To RSVP or not RSVP

In the past five years of children's entertaining I have been asked many many questions. By far the most popular questions my clients ask me are about invitation etiquette. What to write, how to address the sibling issue and of course what the heck does RSVP mean anyway?

So here's my advice for all the things you may think of for writing out invitations for children's parties.



Personalised Invitations

 The invitation

The invitation can prove to be a minefield of individual ideas and perceptions of invitation etiquette, particularly when it comes to RSVP's (I will come back to that later!).


 
All invitations should have the following information:

  

Type of event and the name of birthday guest of honor: 
Date: 
Time: 
Venue: 
RSVP details: (Your name and telephone number).



For instance:

Jodie's 6th birthday party
on Sunday 6th February, 2011
From 3pm-5pm
at Chorley Village Hall
RSVP Angela 01625 838102

If you are holding the party in a public venue such as a park or play barn you might like to consider adding information about your location eg:

 

Venue: Alderley Edge Park, meet at the bandstand

 

RSVP

R.S.V.P is a french phrase, répondez s'il vous plaît. This means 'respond please'.

There are lots of variations available (just to confuse matters). Some people think that RSVP means 'respond if you please' or 'respond only if you can attend' when it actually means 'respond either way'.

RSVP regrets only

 

This means 'respond with regrets only please' eg 'I regret that I cannot attend your party'. This removes the need for people to get in touch as if you don't hear otherwise you can assume they will attend.

When you need to know the number of guests at your party

 

Occasionally you might need to let the venue know how many guests will be attending in advance so they can provide food etc so you may wish to add a date with your RSVP for example: RSVP by 3rd February, 2011

 

This also means that if you don't hear back from anyone after this date you can reliably assume they wont be able to attend.

 

The Sibling Issue

 

Some venues and entertainment providers will charge per child attending so a polite way of mentioning this might be to have wording on the invitation something like 'Jodie invites Claire to her 6th Birthday party' instead of 'no siblings please'.


Alternatively, if your party is in a soft play centre ask the centre if they have any special offers for siblings of children attending parties. Some offer a play and eat offer which includes admission and a kids meal at a reduced price. If they have a special offer and you are expecting lots of uninvited siblings you could add words to the effect of eg 'You are welcome to stay at The Play Barn during the party. They have a special siblings meal offer for £5.99 which includes admission'.

Allergies and dietary requirements

 

Parents of children with severe allergies, of very fussy eaters and those with religious observances will tell you when they RSVP if they have any concerns about the food served at the party so there is no need to ask about dietary requirements on invites.

After they have been handed out

 

Have a list of names ready to tick off the child's name as their parents RSVP. Also make sure you get a name and contact number for the parent just in case something happens and there is a change in venue with little notice. This list can also be used at the party to keep track of the guests as they arrive and call any parents who have RSVP but may be lost or their child has been sick at the last minute.

 

You may also want to follow this up with a text to the parents mobile phones if you have the numbers. Or try to be early to drop off or collect your child from school and ask outright if they got the invite and if they can attend. Some people are busy and may have been meaning to get around to RSVP and will probably be quite grateful of being asked!

Find out more about our party entertainment services for parties in Cheshire and Manchester at www.myfunkyparty.com.
For personalised invites, party wares toys and gifts visit us at www.funkypartysupplies.co.uk.

Thanks for reading, please comment if you have any further invitation questions.

Have a funky party :)

Booking a venue

When you decide to throw a party you could have the party at home or at a hired venue.

Your decision is probably based on 3 things:

1. How many children you are having at the party
2. What entertainment and activities you will be doing
3. How good your nerves are!

When I am out and about hosting parties I find that for most people having a small group of children around 10-12 kids having a party at home is perfectly fine. There are always parents who, like me, would book a venue even if they had 5 guests at the party!

Photo courtesy of www.stthomasmoorside.org.uk

There's lots of different types of venues available. There's the obvious community centres and church halls and then theres other places such as function rooms attached to a local pub, meeting rooms at hotels, leisure centres and health clubs. Some schools have their hall to hire too.

A church in my town has their main hall which is huge, 30 kids could easily get lost in the space but they have several smaller rooms which are much better for smaller parties of less than 15 children. So when you enquire about the larger rooms and find they are booked do ask if they have other rooms available.

What about other facilities?

Photo courtesy of www.braidhillshotel.co.uk

Most church halls and community centres are fairly similar with the option of hiring a small kitchen in addition to the hall. The contents of the kitchen are usually stocked with the same standard of items. Cups, plates, dishes, chopping board and knife amongst other things.

"One thing about church halls is that most have a policy of take your rubbish home so dont forget to pack some bin liners with you."

So do I book an entertainer before or after the venue?

Its always best to book an entertainer before your venue. Most venues are similar, they offer the same space, facilities, tables and chairs etc.

If you have in mind a specific entertainer for instance you may want a specific facepainter or clown to entertain at your childs party and therefore plan the venue around their diary.

It is quick and easy to find another hall but very difficult and time consuming to find another entertainer.

Decoration tips!

With church halls and hired venues you can really go to town with the decoration.

Theres no need to accomodate sofas, tv sets and tables etc you really do have a blank canvas.

Go crazy hang coloured fabric for a back ground and decorate with balloons. Hang ribbons of crepe paper from the ceiling. Bring props from home.

Heres a couple of our favourites:

Thanks to www.designismine.blogspot.com

thanks to www.picsdigger.com

Hope these tips help with organising your party. Please do let us know if its helped!

Function rooms and other venues are supplied with tables and chairs only.

Why choose a party theme?

Choosing a theme for your party can help when choosing games, activities or which professional children's entertainer to hire.

A theme doesn't have to be complicated or tied into a popular character from films and television. You could find inspiration in all sorts of ways.

Does your child like to dress up? You could use a theme for the costumes - prince and princess, occupations and animals are all great choices.

You could ask the children to arrive at the party dressed up and either DIY some face painting or hire a professional face painter to paint the kids faces to match their costume.

Arty crafty children might like a party around a simple concept such as their favourite colour. This can easily be applied to the party food, particularly cupcakes.

Sporty children might like a party that has lots of activity, sports, races and parachute games.

Once a theme has been decided it makes choosing activities, food, entertainment and party bags much easier as you can focus your research.

The earlier you can choose a theme the more organised you can be and a greater number of venue, entertainment and food options would be available to you.