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How to plan a Children’s Christmas Party

Christmas Party Planning Checklist

Organizing a great Christmas party can be a headache. Use this basic check list to help you plan your event:

Rudolph The Rednose Reindeer and Santa Claus

Rudolph The Rednose Reindeer and Santa Claus (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

  • Pick a date.
  • Estimate how many children and adults will be coming
  • Choose a venue.
  • When will the party start and finish?
  • Decide what entertainment you will have.
  • Room decoration.
  • Consider food and refreshment.
  • Book Santa Claus
  • Sort out presents for the kids.

Choosing a date for your Christmas Party

There are only two or three weekends in December and as the dates are usually in big demand it is a very good idea to book early unless you are holding the  party on your own premises. The most popular Saturday and Sunday will always be on the middle weekend so avoid these if possible. Consider a Friday evening or mid week as an option if you can.

Estimate numbers attending

You will need to get an idea of numbers of adults and children attending and the ages of the children. It is a good idea to send out booking forms in advance to find out who intends to come. If you are spending a lot of money on the party you need to have some commitment from people that they will be there.

Knowing the ages of the children also helps when booking entertainment and food.

Choosing a venue

Here are some points to consider when looking at venues:

Xmas Puppet Show

Xmas Puppet Show (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

  • Location. Is it easy to get to.
  • Parking. Does it have a car park or FREE public parking close by?
  • Access. Is it easy to get in and out of?
  • Ground floor? Booking an upstairs room can be a real problem for discos, bands and entertainers with lots of equipment.
  • Space. Is it big enough?
  • Seating. Are there enough seats for the adults? Does it have any tables?
  • Changing area? Is there a changing room for acts and Santa?
  • Performance area. Where will the entertainment take place ie stage, dance floor?
  • Does it have a kitchen or a bar?

Party times

When will the party start and finish? Consider these points:

  • Allow time for everyone to arrive.
  • How long will the entertainment last?
  • How long will it take to feed everyone?
  • How long will it take Santa to give out the presents?
  • Will there be any more entertainment after Santa has gone? If so for how long?

Entertainment

Are you going to entertain the children yourself or will you book in a professional children’s entertainer?

Entertaining children is very demanding. If you are a teacher or have a lot of experience in working with kids and have other reliable adults to help then you could do it yourself.

If not then you will need to hire in professionals who know what they are doing and are self contained with everything required to do a really good job.

As it is Christmas look for entertainers who offer a proper Christmas Show. Puppets and Magic always go down well and children love to dance and play games so a Christmas disco is also a good idea.

Look for entertainers who can offer a selection of entertainment to appeal to a broad age range.

Decoration

Christmas Balloons

Christmas Balloons (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

Most venues will have Christmas decorations already but you may want to add to this. Balloon decorating is a great way to

create atmosphere. A few eye catching displays can transform  the party room. If you do need to put in some Christmas decorations then build this into the budget and allow time for setting up. If you are employing a supplier  to do the decorating find out how long they need  and arrange access for them accordingly.

Food and refreshment

At the very least you will need to provide tea and coffee for the adults and soft drinks for the children. It is a nice idea to put food on if you can. Children don’t need a lot of food and sandwiches, sausages on sticks, crisps, biscuits and cakes are all that are needed. Keep it simple. For the adults a finger buffet will also suffice. Don’t arrange too much food as it may be wasted.

If your party is mid afternoon people may have eaten before they come. They may also be planning a meal at home afterwards so take this into consideration.

Santa Claus

No children’s Christmas party would be complete without Father Christmas.  You will need to sort out a willing volunteer to take on the job and a costume. Alternatively book in a Santa or ask your entertainer if they provide Santa as part of their package.

Presents

At some Christmas parties the adults provide presents for their own children in advance. At others they pay for the presents and the organizers buy the gift for them.

Sometimes all of the children receive the same present or presents can be sorted into boys or girls and then by age range.

The presents will need to be wrapped and put in a sack for Santa to carry. Alternatively place then next to Santa’s chair so they are handy when he makes his big entrance.

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A Fabulous Christmas Party

Christmas Fun!

We had a fantastic time once again at the annual NSK Christmas Party.

I took the gazebo up on Wednesday morning and when Hazel and I arrived on Friday to start work on the balloon decorations it was all dressed up complete with Santa’s chair and lights. We made four balloon topiary displays and ten sets of foils for the tables.

I arrived at 8am on Saturday morning to open up the doors to the canteen and shortly afterwards the rest of the team arrived.

AR brought all of the games and inflatables and Jolly Good Productions provided the entertainment.

Christmas Characters

Christmas Characters (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

Our first job was to build the five balloon arches in front of Santa’s grotto. With Emma, Kassie, Joe, Greg, Katrina and me working as a well oiled machine we were soon well under way. Natasha, Becky and Hazel soon joined us so we had plenty of hands on the job and the arches were up in no time.

We then set up the face painting, craft workshop and my puppet show. AR meanwhile had set up the bouncy castles, soft play, side stalls, vision racers, Wii games, and the Football game.

All set by 9.45am and looking good. Time for a bacon butty and a cuppa before the guests arrived.

The party started at 10.30am and there were over 130 children with parents, friends and family too. Santa arrived with Rudolph and the party was soon in full swing. The side shows an stalls stopped at 12 noon for my Christmas Show and opened again at half past.

By 1.30 pm every child had seen Santa, the families had been well fed and entertained and everyone left feeling happy.

It had been a lovely event and we are all looking forward to next year!

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Christmas Craft Workshop

Craft Workshops are a great way to entertain children at many kinds of event. If you are organising a company Christmas party or special Christmas event then a themed craft workshop can be an excellent addition to your children’s entertainment programme. The photos below show examples of the kind of things the children can make at a Jolly Good Productions Xmas themed craft workshop.

Christmas Craft Workshop

Angel ornament and snowman mask

Christmas Craft Workshop

Xmas tree ornament and Xmas card

For a craft workshop to be a success there needs to be a range of interesting projects which must be fairly easy to make, not too messy and with friendly helpful staff to encourage and guide the children.

For advice on hiring a craft workshop calls Jolly Good Production on Tel 01748 821621 or mob 07984 495089

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Christmas Show For Your Xmas Party

In the run up to Christmas everyone is organising parties for their company or organisation. The weeks leading up to the big day are very exciting for children. If you are planning a Xmas party then why not book a Christmas show which will really stimulate  the children’s imaginations.

Our Xmas Show is called Santa’s Busy Day and is all about Santa getting ready for Christmas. It has a multitude of Christmas characters and combines, magic, puppets, comedy and lots of audience participation.

The Jolly Good ProductionsSanta’s Busy Day puppet show is ideal for a company Christmas party, a school Christmas party or anywhere that needs a great Xmas show. It’s perfect for younger children but can be enjoyed by all ages.

Christmas Puppet Show

Santa's Busy Day, a puppet show by Jolly Good Productions

We can provide a complete package of entertainment for corporate Christmas parties. We can decorate the venue and provide all of the children’s entertainment including shows, face painting, craft workshop, Christmas characters. We can supply side shows and amusements, a disco and games too catering for all ages including the adults.  Call myself or Hazel help and advice Tel 012748 821621.

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Make A Stunning Entrance To Your Santa’s Grotto

If you are going to the trouble of creating a Santa’s Grotto for your company Xmas Party why not go the whole hog and make a stunning entrance to really wow the children and their families. Hazel and I  built this very appealing entrance entirely in balloons.

At Christmas time balloon decorating is the perfect way to enhance any venue. There is just so much scope.

We put five helium arches leading up to the grotto and positioned a toy soldier either side to guard the entrance. We used Xmas colours to compliment the existing decoration in the room.

As trained, experienced balloon decorators we can transform to bring in a festive feeling for a great party or event.

Entrance to santas Grotto in balloons

Balloon soldiers and balloon arches for Santa's Grotto

Both Hazel and I are qualified balloon decorators. Hope you enjoy looking at our work.

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Balloon Santa Claus

It’s amazing what can be done with balloons. If you need something eye catching to grab peoples attention then a skillful use of balloons can be the perfect answer. This is a Balloon Santa Claus I made for a Children’s Christmas Party. Christmas characters always work well and because the balloons are air filled they will last a long time providing they are not tampered with.

Santa Claus made from balloons by Ron Wood

Father Christmas in balloons

Balloon decorating is a great way to bring atmosphere to a Xmas party. Hope you like my Santa!

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