important functions for a very long time. However, as a mom or dad or husband or wife, you generally do not have the luxury to do that for anything other than a fair-sized wedding.

Whether it’s a simple dinner party for a few friends or family, or a birthday party for your child, it is up to you to coordinate all the details that go into making that party a success.

Think about it. Here are just a few of the things that you have to manage:

• Set deadlines
• Manage the budget
• Select the venue (even if you’re just having the party at home!
• Preparing the guest list
• Preparing and sending the invitations
• Setting the menu
• Selecting and liaising with suppliers
• Creating the atmosphere or décor
• Ensuring the smooth progress of the event

And there’s a whole lot more, depending of course, on the size and scope of the event.

If it’s a birthday party for your child, then in all likelihood, you are the event planner (whether you like it or not) and your child is the client!

And as in every supplier-client relationship, you have to listen to the client’s wishes. As a mom or dad, you have to manage those wishes, guide and perhaps limit the choices and teach some economic realities, all while delivering a memorable and enjoyable experience.

As a supplier to the event industry, I sometimes have to do the very same thing. Client expectations are sometimes unrealistic, timing and logistics are not feasible, venue restrictions make some types of performances challenging or nigh impossible.

As the event planner your job is to juggle and manage these conflicts in such a way that in the end everything works out. It’s enough to make you tear your hair out and cry, Never again!”

Or you can remain flexible and look for suggestions and solutions that are available. I’ll be sharing some of these ideas in  future articles. For now, understand that you are the event planner and that it’s up to you to manage the process.

When it comes to parties and celebrations, the sky’s pretty much the limit. Just about anything goes.

Whether it’s a half-dozen friends for an evening of poker, charades or a board game, or community event for several thousand, there are things that work well and things that don’t work at all.

It all depends: on the venue, on the space, on the budget and a whole lot more.

As an entertainer who focuses on children and family entertainment, I get to go to a lot of “home parties”. I also perform at my fair share of birthday parties. In this regard, I have seen a lot of things that work, and frankly, a lot of things that don’t.

This blog is intended to provide the reader with timely hints and ideas for hosting your own parties. A lot of this will be targeted towards children’s birthday parties, while at the same time providing ideas for other seasonal events.

Some of the topics will include:

• seasonal ideas
• crafts
• games
• food and even recipes
• timely tips
• event planning tips

From time to time, by way of examples, I’ll tell you about some of the parties I have had the opportunity to work. The title of this article is “The Sky’s The Limit” and many years ago, just when I was starting out, I was invited by a fellow magician to watch a show he was doing at a Bar Mitzvah party. This one was held at a high-end banquet facility and hosted in the vicinity of 250 to 300 guests. Here’s what this family included in the evening, and this is just what I can remember!

Aside from the multi-course gourmet dinner (I’ve attended many events at this facility and I can attest that their offerings are well above-average), they had a live orchestra (not just a small band), and a DJ for when the orchestra was not playing. They had both a photographer and a videographer. They had the magician. And they had indoor pyro-technics. I also recollect that there was something else specifically for the children.

As I said, when it comes to parties, the sky’s the limit.

So join me as I explore the world of entertainment … at home, and about.

I’m Ron Guttman and I’m “The Party Magician!”