The quote “In every job there is an element of fun, find the fun and SNAP the job’s a game” from Mary Poppins suggests that even mundane or boring tasks can be made more fun by disguising them with a playful, gameplay perspective.
In your birthday party business, it means that the various tasks necessary to host a commercial party, such as setting up, moving throughout the party, serving food, and cleaning up, can be transformed into more a fun, engaging, and memorable way of doing it, by finding a spirit of playfulness or making it a game. This methodology will create a more enjoyable experience for all, the party family, the staff, and the party guests.
We make everything a game, that’s just how we roll. For example, we’ll make the start fun, by keeping kids engaged before a party while waiting for all the guests to show up. Waiting is super hard for excited kids, anticipating the fun and celebration soon to happen. Having something fun for them to do, like coloring a superhero T-shirt for the birthday child, or playing a relay-style app game, like Minecraft or Candy Crush, disguises the waiting with plain fun. But secretly, just like Mary Poppins made chores fun, these games and activities focus the attention of the kids on something positive, while they are actually waiting for others to arrive.
During the party room time, games like Who Knows (the birthday VIP) Best or Beat the Parents are organized to keep the kids focused on the fun and not get bored. We personalize these activities by inserting the birthday child’s favorite cartoon or movie character’s name, which takes the party to a whole new level of “Wow”. Parents get to socialize or enjoy watching their kids, like a show, laughing and joking to their heart’s delight.
Here are a couple of games that can work to create unique style of birthday party.
Play Clay
The birthday VIP starts out with an imaginary piece of clay. They are instructed to mold their clay into any object they like. We might even suggest using an imaginary theme, the birthday child’s favorite movie or cartoon of course. When complete they can demonstrate its use. No words are allowed, although sound effects are OK. Everyone tries to guess what the object is. Once guessed, the imaginary clay passes to the player who guessed or to the next person.
Storytelling Ball
The object is to create a unique, funny story about the birthday child, using their favorite type of ball (mini soft soccer, football, lacrosse, basketball, etc.). Start out with a theme or storyline that brings in the birthday VIP’s personal favorites, then get all the guests gathered into a circle. Begin the story by telling a few sentences that goes with the theme chosen. The birthday child is the first player who starts, holding the ball. After they add a few sentences, they roll or toss the ball to anyone in the circle to pick up the story where they left off. The next storyteller continues the story starting by the last person with the ball. They can only add positive or “nice” lines to the story. If you choose, add a penalty if they don’t. ie. They must give up the ball and their sentence is not included. The Party Host or parent is the referee. After each player adds a few sentences, they roll the ball to someone new. Keep rolling or tossing the ball until it gets back to the birthday child who then gets to end the story.