| Children love parties. The poor adults who have to | | | | entertainer for a children's party. Unlike Mum, or Dad, |
| arrange them, run them, try and rescue them when | | | | or even an older sibling or family friend, no part |
| everything goes wrong, and finally collapse in a little | | | | attendee is likely to know the kids entertainer in |
| ball after everyone has gone home, don't. And little | | | | question. And that means two things. One, the |
| wonder. Running a children's party ought to be a full | | | | entertainer never suffers from that loss of illusion |
| time occupation - not something done part time by | | | | that Mum or Dad will inevitably feel when one of the |
| unwilling volunteers. Fortunately for those volunteers, | | | | guests shouts out "hey - that's Johnny's mum!" And |
| there are some people out there who actually make | | | | two, the entertainer is usually afforded more respect |
| their living from running and entertaining at kid's | | | | than Mum or Dad would have been. He or she is |
| parties: party organisers like the wonderfully named | | | | treated with the better behaved reserve children |
| UK outfit Froggle, whose kids entertainer packages | | | | always put on for strangers - because, with |
| alone have probably saved half the nation's parents | | | | strangers, they don't know where the boundaries |
| from a party-induced breakdown. | | | | are. The result? A kids' entertainer actually entertains |
| Here's how Froggle, and the other unsung heroes | | | | more, because the children don't recognise him, or |
| that do the same job up and down the country, | | | | her, and so the illusion isn't spoiled - and, again |
| save so many poor harassed parents from mental | | | | because the guy or gal under the makeup is a |
| rack and ruin. They come in, they take over as much | | | | stranger, the kids behave better too. Which means |
| or as little of the party organisation and running as | | | | everyone goes home happy for a change. |
| the parents require, and they let the parents | | | | A decent kids' entertainer knows exactly how to |
| themselves take a back seat. That means there's | | | | keep children interested, when and how to excite |
| more time for the parents to do the really useful | | | | them and, most importantly of all, when to calm |
| stuff, like keeping an eye out for skinned knees and | | | | them down. In the hands of an expert, all the guests |
| incipient tantrums, while the kids' entertainer and his | | | | at the party will have safely expended the fury of all |
| or her colleagues concentrate on all the things that | | | | their pent up excitement long before the end of the |
| usually distract Mum and Dad from doing the | | | | party - meaning that they're easy to get home and |
| necessary. As a result, that necessary becomes far | | | | relatively tantrum free. |
| less stressful than it used to be - because Mum and | | | | There may, possibly, be other ways of controlling a |
| Dad are no longer trying to keep their eyes peeled | | | | kid's party - but why bother? Simply hire a decent |
| whilst also entertaining everyone, they find the actual | | | | kids' entertainer, sit back, relax, and prepare to |
| keeping their eyes peeled part a lot less of a strain | | | | actually enjoy a child's birthday for a change. You |
| than it used to be. | | | | never know - you might like it. |
| There's a very specific advantage to hiring an | | | | |