The internet has convinced parents that children’s birthday parties now require: • custom signage • matching dessert tables • handcrafted party favors • enough balloons to interfere with air traffic Meanwhile, most kids are thrilled if: • their friends are there • something funny happens • they get cake • somebody acts silly • they feel important for a day After years of performing birthday parties, here’s something I wish more parents understood: Kids care way more about ene

Summer birthday parties have a very different energy than school-year parties. Everybody’s outside more. Schedules are looser. Kids are running around barefoot and sticky for reasons nobody fully understands. The good news is that a few small adjustments can make a HUGE difference. 1. Start the show before food. This is probably the single biggest party tip I give parents. Once pizza arrives, attention evaporates into the atmosphere. Magic first. Pizza second. Trust me. 2. Be

Chicago Backyard Birthday Parties can be amazing Backyard birthday parties sound simple. Then reality arrives: extension cords, folding chairs, melting cupcakes, somebody crying because another kid touched their bubble wand, and at least one adult wondering if they should have just rented a room somewhere. The good news? Backyard parties can actually be some of the BEST parties for kids when they’re planned around flow instead of perfection. After performing hundreds of famil