How Do I Plan a Princess Party?
Enchanted Empowerment has created over 500 parties over the last 10 years! Here are some general tips and tricks, as well as answers to frequent questions. Never hesitate to reach out to us at brianna@enchantedempowerment.com with any questions at any time!
How Do I Start Planning?
Kid's parties can feel overwhelming, but they don't have to be! We have helped host hundreds of parties and have it narrowed down to 5 easy steps!
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1. DECIDE YOUR THEME
What movie does your child watch on loop? When playing pretend, who does she pretend to be the most? Which movie has the empowering message you like the most? This should help you decide which character to invite!
2. BOOK YOUR ENTERTAINMENT
We HIGHLY recommend booking entertainment before a venue if the character is the most important part of your party. There are a lot more kids' party venues than character companies in the area! We almost always have availability if you are flexible on time, because we have a large service area and may be coming from up to 50 miles away!
3. CHOOSE YOUR VENUE
Does your home have a fairly open space for the princess to lead activities? Does the public venue have a private party space so the princess isn't mobbed by people who aren't your guests? These are some things to consider before choosing where to host!
4. USE ENCHANTED EMPOWERMENT'S FREE INVITATIONS
We always recommend preparing your child and her guests for the character's arrival, and there's no better way to do this than our character-specific invitations that you can email, text, or print to all of your guests!
5. ORDER A CAKE, SNACKS, ADDITIONAL DECORATIONS IF YOU'D LIKE, AND RELAX!
It's our honor to have the rest covered! All you need is a camera for all the memories!
Do You Facepaint?
Before opening Enchanted Empowerment, our owner Brianna worked for another princess company that offered facepainting for 5 years. Even with all that practice, she never improved enough to be comfortable doing it professionally! If you are hoping for the children to have some sort of visual memory of the party, we are happy to offer our glitter makeovers and our crafts which they may take home!
I Can't Wait to Surprise My Child with Her Favorite Character!
In our 10 years of experience in the character performing industry, we have noticed approximately 90% of children who did not know the character was coming will be overwhelmed and shy upon arrival of the character. Only 50% of surprised children warm up to the performer by the end of the event. We estimate that 90% of overwhelmed children would have adjusted more quickly if they had been given time to prepare for meeting their hero. For this reason, we STRONGLY encourage you to NOT surprise your child with our appearance. If you wish to surprise your child, we suggest telling them the morning of your event that a character will be coming. Our character-specific invitations are a great way to build excitement!
When Should I Book?
We generally book 4-6 weeks out! For the most flexibility, we recommend booking 8 weeks out, but we can book as far as 6 months out!
When Should the Princess Arrive?
We recommend the princess arrive 15-30 minutes after the scheduled party start time. You know how unpredictable traffic in this area can be! You also know your guests best, so use what you know of your invited families to decide if 15 or 30 minutes is a better fit!
What Does the Princess Need when she Arrives?
We pride ourselves on being as self-contained as possible! We need a wide open space so the children can move around, and if the character is in a big hoop skirt, perhaps some space for her to navigate between the furniture!
What Age is Best? Will Boys be Engaged?
We generally recommend our parties for ages 3-6, but you know your child best! We are happy to adjust our activities for any age; just let us know the guest of honor's age beforehand so we can make it developmentally appropriate!
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While we all know most boys are unlikely to invite a princess to their party, they're almost always thrilled to be a guest at one, especially boys 4 and under!
There seems to be something magical about being acknowledged and seen by an adult. This usually encourages them to participate, even if they aren't usually what's considered to be the "standard princess audience"!
Are You Insured/Background Checked?
Yes! Our performers work in educational settings and are background checked. We are also trained in a variety of requirements for the Virginia education system, such as CPR. We have full liability insurance and are happy to add any venue as "additionally insured" on our COIs with 5+ business days notice.
Can We Change the Layout of Activities?
Absolutely! We are 100% child-directed in terms of the length of activities. We always bring at least one backup activity in case a planned activity isn't engaging for the particular crowd. Please feel free to inform us about your child's interests and your vision for the party so we can work together to make it princess-perfect!
What Other Activities Should I Plan?
If your heart is set on face painting, we highly recommend booking a professional face painter! There are plenty of places that plan additional activities like pottery or paint businesses, or trampoline parks! We recommend allowing the character to be the focus at her allotted time, however. We offer a variety of package lengths for this purpose!
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In our 10+ years of experience, characters cannot compete with the presence of a bouncy house. There is always one child more interested in bouncing than the princess, and they generally make the other children feel pressured to bounce as well. Plus, they are often LOUD!
While our characters will try their best to interact with the guests regardless of other activities, we cannot force attendees to ignore a bounce house. Our performers cannot enter a bounce house for liability reasons, as well as for potential damage to our costumes and wigs. We recommend un-inflating the bounce house for the duration of the character's visit to ensure you have the best character experience! In fact, re-inflating the bounce house at the end of a character's visit is a great way to ease the disappointment of a character's departure!
How Do You Accommodate Children with Special Needs?
Please inform us of your child's needs at least 24 hours before the party so we can make appropriate adjustments. Accommodations we provide include BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: reduced volume of music, more sensitive/less overwhelming interactions, no hugs, different games or crafts, no activities provided and simply following the child's interest, etc. We also have accommodations for our public events; just ask and we will let you know your options!