So here is what happens:

You have been booked for a full party say 3.00 - 5.00pm and turn up in good time to set up. You have some party music playing for any early arrivals and it gets closer to your scheduled 3.00 party start time. The Mum has told everyone that the party is 3.00 - 5.00 but it is now 3.00 and there is only a handful of children.

Now, for full parties, I start off with the magic show and sort the games out later as I use a live rabbit and like to leave him on show

How do you cope with this lack of children ? I have told bookers to always tell the children that the party starts earlier than what I am booked for in the hope that they turn up early but nearly always they don't .

How do you fill this vacant pause in your alloted time as it does not look good if you say " I will wait till they all arrive" and I think it also does not look good if you start the party off with some party music - or does it ? After all they could have just put some music on themselves and saved some money.

Has anyone any good ideas for games for just a handful of children that will help fill this dead spot or am I the only one that gets late arrivals at nearly every show and shouldn't let it bother me ?

Stuart.

Hey Stuart, I rarely get late children, but I make sure the mom puts in the invitiation, "The Great Zucchini start at 3 00'/ Make sure your in the invites.

I don't know how it is in England, but here in Montreal, if the says she told everyone to be there at 3:00 PM, I tell her that I will be starting the show at 3:30 PM... No one ever arrives on time here, so it is better to have that buffer zone between scheduled arrival of guests and actual start of the show. Make that very clear with the person hiring you.

As many know, a party rarely ever starts on time. You tell folks to be there at 3pm and you are lucky if they all show up by 3:30. Because of this I remedy the situation by either 1) telling the client to place on the invites to arrive 30 mins prior. So a 3:30 start time really gets conveyed as the party starts at 3pm.

The second option is that I arrange my show and what I do to account for late arrivals. I would possibly do a game or a warm up while the kids are coming in and then that segues right into the show with no down time.

This works pretty well and the clients are more then happy to work with you on it as you are providing solutions for them that fixes a need or a problem that they have.

Kyle

Like the other said, when they book you ask the client what time the party officially starts, then suggest that they have you start a half hour later or whatever. Or tell them,"OK I'll do 3-5, but I'll wait till the kids are all there before I start the show". I'm guessing you don't do balloon twisting, but you could easily learn to make balloon swords (or a few simple designs) and do sword fights, though they tend to pop and later when the kids all arrive the rest will want balloons too, but it might be a good option. I also do parachute games for outdoor gigs, weather and space permitting. I'm telling you, parachute games are great, and make for great photos because they are big and colorful. One game I do with parachutes is to take the birthday kid for a ride - he gets on one end of the parachute and wraps it around himself so he can sit up and not fall over, then I and another adult get on the other side and quickly drag the parachute all over. I usually do it just for the bday kid, but sometimes all the kids. You could also teach the kids a magic trick.

In my full party runner I start with inclusive games designed to engage the children as they arrive at the party. In my advertising I use this as a selling point “ensuring a rocking party atmosphere as your guests arrive” in my hour show I specify in the confirmation mail, in the terms and conditions and again in the contract “your entertainer has other bookings and needs to start at the booked time. it is highly recommended that you leave a minimum of 20 minutes for gests to arrive before starting your entertainment” those two strategies work well for me.

For me this is a great time to get to know the kids.

I use:
1. Just talking(with lots of listening
2. Close up magic (self working and or killer sleights) with emphasis on age appropriate and themed to time of year or party
3. improvisation with items in room(or in bottom of one of my cases
4.....
5....
6..

Exactly, never start at the start of the party, Never. Meaning, in the invites it will say, "Johnny's party is starting at 3, the Great Zucchini is starting at 3 15. Don't start ever at the start of the party, people are pulling up, etc, but make sure the invites, state when you are in fact starting.

In case some missed it, the thread was started by a UK member who offers a 2 hour party package (as many UK performers do). That means they do a show, run the games, etc. They essentially run the whole party for the parent.

Of course, it makes the most sense to have the magic show itself part way into the party. And it makes sense to do games or balloon twisting in that time while guests are first arriving, if you are running a full party package.

Stuart, some of Jimbo's DVDs ("Kid-Ability", "Games-Ability") might help you out with ideas: http://www.jimbosmagic.co.uk/shop.php

He also has a 3rd DVD titled "Balloons-Ability". More info here, on this thread.

- Donald

P.S. This thread might also be of help (outlines & ideas for a two hour party, etc.):

--> Magic Café thread titled... Game......u rich!!

I have had this problem a number of times and I take the opportunity to talk to the kids that have arrived and more importantly, the PARENTS and getting to know them and also giving them my business card and offering them a deal to perform at a future party.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/12-MINI-TOUCHABL......2&sr=1-1

Best thing for us Brits that do the 2 hour party as they do tend to come in up to 10min late
if the boys are going mad running around before the party
They are great they carm the children down before the party they get to know you.
I start by saying "ok if you put your finger in the air and your really gentle you will be able to catch one of these bubbles on your finger let's see if any one can"
They all start the catch the bubbles then I say "if your really clever you can catch them on all your fingers, let see who can do it first"
Then after someone has done it the next thing is to catch them on top of each other and see tall you can make a bubble stack

They also look great as they fill the room and float for a very longtime
This is a great way to start a 2 hour party the kids get use to you have fun (even the mums and dad join in) its abit of fun while everyone is arriving
A lot of Entertaners use them and jumbo had them on his DVD or lecture (I forget witch)

Not a very good guess look at his. Avatar

When I was living in the South, there was an expression commonly used, known as being "fashionably late". The phenomenon applied mostly to adults, but who do you think drives the little kiddies to the party?

Aside from the obvious reasons of kids dragging their feet and things just taking longer than expected to get them ready and in the car, people of certain social sects do NOT want to be the first to arrive at an event, nor the last to leave. To many, it is considered "tacky", and unrefined. (Trust me. I saw this commonly for almost 3 decades).

Therefore, when the party starts at 3:00, the guests are still dragging in for quite some time after.

To combat this, I learned to book defensively. I ALWAYS made the suggestion that the client start my show 30 minutes after the start of the party. I openly told them that this allowed those who arrived on time a chance to acclimate, and any who may arrive late, a chance to get there. I was never met with any response other than acknowledgement of the brilliance of doing things in this manner. The hostess LOVES it when anything happens that makes her party run more smoothly.

As an ulterior motive, it may be noticed by some of you, that this also allows you to perform for the kids BEFORE they get too far into the red Kool-Aid and therefore incapable of staying seated!

Most hosts will allow you sufficient set up time, and the kind ones will allow you to do so without the kids right there at the time. Should it so happen that you are setting up, some of the kids are there, but some have yet to arrive, it is very easy to hold any kind of fun, goofy Q&A with the kids. This breaks the ice, and effectively enlists them into an army that works for you. The late kids are quickly brought into the loop upon arrival, and the show begins.

FYI - The same idea works for cocktail parties, too. It is better to allow the guests a chance to get there and get a drink in their hands before the magic man "pounces" on them.

I couldn't agree more. One should never start at the very beginning of the party. PLUS... if you follow Eric's advice about the invitations, you end up with your advertising in every parent's hands. What other method do you know of that has someone else mailing out your name, at their own expense?

Michael is right on the money. By telling the client the advantages of scheduling the entertainment 30-minutes into the party, you've made a friend and eliminated the slow-start problem at the same time. Clients trust and respect professsionals who offer their experienced solutions to common problems. I always tell the client that I want their event to be magical, memorable and flawless.

I like the touchable bubbles idea. I'd forgotten about them!

I put on some party music and let the kids play with balloons (and sometimes Chinese ribbons if they aren't too crazy!).
Then as we are still waiting for everyone I do some ball spinning, where I spin a ball on a kids finger. They all then usually want me to spin the ball on their finger. When most of the kids are there I start with a game of musical bumps. It's usually about 25 minutes into the party before I start the show.

The touchable bubbles would be great to use before the ball spinning!


Phil

Sorry jumbo in meant jimbo, me being dyslexic and all

Thanks for all the info

It has always been the case that our friends the other side of the pond start their shows and events on time. When you say 3.00 start things start at 3.00 and no-one is late. I have noticed this on my frequent visits to the USA for holidays and magic conventions. Unfortunately us Brits (not me !!!) believe that it is far better to be late and annoy everyone else who turn up on time.

I always "fill in" at the start with music and a bubble machine but often think that it could be so much better if they just turned up on time.

I am one of the few over here that do the full parties option and for anyone thinking about doing them I can tell you that the opportunity is huge as many magicians just stick to the I am a magician and not a games master etc etc. Everyone to their own but the full party market with magic , games and mini disco is massive over here.

I have decided to amend part of my speil which used to say that the party starts with a magic show and now I am going to actively include a 15 minute party music / bubble machine as standard. I used to put this on whilst I was setting up.

I have in the past asked parents to put on the invites the time I start, including a delay of 15 minutes as The Great Zucchini has written above but I guess it is a British thing to be late. Personally, I blame the parents.

Stuart.