How to organize a children's birthday: animators, decor, food, music, entertainment. Who is an animator - types of animators and the essence of their work
Our expert is Elena Moiseeva, an event organizer with many years of experience, co-founder of a London agency Chaika Events — has organized more than five hundred children's parties in her life. Especially for Workingmama, Elena prepared a checklist of the most important points for independently preparing a children's party.
We all love to look at beautiful pictures on the pages of professional event designers and decorators. They have breathtaking decorations, expensive themed accessories, luxurious costumes, and delicious dishes. As party planners, we love coming up with exciting design concepts, but in truth, it's all about parents and adults. Children are interested in something else. The key point in organizing a children's party, 80% of success is a professional animator.
Professional animator
A good entertainer is the cornerstone of your party. This is the only thing you can’t save on. If you have wonderful decorations, a complex candy bar with cake pops and macarons, but at the same time the children run to the corners and sit with their heads buried in their smartphones - everything will crumble into pieces, and no decorations or expensive balloons will help. And if an experienced animator works at the holiday, who is able to attract and hold the attention of children, then you can get by with a couple of pizzas and cake: everyone will still remember how fun it was.
Finding a professional and truly talented animator is a little easier than finding a unicorn. But it's worth trying.
Start looking now, even if your next child's birthday is only a year away. Where to look? Collect contacts at other children's parties, in restaurants where there is a children's corner, at festivals where a children's area is organized. If you see children running after someone with sparkling eyes, run after him too and write down the phone number.
You can look for animators on the websites of children's party organizers and on Instagram. Watch the video, read the reviews. Keep in mind that an animator's hour will cost more if you only call them for an hour. Because he still needs to go out, take props with him, and think through the program. It is best to invite an animator for the entire duration of the holiday. Otherwise, the rest of the time, before the animator arrives or after the animator leaves, the children are left alone - and this usually means real chaos.
There's nothing worse than a five-in-one animator. When the same person does face painting, balloon dogs, and a show out of soap bubbles. Because while one child’s face is being painted, the other 25 have fled in all directions. Additional skills are good, but, as a rule, they cannot be combined. An experienced animator must unite everyone and involve all children in various activities. And at this time parents should relax and drink champagne.
Where to look for animators:
Invitations
In today’s frantic pace, when children have five clubs and an active social life, you need to invite guests to a child’s birthday party as early as possible. There is no shame in sending a Save The Date (an invitation asking to stake out a date) two months in advance. This is important if you want exactly the people he would like to see to come to your child’s holiday. If you delay with the invitation, you can end up in a situation where all your friends have already been invited to another party.
You can order invitations on the international website Etsy.com . There you will find a huge selection of beautiful templates on any topic. For a few dollars you'll get personalized email invitations - you just need to send your text.
Electronic invitations can be sent via email or WhatsApp, or you can use a convenient program PaperlessPost , which will immediately give you statistics: how many people accepted the invitation, who will not be able to come, who will come with brothers and sisters, etc.
Place
If you are not ready to hold a children's party at home (and we understand you perfectly), then look for a spacious place. This is the main criterion. Children need to move and need a lot of space to play. Cafe or game center They may convince you that the room is designed for 50 people, but you can safely divide by two: usually the capacity is calculated based on the fact that people stand quietly at the buffet table, and do not play hide and seek and catch up.
The best option: a combination of indoor and outdoor areas. You can move there and play all sorts of sports games.
A garden or some area would be perfect. The more space the better. Yes, and try to see the site in advance, do not rely only on photographs or descriptions.Start your search with “30 places in Moscow where you can celebrate the holiday” on the website.
Food
Newsflash: Children eat almost nothing at birthday parties. Therefore, to become more sophisticated in haute cuisine there's no point. For food , which goes well at parties, has a funny name: finger food. That is, everything that can be taken with your hands. And second: almost everything should have the “mini” prefix. Mini-pizzas, mini-burgers, mini-rolls, mini-hot dogs. There is practically no chance that a child, in the excitement of the game, will finish an adult portion - most likely, he will take a bite and immediately throw it away. Miniature portions will reduce the amount of uneaten food.
Are you an advocate of healthy food? Cut into stripscelery and carrots . Children, of course, will not eat this - but your soul will be calmer.
If you want to surprise your guests and have a small budget for it, install the mini versionchocolate fountain . This design can be purchased for quite reasonable money. It is very easy to assemble. You will also need special chocolate, which is heated directly in the bag in the microwave or steamed, and poured into the fountain. Place strawberries, marshmallows, marshmallows, and skewers next to them - voila! – on the dessert table this will be the highlight of the program!
Duration
For children aged 3 to 7 years, the optimal duration of the holiday is 2-2.5 hours. Longer - it’s physically difficult for both children and adults. Children cannot maintain attention on something for a long time, so activities should alternate every 15-20 minutes, and breaks are required.
It’s better to start the holiday with active games, and be sure to have a disco at the end.
Because after eating a cake, children inevitably experience a release of energy, which urgently needs to be channeled in the right direction. If you also pick up all sorts of bright accessories in a store like Fix Price: colored wigs, bright glasses, beaded bracelets, the disco will become just a hit, which will take at least half an hour and will be remembered by everyone.
Music
Music should be played at the holiday all the time, from beginning to end. Well, perhaps with the exception of some special activities. Music creates the mood and sets the tone for the entire party. Now almost everyone has smartphones and tablets. One of your friends probably has a portable speaker; ask to borrow it for a few hours. Don't be lazy, upload the playlist to Spotify or YouTube. By the way, one more piece of news: it is naive to believe that children love children's songs. In fact, since the age of three they have loved Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Pharrell Williams and Bruno Mars. So they don’t need to play “A smile will make everyone brighter”; they will find it much more interesting to dance to modern pop music.
Decor
In Russia now you can find almost any decoration. True, to achieve a picture like from the page of a professional event decorator, you will have to spend a lot of money. So, fashionable paper decor (flowers, garlands, etc.) will cost a pretty penny, because you need a lot of it so that the room does not look dull.
If your budget is small, useBalloons . They can include the child's name and a number indicating age. Meter balls-numbers look very cool. Brilliant numbers of impressive size look great in the photo and you can immediately see how old the child is. You can also buy regular latex balloons. Individually they look lonely, but in bouquets of 5-7 pieces they already make excellent compositions.
A small note: event designballs with helium is not the most budget option. There is currently a shortage of helium on the market, and this gas has become very expensive. So if you buy a bunch of inexpensive balloons, remember that you will have to spend a lot on helium tanks.
You can make the decorations yourself. The mentioned site Etsy.com sells ready-made “soup kits” at various topics: “Frozen”, “Cars”, “Spiderman”, “Paw Patrol”, etc.
You buy a ready-made package with files that will need to be printed, cut, and pasted. There will be stickers on lemonade bottles, garlands, and banners.
Activities
Children under 8 years old love to look for treasures: solve riddles, find clues and clues. Treasure hunting can be done in a variety of themes, and you don’t need a lot of money. Children will be absolutely happy if the treasure they find is chocolate “coins”. The possibilities are limited by nothing but your imagination. Finding clues is a team work that brings great unity. In addition, treasure hunting greatly motivates children to behave well and complete tasks - they find it interesting.
If the budget is limited and there is no money for any special effects and shows (soap bubbles, chemical experiments, etc.), activities from the “do-it-yourself” category are great.
There are sites that offer great DIY kits for creating a variety of things in 15 minutes: from a superhero mask to fairy wings. Children love to cut out, glue, paint, and decorate everything with all sorts of colorful stickers. You just need to give them simple blanks, a little help along the way, and they will create a craft that they will happily take home with them. Such activities can be easily and naturally adapted to the theme of the party. For example, if you are having a space party, you could all paint a big one together.cardboard rocket .
Present
Gifts are usually given at the very beginning. Make sure there is a special table for this. By the end of the holiday, the table is gradually filled with gifts, and at the end of the holiday you simply take them with you. There is no need to open gifts in public. In order not to offend anyone, you will need to read all the postcards at once - there is no time for that. Let the child be busy with his holiday and enjoy the moment. Gifts are a pleasant continuation of your birthday, a separate joy that you experience at home.
Photo/video
If you want to get a good photo report from your holiday, you shouldn’t rely on yourself and your phone. Most likely, you will have absolutely no time for filming. Good children's photographers/videographers are usually not cheap and charge hourly pay. However, you can meet budding talents on forums who need photos and videos for their portfolio - then the cost may be purely symbolic, but you must be prepared to give permission to use your photos for promotional purposes.
Or ask one adult guest to be responsible for this particular part.
End of the holiday
Don't delay the end of the party. After the cake has been served, the children need to be entertained with a disco or sports games so that they can “let off steam” - and we remind you that until the last minute the little guests must be under the supervision of an experienced animator. There is no need to hope that everything will somehow “go by itself.” Everything will just go wrong. There is nothing worse than when, after a “carbohydrate overdose,” children run around, tearing off balloons and decorations on the way, and the birthday boy’s mother runs after them, trying to calm everyone down and prevent fights and injuries.
If you realize that it’s time to call it a day, just turn off the music, thank all the guests and say goodbye.
Happy holidays to you!
***
Nadya Makoeva
- Who is an animator and what projects are they needed for?
- How and where to look for a professional animator?
- How can you use animators to make an event more effective?
The answers to these and other questions are in our article.
Who needs animators and why?
Animators are professional artists who are involved in various projects to entertain guests. The work mechanics of animators can be quite varied: they hand out leaflets, take pictures with children and adults, greet guests, etc.
Animators are often hired to work at corporate events, children's parties, parties, festivals, exhibitions, events such as HoReCa or events in honor of the opening of a new retail outlet. Depending on the specifics and general concept of the event, animators can purposefully gather an audience and attract them to the site, organize prize draws among children and adults, or conduct a game program with competitions, soap bubble shows and magic tricks.
Promoter-animators can work alone or in a team, but in the second case the difficulty of the work lies in the fact that they need to catch the “common wave” and work together at the same pace and mood.
Where to look for animators?
As with the issue of choosing any other category of promotional personnel, there are two ways to solve the problem. The first and most budgetary of them is the independent selection of animators. A personal search for employees will save you a certain amount, but in this case you take full responsibility for the selection of personnel and all possible risks of the project.
You can find animators on your own on job search sites: SuperJob, HeadHunter or other HR resources. Also, a good option would be to post a vacancy in specialized unified databases of promotional personnel - Promobank, Eventcatalog, etc.
To determine the level of acting and communication skills of animators, conduct a live casting. This way you can personally verify the promotional staff’s ability to find a common language with the audience and evaluate their artistry and communication skills. Also, when choosing an animator, carefully read his resume and carefully study his portfolio. Try to involve experienced employees on projects - this will minimize risks during the project and help avoid common mistakes.
If you decide to entrust the search for animators to specialists, the agency takes responsibility for the work of the staff and their timely, high-quality replacement in the event of force majeure, freeing you from additional hassle. Who to entrust the selection of animators and how not to make a mistake with an agency, you can read in one of our
Personnel selection criteria
In addition to the standard requirements for external data and personal qualities, animators, as a rule, are subject to other special requirements related to the specifics of their work.
- Communication skills. The most important criteria for choosing promoters for such projects are communication skills, skills of free communication with the audience and creative potential. In the process of work, animators have to sing, dance, and act out simple scenes, so a quiet or constrained promoter will not be able to make the event bright and memorable enough for the target audience.
- Artistry. Working as an animator implies constant active contact with people, the ability to arouse interest in the event and involve them in the game, invite them to take part in competitions, etc. Despite the fact that to work as an animator it is not necessary to have a special education, graduates of theater colleges and universities, as well as professional actors who have experience working on similar projects, are especially highly valued at such events.
- Endurance. Maintaining a positive attitude and an active rhythm of work throughout the entire event is not an easy task, and a tired or lethargic animator is unlikely to be able to maintain the necessary atmosphere at the required level. In addition, animators often have to work in life-size puppets or complex frame costumes, which means it is better to choose physically trained and hardy promoters for such projects.
Due to its specific nature, the work of animators is rated higher by employers than the services of other categories of promotional personnel. The average rate of an animator depends on work experience, the availability of theater education and professional skills, the scale of the action, the total volume of work and seasonality, and on average ranges from 500 rubles per hour.
Costumes, makeup and event program
As a rule, based on the theme and goals of the event, a certain appearance animator, a unique image that makes it brighter and more noticeable. Thus, an animator at a children's party can become the hero of a famous cartoon, at a promotional event - a living mascot of the company, and at a store opening - a character stylized to match the general theme of the evening.
When describing the scenario of the evening, be sure to take into account the interests and tastes of the target audience, otherwise the guests will simply become uninterested and even the most sociable animator will not be able to improve the mood of the audience.
Animators are staff to create a special atmosphere for the event. Depending on the specifics of the project, they can perform various functions, ranging from distributing leaflets to hosting an evening. Involve a sociable and physically resilient promotional staff on the project, and use themed costumes and makeup to create a more vibrant image.
It is difficult to imagine today a children's birthday or other holiday without animators; they are the ones who set the tone for the holiday and make the child happy.
Most often these are cartoon characters or fairy tales; this should be an image that is familiar to the child. A simple clown costume has long been out of fashion, besides, it is banal and sometimes even scares children. But this must be approached responsibly and seriously.
How to choose the right animator
First of all, you need to decide where to look for an animator. You can find a person by looking for an ad in a newspaper or on the Internet. But this approach is unreliable, since it is not known what kind of person is hidden behind the ad.It is best to contact a professional agency for organizing events. The company's specialists will be able to offer several of the most striking and popular characters that children will like. For example, the company sun-ekb.ru offers more than 30 characters for every taste. There are modern cartoon characters here - Rainbow Dash and My Little Pony, Dasha the Traveler, Paw Patrol, and popular hit characters - Spider-Man, Eliza Cold Heart, as well as classic characters - a clown, a bunny, a pirate, Indians. There you can select one or more animators.
The key is in the details
When ordering an animator, it is important to take into account every little detail, the availability and script of the program, you need to indicate the age of the child, the number of guests, the possibility of drawings and gifts for children. All this is done in advance. In order for the holiday to be as bright as possible and the children to be delighted with the animators, it is necessary to take into account several points:- The most important thing is to choose the character itself. It should be familiar to children and attract attention.
- Costumes should be bright and high quality.
- Having a program for the holiday, if you have wishes, ideas, then you shouldn’t keep it to yourself. Each animator is a creative person and will be happy to listen to the ideas and wishes of parents and include them in their program. Each child is individual, so the approach must be appropriate.
- It is important to agree on gifts and rewards for children in advance if competitions are held.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of time looking for a good agency, you can contact “Sunny Ya” - they definitely know a lot about holidays and animators! They have been hosting and organizing children's parties for several years now. Photo reports from events and reviews from parents are constantly posted on their website. By contacting them, we will 100% get a great holiday, and inexpensively too!
Irina Davydova
Reading time: 11 minutes
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The profession of “animator” appeared not so long ago, but we hear this word all the time - in connection with children’s birthdays, vacations, etc. When choosing a hotel for a vacation with children, parents will always ask whether there will be animators there.
What kind of profession is this, and who is this animator - a nanny, toastmaster, actor or someone who combines several talents at once?
Let's figure it out.
Who is an animator - types of animators and the essence of their work
The term "animator" came to us from in English, in which this word means an artist who plays various characters at certain events.
In our country, animation as a direction is still just gaining popularity and followers in its ranks.
Animators are actors who must “do it all.” Their main task is to entertain the audience in the roles assigned to them at a particular event.
Animators can be "classified" as follows:
- Corporate animators. These specialists help the main presenter at a corporate event to amuse the audience at competitions and games. However, often animators work without a leader, including his duties in the list of their own and coping well with any task.
- Children's animator for kids . Specialists who have to entertain children under 4 years old must be professionals in their field, because children are afraid not only of clowns, but also of strangers in general. In addition, children get tired quickly and are not able to be very mobile and active.
- Children's animator for older children (from 5 to 10 years old). It’s easier for this specialist to charm and amuse, because the audience is easy-going. Children already have their favorite characters with whom they enjoy playing, making crafts, participating in quizzes, and so on. Most often, animators for children of this age also have to master the art of twisting and face painting, organizing a soap bubble show, etc.
- Animator for teenagers. He also has a hard time. Teenagers are a critical audience, and it is extremely difficult to entertain them in our time, when children by the age of 15 have already seen and tried almost everything. Therefore, a teenage animator must be able to speak with children in the same language.
- Youth animator. Today, the tasks of such a specialist most often include quests - that is, choosing a scenario, complexity of tasks, etc. Naturally, the animator in this case is a “good guy.”
- Animator-promoter. This specialist must create the mood of the event participants already at the entrance. This specialist advises/informs guests, points out the necessary directions, takes photographs with guests, distributes information booklets, etc.
- Animators in hotels. Not a single 5* hotel is complete without animators. Moreover, the animators good hotel there are for kids, and for older children, and for adults themselves, who, oddly enough, also need to be entertained.
There are also highly specialized animators. For example, those who specialize only in bubble shows or twisting, science shows or magic tricks, master classes or theatrical performances with clowns, etc.
To summarize, we can say that animators today are yesterday’s “mass entertainers” who should give smiles and good mood.
Video: How to become an animator?
Benefits of work:
- Creative, interesting work.
- Possibility of combining with main job.
- Opportunity to work abroad (for example, Turkish hotels often require Russian-speaking animators). That is, you can relax and work.
- Meet different people, including “helpful” ones.
- Free schedule.
Disadvantages:
- Instability of earnings. Salary always depends on the availability of orders.
- Sometimes you have to work for 10 hours – and on your feet.
- Nervous tension. The more serious and reputable the company that needs to be entertained, the higher the responsibility that falls on the shoulders of the animator.
- Emotional burnout. An animator must be cheerful, active and easy-going. Otherwise, he simply will not stay in the profession. And no one cares whether the animator has problems in his personal life or whether he feels good. An animator must amuse the audience - that's it. Of course, not everyone can stand it.
So, we worked/studyed all year - and now we’ve got it! We came to relax! And the first thing we will encounter on seashore- a handsome tanned animator who will start asking us questions, making us laugh and generally “making life brighter.” So here it is. Few people know the reason for such hospitality. Of course, this is their job. But there is also a reverse side to this “work”. I received the information used in the article while working as an animator in several hotels, and from friends who were animators.
Firstly, affairs with tourists are not at all uncommon for the “ringleaders” at the hotel. But, as a rule, every animator tells his “lover” that their romance should be kept secret, because this is fraught with dangerous consequences - he could be fired. They meet with you only outside the hotel premises. Only after the end of the working day. And in the hotel itself they coo gently with other tourists, in the evening telling you tales about the “duty of work” - to be polite and sociable with everyone. This is complete nonsense. Remember once and for all: it is not the animator’s responsibility to “glue” girls. Dancing with them at a disco, treating them to cocktails, chatting over dinner - all this is “amateur activity”. It’s very easy to find an explanation for your “secret” meetings: see that brunette in red at the bar with whom he was chatting 5 minutes ago? and this blonde who doesn’t take her eyes off you while he’s next to you?....get to know them - you have a man in common!)))
Secondly, when contacting an animator, be prepared for cheap attention. That is, you have left the territory. Do you know where he will take you? do not know? Read reviews about the hotel on the Internet - you will probably find a lot of interesting things. As a rule, the animators of a particular hotel have their own “place”. At the hotel where I worked, the guys took tourists to the beach, which was 1 km from the hotel. there the waves are quietly splashing, the moon is shining brightly, dogs are running and you can cut yourself on glass in the sand - but this is all nonsense, because he will take you to a pre-arranged place - some quiet corner that you will stumble upon “completely by accident”!. ..but there is another option, which is used by the most impudent guys - they stupidly rent a room in another hotel. And a hot night awaits you with this "ringleader"
Thirdly, the sweetest thing... Girls, I recognized this kitchen from the inside and I just started to pound with anger and resentment for our girls! So here it is. The traditional game of animators from Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt, Malta, etc., which is in EVERY hotel!... Everything is simple to the point of banality: we are filmed on a bet. The rules are as follows: as soon as new tourists arrive, all the animators take turns communicating with them. Then they decide among themselves who gets which girl. And the game begins. Cat and mouse resort scenario. Here, anyone has enough imagination, but at one point, usually at an evening disco, he comes up to you and says that his working day will soon end and he wants to continue communicating with you further outside the hotel. You agree - that's all. the mousetrap slammed shut. Then I’ll tell you in a nutshell: if he cheats you out of the hotel, he won the argument. The subject of the dispute is whether he will be able to sleep with you. BUT!!!...It is presumed that if you left the hotel grounds with him, you slept with him. And you can’t prove the opposite to anyone.
After the "magic night" there are two options. The first is “continuation of the banquet” the next day, but this option still flows into the second - total ignore. These are the rules of the game. No one is interested in the achieved goal.
And then he starts over with a new victim. And he might tell you during the last slow dance that he was caught by the head of their animation team when he returned home late after your date. And now they are threatening to fire him... Oh God, what a horror...! Yes, perhaps he caught him... but most likely he did not threaten him with dismissal, but gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, whispering something like: “well done, man.” !".
Recently, not only animators, but also animators have begun to be divorced. The Pinki-Girl movement was born in Europe, which grew from simple fun into an unspoken community of girls who know their worth and do not allow themselves to be cheated. Nowadays this is a very common type of recreation for girls. That is, they do everything for the animators to film them. They arrange a meeting outside the hotel...and don’t show up. Trite - you say? You need to know the animators' rules of the game very well - for them, this kind of joke is a personal insult. It's a lost argument, coupled with a "loser" label that won't go away until the girl leaves the hotel. The main rule of Pinki-girl is not to leave tails. That is, do not say unambiguously that you will come to the meeting, respond to signs of attention in such a way that you can always step back. ... "Me??? Yes, I never did!!!"...
If you are not ready to play by the rules, then here are some tips to avoid rumors and gossip regarding you and the animator.
1 - if you flirt with him, know that the bartenders are talking about it. Because of my work, I learned Turkish and was horrified when I listened to the conversations of the bartenders. A girl comes up and orders a cocktail. While they are preparing it for her, two bartenders are having a dialogue: “isn’t this the whore that Niko fucked yesterday?” - “yes, it’s her, those tits are cool”...Are you ready for this? If not, no small smiles or shooting eyes at the animators.
2 - if it does happen that you are called to leave the territory. hotel - make it clear that you are not one of those. To do this, simply answer “No” sharply. And you don’t have to explain anything, turn away and leave. Otherwise, your refusal will be interpreted as an attempt to increase your worth. Remember, animators are not used to rejection.
3 - if you nevertheless fall head over heels in love - which happens with Russian tourists very often - and go out of the territory with him, think carefully about whether it is worth sleeping with him. He will tell everyone early on that there was sex, so should you take such a desperate step? After all, you will leave and never see him again. NEVER, and you shouldn’t get your hopes up. And people who love you are probably waiting for you at home. You shouldn’t betray them for the sake of a ghostly short-term romance with an a priori bad outcome.