Birthday Party Panic

Hey everyone

Just looking for a bit of advice and I apologise for the long-winded post, I have a tendency to waffle, lol. Saturday gone I was booked for a birthday party that was expecting around 12 children. I got there, met the lovely people who booked me, set up and settled in to paint the Birthday Girl first. While applying the tiger base, it quickly became apparent that a considerable line was forming, so I set about putting numbers on the children's hands so they could pop off and play while I painted and shouted out numbers when required, awesome.

That was until I reached party guest number 25.......*panic mode*

25 children, two hour booking, not great maths!

I reached the end of the party managing to paint all children in some form or another, although I did have to downsize the painting from full face to masks and I was really disappointed that the designs were really scrappy because I had to rush.

The kids loved it, the parents thought it was great, so no worries there, just a self-critical-I-know-I-can-do-better strop from me I guess

I really want to get my game sorted and be the best I can be to suit whatever occassion.

I know people have signs to say that designs vary due to time restraints, design detail etc. and I did have the idea to take little bags of sweets to hand out as a consolation prize for any kids I don't manage to paint in the alloted time of the party. I haven't been in this situation at a party before because I have either managed to paint everyone in the two hour booking or I have been booked for an hour then extended the time to cover the extra children

Any advise you lovely people can give me with this would be much appreciated. Although I have technically been painting for some time, it's only recently I have forged my own path and tend to stumble a bit haha

I always talk to the parent about the max number of kids per hour when they book me. So far I haven't had them under book me but I have heard of using stickers or wristbands for large parties. you give the host the number of wristbands that they paid for and only those kids get paint. They need more then they pony up the $$

I don't really see a problem in your scenario since the kids and parents were happy. You could do what some people do and offer different party packages. IE: full face designs, half faces, quick faces. They had probably 5 kids extra and you adjusted the designs accordingly. There is no way that all parties will go as planned no matter how hard you or the host try. Sometimes people will show up with siblings, or people that did not RSVP will show up. The way I see it, it would only be a problem if you had to go over the two hours in which case, you could leave on time and some kids get missed (not your fault), or charge to stay longer (either by time or per child). I personally put "1-20 people" on my 2 hr party invoices, but go over 20 people regularly when time allows. This covers me if they happen to have too many guests and not all get painted.

Thank you for the advice and I do think I need to keep in mind that as long as the client's happy that's what counts, I just struggle to deal when my painting isn't as good as I would like. A couple of painters I know have suggested the wristbands so that's definitely something to think about. I will be looking at the information I give in the initial booking enquiry as well so it covers me with regards to number of guests and time to paint, etc.

It's all common sense really

I haven't had this happen to me as of yet... I always check in with the person who booked me the week of the party to get the number of children they're expecting now. However, that doesn't mean numbers don't change

I've had this happen once or twice, but when I changed to party packages, it didn't happen any more.
My packages are for up to ten guests, and each additional guest is an additional charge.
I bought some jelly bracelets on clearance, at Walgreens and used them to keep track. At first I gave them to the mom (or host) to hand out to guests, but I seemed to lose one or two at every party. That's when I switched to just putting them all on my own wrist. After each face painted, I'd move a bracelet to the opposite wrist. If I ran out before I finished painting faces, I'd check in with the mom to see if she was good with going over the contracted limit.

I really like the jelly bracelet idea rthling! It would be something I would have to be especially strict with myself doing because my memory is abysmal, so knowing me I'd forget to transfer them over haha

Another thing I find is when you have quite a few children lining up, because despite having numbers and being able to go play, they do like to stay to watch and I usually find overcrowding creeps in to the point of feeling like I have something on my shoulder. Other than putting down a line of highly coloured duct tape and asking people to stand behind it like they are in the queue at the Post Office, is there anything else that works well?

I stop what I'm doing and tell them the boundaries. I make sure they know it's for safety reasons. And sometimes, I get a parent involved, to keep the kids out of my way/stuff.
I don't mind a crowd. I usually talk to everyone while I work, like a show. I'm there to entertain, not just paint.
Make it your "thing."

I have a roll of painters tape in my bag, and if kids are really getting up in my grill I put a physical line of tape on the floor! I like painting, but I will NOT have critters crawling all over me while I do it!

maybe a lightweight portable fence around you would work, just outside their reach, like a face paint garden. kids allowed one at a time into the "garden" to get their face painted.