Would You Pay Someone To Plan Your Childs Birthday Party

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of people with money in this area. As long as you cater to this demographic you may be able to make a go of it. You may also want to have some more "accessible" options for those that aren't of the 1%. You may also want to expand to showers as well because that way you can hook clients early and keep them. Depending on the price point, I would most certainly hire someone to do a birthday party for my child. I'm relatively creative, do events for a living (so I have the knowledge) and like "being in the weeds" but I also work a lot so would love for someone to take care of this for me. Giving someone your to do list sounds amazing!

Good luck! Just market yourself correctly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the people willing to do an over the top themed birthday party to the level of spending thousands (RHOBH mad hatter tea party for Kennedy's 5th) would hire a true event planner.

On a more realistic scale, I think the people who throw over the top (by normal standards) parties like the stuff you see on mommy blogs and Pinterest are done by moms who love doing it and love the recognition even more. So, no, I'm not sure there would be a market for a children's birthday party planner that wasn't a real event planner for a birthday costing less than $5k.

This exactly. Those Pinterest-perfect parties are thrown by moms who like doing it and want the credit. The rest of us don't need all the flare and certainly wouldn't pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are plenty of people with money in this area. As long as you cater to this demographic you may be able to make a go of it. You may also want to have some more "accessible" options for those that aren't of the 1%. You may also want to expand to showers as well because that way you can hook clients early and keep them. Depending on the price point, I would most certainly hire someone to do a birthday party for my child. I'm relatively creative, do events for a living (so I have the knowledge) and like "being in the weeds" but I also work a lot so would love for someone to take care of this for me. Giving someone your to do list sounds amazing!

Good luck! Just market yourself correctly!

Ooh I'm the PP who just said no but good call on showers. If I were hosting a shower for a Pinterest-crazy friend, I'd want to throw a party up to her standards, not mine, and might actually need help with that.

[Anonymous]

+1 re: showers. I am the pinterest-crazy type, but I would consider hiring someone for a shower simply to avoid the drama of dealing with co-hosts (been there, done that, too many times to go there again...).

Also, OP, if you look at the website hostess with the mostest you will see a lot of professionally decorated/planned parties for children. You could probably figure out whether the hosts/planners are professional event planners, or focus on kids parties, through google.

[Anonymous]

My friend hosted a birthday princess tea party with two ladies who dressed up like Disney princesses - they were very professional!

[Anonymous]

I would do it, if the total price didn't come to something astronomical. I hate party planning.

[Anonymous]

Never

[Anonymous]

Op, I would definitely pay someone to plan my child's birthday. I have young children and DH and I work full-time. I don't have the time to plan or shop for a birthday party. If the price was reasonable, I'd hire you.

[Anonymous]

I will say this... I know a particular planner who for children's parties totally cuts corners. She charges an arm and a leg and I have seen her opening dollar store food items to put out... cookies, crappy candies, etc. She uses total junk on kids parties and really over charges. If I am going to pay someone $1000-$3000 for a children's party the food better be amazing and the entertainment even better. Be careful who you hire and make sure to get a sheet detailing everything. Can you imagine paying an arm and leg for sandwiches she makes and some dollar store snacks? I was shocked when I arrived early and saw her quickly putting stuff out and then telling her friend she had to dress as Elmo for the party since the college kid who was supposed to do it is sick.

[Anonymous]

I paid someone - called "Kidville" - total tho was under $600 for blow out twin party - so not sure how much you'll be making for all the effort end of day.

[Anonymous]

No and I'm a huge outsourcer who is usually happy to pay someone else to do my work.

[Anonymous]

I would. I'd love a kids party planner -- who wasn't there to plan major-spending-RHOBH-type parties, but who could do a cool party that fit for us.

I admit, I don't have a creative bone in my body. Pintrest is torture to me. I don't like looking because it doesn't give me ideas, it just gives me anxiety about the fact that I couldn't dream up any of that shit. I also have social anxiety so party planning is absolutely not fun for me. at all.

We recently moved to this area and I have no idea what the social norms are. But I'm afraid that ordering a cake from Giant and having a bunch of kids over for pizza and games isn't going to cut it in our new neighborhood.

I would love someone who could help me plan an appropriate, but not over the top, party.

OP I think you'd have success if you offered a wide range of services, from day-of-type-assistance, to full on figuring out where/when/how/ordering/setting up/cleaning etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would. I'd love a kids party planner -- who wasn't there to plan major-spending-RHOBH-type parties, but who could do a cool party that fit for us.

I admit, I don't have a creative bone in my body. Pintrest is torture to me. I don't like looking because it doesn't give me ideas, it just gives me anxiety about the fact that I couldn't dream up any of that shit. I also have social anxiety so party planning is absolutely not fun for me. at all.

We recently moved to this area and I have no idea what the social norms are. But I'm afraid that ordering a cake from Giant and having a bunch of kids over for pizza and games isn't going to cut it in our new neighborhood.

I would love someone who could help me plan an appropriate, but not over the top, party.

OP I think you'd have success if you offered a wide range of services, from day-of-type-assistance, to full on figuring out where/when/how/ordering/setting up/cleaning etc.

Only you can decide what's appropriate in your social circle. How would a stranger know? There is a wide range between a Giant cake and RHOBH. For the purposes of OP the main question is what are you willing to pay for it? let's say your budget is 300 for venue/food/activities. Would you pay $75 for planner's time and effort? Would you want this to include set up and clean up so you are truly hands off?

OP, what would you charge for your service? If it's less than $100 for 3-4 hours of your time (planning, setting up, cleaning up) before taxes - is this what you're targeting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. I'd love a kids party planner -- who wasn't there to plan major-spending-RHOBH-type parties, but who could do a cool party that fit for us.

I admit, I don't have a creative bone in my body. Pintrest is torture to me. I don't like looking because it doesn't give me ideas, it just gives me anxiety about the fact that I couldn't dream up any of that shit. I also have social anxiety so party planning is absolutely not fun for me. at all.

We recently moved to this area and I have no idea what the social norms are. But I'm afraid that ordering a cake from Giant and having a bunch of kids over for pizza and games isn't going to cut it in our new neighborhood.

I would love someone who could help me plan an appropriate, but not over the top, party.

OP I think you'd have success if you offered a wide range of services, from day-of-type-assistance, to full on figuring out where/when/how/ordering/setting up/cleaning etc.

Only you can decide what's appropriate in your social circle. How would a stranger know? There is a wide range between a Giant cake and RHOBH. For the purposes of OP the main question is what are you willing to pay for it? let's say your budget is 300 for venue/food/activities. Would you pay $75 for planner's time and effort? Would you want this to include set up and clean up so you are truly hands off?

OP, what would you charge for your service? If it's less than $100 for 3-4 hours of your time (planning, setting up, cleaning up) before taxes - is this what you're targeting?

How on earth could it be 3-4 hours of time? You'd have to communicate with the parent, arrange for the services/food/items, and be present for the party. You'd have to use time for marketing, invoicing, fielding questions, dealing with problems (last minute RSVPs, increased guest list, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would. I'd love a kids party planner -- who wasn't there to plan major-spending-RHOBH-type parties, but who could do a cool party that fit for us.

I admit, I don't have a creative bone in my body. Pintrest is torture to me. I don't like looking because it doesn't give me ideas, it just gives me anxiety about the fact that I couldn't dream up any of that shit. I also have social anxiety so party planning is absolutely not fun for me. at all.

We recently moved to this area and I have no idea what the social norms are. But I'm afraid that ordering a cake from Giant and having a bunch of kids over for pizza and games isn't going to cut it in our new neighborhood.

I would love someone who could help me plan an appropriate, but not over the top, party.

OP I think you'd have success if you offered a wide range of services, from day-of-type-assistance, to full on figuring out where/when/how/ordering/setting up/cleaning etc.

Only you can decide what's appropriate in your social circle. How would a stranger know? There is a wide range between a Giant cake and RHOBH. For the purposes of OP the main question is what are you willing to pay for it? let's say your budget is 300 for venue/food/activities. Would you pay $75 for planner's time and effort? Would you want this to include set up and clean up so you are truly hands off?

OP, what would you charge for your service? If it's less than $100 for 3-4 hours of your time (planning, setting up, cleaning up) before taxes - is this what you're targeting?

How on earth could it be 3-4 hours of time? You'd have to communicate with the parent, arrange for the services/food/items, and be present for the party. You'd have to use time for marketing, invoicing, fielding questions, dealing with problems (last minute RSVPs, increased guest list, etc.)

You have to do the initial set up - find out about taxes as a sole proprietor, design and print marketing materials, set up or purchase a website, create invoicing template and a contract template, set up to be able to accept credit cards. All these are costs of starting a business.

Once that's done, you just hand out your marketing stuff, pin flyers, etc. Filling in a date and amount on a form invoice/contract does not take many hours. Initial mtg - 45 min, put together/email options - 1 hr. Pick up supplies and set up the party 1 hr. Talk to a late RSVP - 10 min. Increasing guest list should be defined in the contract, you don't need to do anything you haven't previously agreed to. Wrap up and clean up - 1 hr. During the party unless you also double as a clown you need to be physically there, but can do emails on your ipad once everything is up and running. So about 4 hrs give or take.

The more important issue is that if the objective is doing high end parties for a higher fee, then you need to be looking specifically for such clients and convincing them to use you. If it's targeted to a wider range of moms - then it's what I described, 100, 150$ at most for 4 hrs of time before taxes, and you already paid for marketing stuff and spent your time setting up regardless of whether you turn a profit or not (sunk cost).