| 1 |
The guests
should not arrive early. Be specific on the invitation to arrive
prompty but not early. Do not worry if there is a delay, Papa Joe
is usually very flexible. |
| 2 |
Papa Joe arrives
about 15 minutes before the guests. Together with the birhtday
child(ren) he plans the show. This ensures everyones is invested in it's
success. |
| 3 |
The birthday child receives
no presents before the party. Why force them to choose between a new
present and a show? Once a father gave his son a floor hockey set the
night before the party and the child had a very hard time taking a break
from playing with it to enjoy the program. Papa Joe had another
program schedulled and could not delay the start time by more than 30
minutes. The guests were as frustrated as the parents since the
program had to be shortened while he continued to play. |
| 4 |
The space for the program
is free of TV, toys, or anything that resembles toys. It’s the child’s
home, but Papa Joe
needs to turn it into a story space. |
| 5 |
Someone meets the guests at
the door other than the birthday child or Papa Joe. The guests are
escorted directly into the program. Presents are stacked off where
they can not be seen and no food or goodie bags are given out until
later. |
| 6 |
The program begins with
short very interactive stories or games. These last up to 15 minutes or
until the guests have all arrived, which ever comes first. |
| 7 |
The next (approx.) 40
minutes are for more involved stories and games. Papa Joe will
stop early if he thinks the children are not able to cooperate in the
sharing of stories. This has only happened once in over 15 years
of parties and it was due to complete disregard of the above requests
which created chaos for the children. |
| 8 |
For the last five minutes,
Papa Joe gathers the group together and leads them to the next place
(usually the table), where the host takes over the party. We recommend
food, presents, party favors and free time (in that order). |
| 9 |
Papa Joe gets paid after
the cake is served and usually leaves before the presents
arrive. |
| 10 |
Be specific on the
invitation as to when the party ends.
We suggest about a 2 hour party. |
