Albany NY Magician and Face Painter | Glitter Art Coming Soon

As a family entertainer, I am always looking for ways to enhance the services I offer. I search for better products, learn new skills, and find ways to be the best value in the area. Visit my website, http://www.MagicmanAlbany.com, and you will see that I currently offer face painting and balloon twisting as add-ons to my magic show. Starting in the new year I will also begin offering Glitter Art. Glitter Art uses cosmetic glue, fun stencils, and cosmetic glitter in 30 colors to create long lasting body art. Perfect for pool parties or any event that you want to leave a lasting impression. Glitter Art is water proof and can last up to 7 - 10 days. Keep an eye out on the website for more photos and information. If you are interested in booking Glitter Art for your next event feel free to contact me today.

Albany NY Magician | Plan Ahead to Avoid Disappointment

Planning a party is tough business. A tight budget can make it impossible. You may be tempted to wait until the last minute to hire entertainment. Waiting may cause you to miss your opportunity to book the best entertainer. A good birthday magician will starting booking weekends months in advanced. During the busy months of October and December large events are booked a year in advance. Unfortunately I have had to turn down dozens of clients over the last several weeks because they waited to long. Booking this Albany NY Magician only requires a small deposit to hold your date, but it comes with piece of mind. Planning a winter or spring birthday party in the Albany NY area? Contact me now to lock in your date.

Albany NY Magician | Summer is almost here!

I know the snow has barely been gone a week and the chilly rain is falling, but summer is almost here!  It might seem like a long way off in your mind but it really is time to start planning summer parties and events.  Many people plan summer vacations months in advance.  To be sure that important people or entertainers are able to be at your event, you should start planning now.  All you really need to do is send a quick e-mail saying you are planning your party for a certain date or time span.  This way you can find out who is available and who is not.  A little early thinking can save a scramble in the end.

If you are interested in having Magicman at your summer event, now is the time to contact me so I can get you on my very busy schedule.

~Magicman

Albany NY Magician | Should I invite the whole class?

One of the big things that come up when planning a birthday party is whether you should send invitations to the whole class.  Schools have different policies and you should always follow their guidelines.  Personally, I would be more inclined to not invite the whole class and just invite a few key friends.  Do you really want 20 kids running around your house?  A lot of people think, "the more the merrier" but I honestly think it just gets overwhelming for everyone.  It can be especially overwhelming for the birthday child.  Having a smaller more intimate party is more relaxing for everyone.  An old rule to follow for children under 8 is their age plus 1.  If your child is turning 7, plan on having eight kids attend.  This is by no means a hard and fast rule and it definitely depends many factors.  At a minimum you need to consider budget and location.  Twelve is by far the most popular party size.  Over the years as an Albany, NY magician this is the size I see more often than not.
Being prepared and organized is your best bet no matter how many children you invite to your child's birthday party.

Albany NY Magician | Your Kids Party Agenda

The key components of most parties are activities, games, and refreshments. If you don't want kids to run around your house the whole time, you need to have a plan.  A typical two-hour party agenda might look like this: 

• 15-20 minutes - greet arrivals, free play, and unstructured activities 
• 30-45 minutes - organized games and activities or an entertainer 
• 15-20 minutes - refreshments 
• 20-30 minutes - additional organized games and activities or open presents
• 15-20 minutes - cake, free play and unstructured activities 

A three-hour party agenda would allow more time for games & activities, free play, or longer entertainment.

I hope this helps give you an idea of how you can organize your party schedule.

~Magicman

PS- Feel free to shoot me an e-mail or comment on this post and let me know what else you would like to know about parties and planning. 

Albany NY Magician - Great Theme Ideas

One of the best ways to get your child excited about their birthday party, as if they need help, is to let them pick out a theme.  It seems that most people pick a character or movie for the theme but there are lots of other ideas to choose from.  I was going to give you a few examples of great themes, but I found this website that is just chuck full of theme ideas.

http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/html/party_ideas.html

Each theme has many examples of ideas to incorporate the theme.  Of course, my favorite is the magic theme.  But I might be biased.  Remember, you can incorporate great entertainment into any theme.  Balloon twisting and face painting can be customized for any theme and a magic show fits real nice with lots of the theme suggestions.  Have fun planning you party!

~Magicman
www.magicmanalbany.com

Albany NY Birthday Magician - Keep the party budget.

I am going to share with you some tips that will hopefully be helpful the next time you are getting ready to plan your child's birthday party. Keeping a budget is hard when it comes to our little ones, but with some effort and planning, you can afford to throw a fantastic party.

Plan Ahead

We all know when our kids birthdays are - so it is important to plan ahead for their party. The biggest reason I see that parents spend so much money is because they wait until the very last minute. By doing that you end up over spending every time. You will pay increased shipping on supplies, full price on party goods and so on. When planning ahead you can shop sales and clearance racks.  You also run the risk of your favorite entertainer not being available by waiting till the last minute.  So do not wait until 2 weeks before the party to start planning - try to start at least 3 months in advance. It will also be less stressful and more enjoyable for you in the end as well.

Go Easy on the Theme

I think the themed party goods are great, but if you are on a tight budget here are some tips that my wife and I follow. Use solid colored paper goods and just add in the theme plates or just the dessert plates or Napkins. You can even just get away with the theme table cloth.  Sometimes even a few themed balloons add just the touch without blowing the bank.

One big hit the kids love is to buy solid paper from the roll - usually found at a teacher supply store and comes in various colors.  You top your table with this and toss some crayons out and let the kids draw as they are sitting at the table.

Party Favors

Yet another place parents overspend almost all the time. First you must keep in mind that party favors are just a small token to say Thanks for coming to my party. 

The second thing is to think of what you would want to see come home with your kids from a party and I am sure it is not useless carnival toys and bags full of candy.

Bake some cookies and add a juice box. Attach a note saying something like Thanks for coming to my party it was SWEET of you and your guests will have a nice snack to enjoy after the party.

If you decide to send kids home with toys and candy - keep it minimal and be creative. And again always look for sales and clearance items. Find things sold in multiples to save even more money.

I hope these tips help you plan your party and stay within your budget.

~Magicman

MagicmanAlbany.com

When and How Long Should My Party Be?

Here is a short excerpt from my party planning guide.  This gives you some good guidelines based on my experiences at birthday parties.

• Preschool or kindergarten age children, Saturday morning is recommended as it takes advantage of their high energy levels and gives you the rest of the weekend to recover. Anywhere from 2 to 2 1/2 hours is ideal for kids this age.

• Six to eight-year-olds, weekends are popular. If you can fit an after-school party into your child's extracurricular activities, it should allow plenty of time for celebrating, but not eat into the evening hours, or the even busier weekend. Avoid early evening parties, especially on weeknights. Depending on what activities you have planned, two to three hours should be plenty of time. 

• Nine to eleven-year-olds, Saturday and Sunday afternoons work best, while Friday is the top sleepover night. If you or your guests are regular churchgoers, avoid Saturday slumber parties. Sunday parties need to be held at noon or later to reduce conflicts with church activities.

When planning a party, check the proposed date and time with "key" friends before committing to the party time (before preparing the invitations or making any reservations). It's better to select another date than to have your child be disappointed because his best friend can't attend. 

When selecting a party time, another thing to consider is what level of refreshments you want to provide. If you have a party anytime between 11 am-1 pm or 4-6 pm, you should provide a meal. Outside these times you can provide snacks. Plan the birthday celebration with your child's friends for the weekend closest to your child's birthday, unless there is some big conflict.

I find that 2 1/2 to 3 hours is ideal for a party length. Not too rushed, with some free time at the end, but

not so long that we run out of things to do or the guests become unruly.


Have Fun!


Chris
MagicmanEntertainment.webs.com