Some Things I've learned over 20 years of doing family shows.

Many years ago I put together and shared a little booklet called "The Easy Birthday Guide." It was so long ago that the original ones were printed on paper, mailed to interested people, and featured my landline.

I am currently working on the latest PDF version of the guide. I'm updating it with tips for new technology, new norms, and new things I've learned over the years. Below you can pop in your email address and get the last version of the guide and I will send you out the new one when I finish it in the next few weeks. Until then enjoy and few tips that will be in the newest version.

You're Grounded!

If you are having an entertainer at your event, whether it's me, or anyone else, have the children sit on the floor during any sort of presentation, show, or even if you are showing a movie. Children are much more comfortable on the floor. They are less likely to fidget, hit each other, or wonder around. There are thoughts as to why this works. Some think it's learned behavior from school and others think it is because the child is literally more grounded. This also means you don't have to find or rent a bunch of chairs for the kids and it leaves the furniture that you already have available for adults who aren't as comfortable on the floor.

Screens Away

At the risk of sounding like the world's oldest man (My wife has accused me of such) I don't find family parties to be a place for phones and tablets to be in use constantly. Generally there is the family "photographer" who either self appointed or asked takes loads of pictures. Now that we can share those pictures instantly there is no need for everyone to have their nose in a screen. If you are hosting a party of pre-teens or teens it might be a good idea to just collect up phones at the door! Yea, sure they're going to hate it at first but explain to them why you are doing it. Make it a challenge. "I'm collecting all your phones to see if you can engage with each other in the real world. It's a crazy experiment I'm running to challenge you to find new ways to interact." That will get them thinking and because you challenged them, they will be more up to trying it.

Social Media Sharing

I am a member of several family and kid show entertainer forums (of course that's a thing!). The question of sharing photos of children on Social Media comes up all the time. I do not share any photos of any guests at a private event without expressed written consent. As the host, I would recommend asking before posting a picture of someone's child. You may not know if they are in a custody or other sort of legal situation where keeping the child's whereabouts unknown is preferable. It never hurts to ask first.

Get the Old Guide

Like I said above, I am working on a new version of the Easy Birthday Planning Guide. The older version, available below, is still very useful. Just put your name and email into the form and I will email you a .PDF of tips, a timeline, and a check list that should help you and when the new guide comes out, I will send you that too. Don't worry, I don't share, sell, give away, trade, or anything like that your information. I promise not to spam you to death.