Having a character at a birthday party

[Anonymous]

If you had a character at a birthday party- what did they do? My dd is obsessed with Elmo and is turning 3. I was thinking of having Elmo come and they seem the right age for it. One I spoke to said they read a book. Is that enough? What did your characters do? Should I plan time for people to take pictures? I’m trying to figure out timing and the schedule. Do the characters lead the happy birthday song?

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who’s kid loved Elmo and they had Elmo come. Some of the kids we’re afraid since it was a 6 foot Elmo showing up

[Anonymous]

A character will sing songs and bring games - at least all of ours did.

[Anonymous]

My kid would be terrified and would run out screaming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid would be terrified and would run out screaming.

Op here. A 3 year old? 2 year olds would be scared but I think 3 year olds like them more.

What game did the characters play? A song and a book sounds good to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid would be terrified and would run out screaming.

Op here. A 3 year old? 2 year olds would be scared but I think 3 year olds like them more.

What game did the characters play? A song and a book sounds good to me.

Ugh please no books/story time at a party. Where is the fun in physical activity at that age? Let Elmo come, sing happy birthday, cut the cake and leave. I have a 3 year old and teach preschool. Most would be terrified, even the Elmo loving ones

[Anonymous]

I’ve only been to one kid party with characters. It was a third birthday and there were two people dressed as trolls. They just showed up, walked around and posed for photos, and danced with the kids. Half were scared, half loved them.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?i hadn’t really thought of that but am curious what other moms think

[Anonymous]

What else do you need to know? It sounds like you’re getting reviews that some kids will be fine, others might be scared

[Anonymous]

We had SpiderMan come for DS’s 5th birthday and my 3YO DS (who also loves SpiderMan) wouldn’t come out of the basement he was so terrified. 5YO loved it, as did most of the other kids, 2 and 3YO’s included. He did “superhero training”, sang HBD, and interacted with the kids. I will say, though, don’t get more than 30 min-1 hr, we did 1.5 hours and the kids were over it so I told Spidey he could leave early.

I would guess Elmo could do things like dance, play parachute, lead Simon Says, stuff like that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had SpiderMan come for DS’s 5th birthday and my 3YO DS (who also loves SpiderMan) wouldn’t come out of the basement he was so terrified. 5YO loved it, as did most of the other kids, 2 and 3YO’s included. He did “superhero training”, sang HBD, and interacted with the kids. I will say, though, don’t get more than 30 min-1 hr, we did 1.5 hours and the kids were over it so I told Spidey he could leave early.

I would guess Elmo could do things like dance, play parachute, lead Simon Says, stuff like that?

Me again. Has your kid ever been exposed to other characters? Like Chuck-e-cheese, Mickey, Easter Bunny? That should give you a good idea if she’s ready for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had SpiderMan come for DS’s 5th birthday and my 3YO DS (who also loves SpiderMan) wouldn’t come out of the basement he was so terrified. 5YO loved it, as did most of the other kids, 2 and 3YO’s included. He did “superhero training”, sang HBD, and interacted with the kids. I will say, though, don’t get more than 30 min-1 hr, we did 1.5 hours and the kids were over it so I told Spidey he could leave early.

I would guess Elmo could do things like dance, play parachute, lead Simon Says, stuff like that?

Me again. Has your kid ever been exposed to other characters? Like Chuck-e-cheese, Mickey, Easter Bunny? That should give you a good idea if she’s ready for it.

OP here. My DD has been exposed a lot and wants Elmo to come. We went to Disney World a few times and she loves the characters and hugging them. She really thinks they're real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had SpiderMan come for DS’s 5th birthday and my 3YO DS (who also loves SpiderMan) wouldn’t come out of the basement he was so terrified. 5YO loved it, as did most of the other kids, 2 and 3YO’s included. He did “superhero training”, sang HBD, and interacted with the kids. I will say, though, don’t get more than 30 min-1 hr, we did 1.5 hours and the kids were over it so I told Spidey he could leave early.

I would guess Elmo could do things like dance, play parachute, lead Simon Says, stuff like that?

Me again. Has your kid ever been exposed to other characters? Like Chuck-e-cheese, Mickey, Easter Bunny? That should give you a good idea if she’s ready for it.

OP here. My DD has been exposed a lot and wants Elmo to come. We went to Disney World a few times and she loves the characters and hugging them. She really thinks they're real.

If you are inviting guest, which you are, then you want to make sure your guest are comfortable. Elmo may scare others. Your kid is 3... she doesn’t really have a say be it her birthday or not. That age is a hit or miss age regarding characters. I wouldn’t do it.

[Anonymous]

Exactly, your kid may be fine, but some kids might be scared. Odds are that will happen with characters

[Anonymous]

My 5 yo DD is still scared of characters!