Tie a bunch of balloons to the front door, it guides guests to the party house or hall and sets the mood.

Save squeakers, hats, blowers and balloons until the end or they could ruin the party! Hang the balloons up (out of reach) and give one to each child as a going home present if you wish. Don’t leave them on the floor (they won’t last long)!

Get a big cardboard box, and as the children arrive, put the presents that they bring safely into the box so they may be opened AFTER THE PARTY. This way you will know who brought what, so that thank you letters can be sent. This also ensures that nothing gets lost or broken.

Seating the children around a table to eat in another room if possible is always preferable because you isolate the food and drink in one area.

You may wish to get a folding cake box for each child and pre-pack their food and drink. Get sealed top drinks (the ones you push straws through) as open cups always get spilled. If tables aren’t available you could get them all to sit on a large (plastic ?) sheet on the floor.

Don’t serve ice-cream, sweets or other refreshments once the magic show has begun as its asking for trouble! Most of the food ends up on carpets, and sticky fingers will get everywhere.

Kevin prefers not to do outdoor parties however, you might find it more convenient to feed the children in the garden should the weather be warm and dry.

If you have hired a bouncy castle, please ensure it is let down before the magic show starts, if one child decides to go and have a bounce all the others children will follow.

If the children have to leave a magic show before the end they, quite naturally, get very upset and it disturbs the other children too. So try to get any parents that arrive early to wait until the performance is over.

Send your party invitations out EARLY. If someone else in your child’s class plans a party on the same day it can cause a lot of problems and may result in YOU having to change your plans.

Parents and adults are very welcome to watch the show providing that they sit at the back quietly and behave themselves !

The best structure is games first, then the magic show and balloon modelling and finally finish with the food.