Entertainers, activities and safety

Magicians, circus skills, balloon artists, face painters; vetting, police checks and allergy planning.

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Entertainers, activities and safety.

Magicians, circus skills, balloon artists, face painters; vetting, police checks and allergy planning.

Who performs at kids' parties in the GTA.

Four categories do most of the work.

Magicians for ages 4 to 9, with a 30 to 45 minute show built on audience participation and the birthday child as assistant.

Vetting a children's entertainer.

You are putting an adult in a room with other people's children.

Vet like it matters.

Activities when there is no performer.

For budgets under 300, dollars or for toddlers, activities beat a show.

One craft station with a finished example to copy, one physical game (parachute, freeze dance, obstacle course with pool noodles), one sit-down game (pass the parcel still works).

Safety and allergy planning.

Pack a small kit: bandages, wipes, spare socks, a change of shirt for the birthday child, tape, scissors, garbage bags.

The day-of emergency kit list is written for bigger events but the first third applies here.

Worked example: Maya's 6th.

Eighteen six-year-olds for two hours at a community centre room.

The host wanted a magician.

That is the lesson. The worksheet and the quiz are just below this video.

Who performs at kids’ parties in the GTA

Four categories do most of the work. Magicians for ages 4 to 9, with a 30 to 45 minute show built on audience participation and the birthday child as assistant. Circus-skills workshops (juggling, plate spinning, hula hoop, sometimes a short aerial or acro demo) for 6 to 12, where kids do rather than watch. Balloon artists, either as a roaming act during arrival or as a line-up after the show. Face painters, which hold a room of 5 to 8-year-olds for an hour but process only about ten to fifteen faces in that time, so for 18 kids book two or keep designs simple.

Prices in our experience run from a few hundred dollars for a balloon artist or face painter for an hour to $400 to $700 for a 45-minute children’s magic show in the GTA, with circus workshops in a similar range. Those are not verified market figures; get three quotes. The site directory at /directory/ lists performers by category and age range. Listings owned by the site founder carry a visible disclosure and no ranking preference.

Vetting a children’s entertainer

You are putting an adult in a room with other people’s children. Vet like it matters.

1. Ask for a vulnerable sector check. This is the police record check Ontario police services issue for people working with children. Professional children’s entertainers expect to be asked and have a recent one; a performer who is offended by the question is telling you something. Ask for the date; checks go stale.
2. Ask for liability insurance. Many venues require it before they will let a performer in; community centres and indoor playgrounds often ask for a certificate naming them. Ask for the certificate, not a verbal yes.
3. Watch a video of the actual show. Not a sizzle reel with music over it. A continuous clip with kids in it tells you how the performer handles a heckler, a crier and a child who wants to touch everything.
4. Check references from two recent parties for the same age group. A corporate magician is not automatically a kids’ magician.
5. Confirm the two-adult rule. The performer is never alone with the children. A parent or the host is in the room at all times. Put it in the brief and the performer will be glad of it.

Record all of this on the vendor contact sheet, with the dates of the check and the insurance certificate.

Activities when there is no performer

For budgets under $300, or for toddlers, activities beat a show. One craft station with a finished example to copy, one physical game (parachute, freeze dance, obstacle course with pool noodles), one sit-down game (pass the parcel still works). Rotate every 15 minutes. One adult runs each station; recruit two parents in advance rather than hoping on the day.

Safety and allergy planning

Pack a small kit: bandages, wipes, spare socks, a change of shirt for the birthday child, tape, scissors, garbage bags. The day-of emergency kit list is written for bigger events but the first third applies here.

Worked example: Maya’s 6th

Eighteen six-year-olds for two hours at a community centre room. The host wanted a magician. We shortlisted three from the directory’s children’s magic category, watched a full show clip from each, and picked the one whose clip showed him calmly handling a child who walked into the act halfway through. He sent a vulnerable sector check dated within the year and an insurance certificate the community centre accepted by email the same day.

The booking was a 40-minute show starting at 1:15, with Maya as the assistant for the closing trick, plus a 30-minute balloon add-on during wind-down. His rider was short: a 3 by 3 metre clear floor area, one 6-foot table, kids seated on the floor in a half circle with a tape line, adults behind. The brief told him Maya’s name, that two children had allergies (balloons were latex-free as a result), that one child was shy and should not be singled out, and that the host’s sister would be in the room throughout.

The invitation asked about allergies and latex, and two parents replied: one nut and egg, one nut. The helper kept the list and the phone numbers on a clipboard by the door. The balloon artist worked in the far corner, away from a two-year-old sibling who came along, and swept up at the end. Total entertainment spend: $400 of the $900.

Common mistakes

• Booking on a sizzle reel. Watch continuous footage with real kids.
• Not asking for the vulnerable sector check because it feels awkward. Professionals expect it.
• One face painter for 18 kids with elaborate designs. You will have a queue and a riot.
• Forgetting the latex question. It belongs on the invitation next to the nut question.
• Leaving the performer to manage the room alone while the host runs out for ice. Two adults, always.
• A performer for toddlers who does a 45-minute seated show. Twenty minutes, then free play.

Worksheet

Apply this lesson to a real or practice event using the worksheet, then mark the lesson complete to track your progress toward the certificate.

Download the worksheet (PDF)