5 Parties in 27 hours...

Wow, what a weekend! 5 star wars birthday parties, all over New England! Andover, Ma; Bedford, NH; Natick, MA; Littleton, MA; and Andover again. Great kids, awesome parents; I love my job. And I'm good at what I do!

Jim Manning

Birthday Party Expert, Celebration Coach, National Family Speaker 

866-33-JUNGLE (toll free)

Email@JungleJimBoston.com

FREE Birthday Party Tools at www.JungleJimBoston.com

Friends of Nickerson State Park

Tonight I had the privilege of performing for the Friends of the Nickerson State Park.  They have this really cool amphitheater that looks up at the audience.  There was such a great energy about the place.  JoAnn, Lionel and Eric helped me get set up.  I had a chance to drive around a bit before the show.  Its terrific.  If you want a great place on the Cape to visit, check out Nickerson State Park online.


By the way it was my friend Austin's birthday last month.  I was able to make him into a real superhero:

Jim Manning

Birthday Party Expert, Celebration Coach, National Family Speaker 

866-33-JUNGLE (toll free)

Email@JungleJimBoston.com

FREE Birthday Party Tools at www.JungleJimBoston.com

Indoor Parties... the terror!

Oftentimes I'm asked, Jungle Jim, how do you perform your parties indoors?  SO many kids, seemingly limited space, a recipe for disaster; this is the assumption I often see.

I've been performing at birthday parties for half a dozen years.  I don't want to say I've seen it all, but I have seen a lot.  My activities are suited for indoors and outdoors.  I always come prepared with an additional 30 minutes of activities planned, so if one thing doesn't work due to space limitations, I move onto the next.  That being said, in all my years of entertaining children, I can think of only one space that was a challenge.  It was a small apartment in Southie, and there were at least 20 children.  It was planned for outdoors, but had to move inside because of the weather.  I ended up eliminating some of the activities planned, and instead switched to "Guess what kind of balloon I'm making!"  The kids were so focused on getting the next balloon right, they didn't have time to think about not having room to run around.  When cake was served, they all sat quietly waiting for the next balloon sculpture.

So parents, if we have to move indoors, no worries.  But here's some tips just in case:

1. Clear as big a space as possible: This may seem obvious, but a few of the indoor parties I've done had a number of chairs in the party room.  I prefer kids to sit on the floor.  It keeps a unified group, makes better use of the space and gives me more room to entertain the kids.  The reason the chairs were there leads me to point #2.

2. Have another room for adults: I always ask for there to be one or two adults present during my performance.  That being said, I often perform where adults are, and, really enjoying other adult conversation, they have a tendency to talk over the performance.  So as to prevent a situation that distracts from the kids having as much fun as they want, designate a separate room for the adults to talk.
This way everyone gets to enjoy themselves.

3. DON'T WORRY: I don't deny that it is stressful having all of those kids and adults in your house.  But with a little bit of planning, your party will be a great success.  Kids want to have fun.  Adults want to relax.  And if you hire the right entertainer (ahem), have some good food, and make sure most of the attention is focused on the birthday child, you will have a great party.

Visit my website - www.JungleJimBoston.com to receive my FREE Article - The Top Ten Mistakes Parents Make When Planning Their Child's Party.  Have a great day!

Jim Manning

Birthday Party Expert, Celebration Coach, National Family Speaker 

866-33-JUNGLE (toll free)

Email@JungleJimBoston.com

FREE Birthday Party Tools at www.JungleJimBoston.com

May the Force be with you!

Last week I had the pleasure of entertaining the young padawans at Mason's 5th birthday party.  His mom Alexis is a terrific photographer and sent us these awesome photos. Even his sister Sophia dueled the Jedi Master.  Learn more about our Star Wars Parties at www.JungleJimBoston.com!

Jim Manning

Birthday Party Expert, Celebration Coach, National Family Speaker 

866-33-JUNGLE (toll free)

Email@JungleJimBoston.com

FREE Birthday Party Tools at www.JungleJimBoston.com

Who is the best photographer in Boston?

Jim Manning

Birthday Party Expert, Celebration Coach, National Family Speaker 

866-33-JUNGLE (toll free)

Email@JungleJimBoston.com

FREE Birthday Party Tools at www.JungleJimBoston.com

I am delightfully exhausted!  Today I did a 5 hour photo shoot with Infinity Portrait Design.  Professional photos have been something we've been wanting to get done for a while, and Susan Symonds of Infinity Portrait Design in Beacon Hill in Boston was the one!  I knew Susan from BNI, and was finally excited to get together with her.  We did so many great photos.  My lovely fiancee Sonya came along for hair and makeup.  Annie, Susan's wife, provided merriment and Upper Crust Pizza.  And Kyle, son of one of Ansel Adams' students and former resident of Brookfield, CT, gave us some amazing ideas with the balloon stuff.  To the right is a photo Susan shot of me on 7/7/07.  If you want great photos, call Infinity Portrait Design: 617-367-9432, or visit them at 59 Beacon Street in Beacon Hill in Boston.  

Happy Easter!

As a professional family entertainer, I often work weekends and holidays. That's OK, I don't mind the sacrifice to do something I love. But I do miss my family in New York and Connecticut a great deal. That's why I decided to climb inside of a 6 foot balloon when Sonya and I visited for Easter. Because nothing says family holiday like climbing inside of a 6-foot balloon!

Jim Manning

Birthday Party Expert, Celebration Coach, National Family Speaker 

866-33-JUNGLE (toll free)

Email@JungleJimBoston.com

FREE Birthday Party Tools at www.JungleJimBoston.com

Balloons and Fashion

On Monday I had the pleasure of meeting Kenlyn, a fashion student. She was kind enough to put me on her blog. Check it out! Here's the pictures:

Twist & Shout

Last month I had the pleasure of attending Twist & Shout, the national balloon convention in Oak Brook, IL, outside of Chicago. Great times were had by all, and I especially appreciated Smarty Pants and Miss Dena putting me up for a couple of days beforehand (although the invoice a week later was a bit surprising, especially the water and electricity charge). People often ask me: Jungle Jim, what is a balloon convention like? I tell them, picture 300 of the most artistically gifted, yet socially different people in the world, and you have a balloon convention! In all seriousness, I learned a lot, and got to do something I had never done. Take a look!