One of DD's friends did a princess birthday party when they were little. It was okay, not great. The princesses read to the kids, and did some (not so great) face painting. I think the kids had a better time just running around and playing after they left, than while they were there.

We had Spider-Man come to my 4YO's birthday last February and it was a hit. We have a large garage I cleaned out and put a few heaters in and we held the party in there. He did "superhero training" and the kids had a great time. I will say, though, book for less time than you think you'll want/need. We hired him for 2 hours and the kids were pretty over it at an hour/1.5 hours that I actually told him he could leave early. We booked through Princess Parties of DC and it was a great experience.

I've never done a character party, but I hired a local children's musician (like Laurie Berkner, but local and not famous) for my oldest child's 5 year old party for $200, and it was great. The kids were really engaged because her songs and stories were very interactive. They sang and danced and clapped. We had guests from ages 2 to 6, and they all had a great time.

And towards the end, she let each kid have a turn being the singer at the microphone for a song of the kid's choice while she played the song on her guitar. As a parent, it was a little tedious to hear 4 separate kids sing "Baby Shark," but the kids loved it.

If you pay $100-$-125 you can expect a McDonalds/Burger King performance, my experience has been to hire the top talent in town which is pricey, but always on point! $200-$400

We did a princess party for a third birthday and a Superman party for a fourth birthday. Both big hits because the characters came with activities that kept the kids entertained for 45 mins. I wouldn't do it for a party post 4 years old though.

DD (age 5) went to a character party last spring featuring a Disney princess and it seemed to be a huge hit. The princess made an appearance, read a story and also did face painting. DD couldn’t stop talking about how the princess “remembered” meeting her at Disney World a few months prior which I thought was sweet.

My dd wanted a princess for her 5th, and that person was just lovely. She looked as good as someone at WDW, stayed in character the whole time, read "her" story to the kids, crowned my child as a fellow princess, and then had a photo op with each kid.

She was a feature, but not the whole party - she stayed about half an hour. Kids all knew she was coming, all present were big fans, and it was a small group. It was way better than I expected.

My kid is terrified of characters.

Unless you have a recommendation for an excellent professional, you're better off hiring teens in costumes to lead activities with the guests. They will be engaging and fun.

No success with the professionals, not sure why, but they sucked. Neighborhood teens volunteered on more than one occasion and they came in Halloween costumes. The little kids loved them.

I recently went to a home party and Spider-Man showed up. This was 4-5 year olds. A third of the kids were into it. A third were excited for 2 minutes and then dissipated. A third were terrified. The Spider Man kind of sucked. He looked great but he ran a pretty lame obstacle course and wasn’t super engaging. About a 5/10. I’ll never do it for my kid bc I don’t want to wrangle him on his birthday if he decides he’s not into it (nor do I want other parents to feel they have to wrangle). I’d do this for a girl party only if there was a very strong princess type who was an actual performer. I’ve seen great Zucchini at birthdays and that guy is a real pro.

I’ve been to 2, both for 3 yo birthdays.

At one, the character wore a big mask/headpiece (like Mickey Mouse) and the birthday child loved it but half of the kids were terrified- remember that the kids may not know the character if they are younger. They just hung out to shake hands and pose for pics, so mostly just something for the birthday child.

At the other, it was two Disney princesses, and that was fine, no one was scared. They led an activity and sing a long, but it wasn’t great. My sense is that it was college kids looking fir extra $$, not professional kids entertainers who know how to interact w kids.

My DD has been to several such parties - princesses and Harry Potter when she was older, I think there were 2 characters. Utterly boring, but that may be because she never cared for princesses or HP. If you’re going that route, I would have some sort of an activity. We’ve also been to several different parties with magic shows and I think those were much better received.

So, this will out me to some people...

Years ago, I had a superhero themed party for my 4-year-old and his friends (and parents) at my house. Literally, the day before the party, my husband decides we need “entertainment” and finds a guy who will be Spider-Man to show up. I’m not keen, but whatever.

Day of party, Spider-Man shows up. He’s about 65 and feeble, in the suit, but not the mask, and wearing a Spider-Man baseball hat. I open my front door and he starts shooting silly string all over the place. My son and his friends run up from the basement and all start crying that Spider-Man is “ruining the house”. Crying, tears, hysteria. My husband is nowhere to be found. I track him down hiding in another room because he knows this is a disaster.

We calm the kids down and Spider-Man chills with the silly string and starts doing some subpar face painting. Rest of party goes by without incident. However, we do find that silly string can get pretty well embedded into the grooves in our hardwoods. Husband got to deal with that.

TL:dr It was a very bad idea, but a funny story now.

Has anyone had a character birthday party for their child or attended one? What activities did you do? Was it worth hiring an actor?