Kids Craft Party

If you're comfortable with children, then a kids craft party is a fantastic way to make money. Parents are always looking for new ideas for birthday parties, so you'll probably get more business than you need once word gets around!

Kids can make their own jewellery, greeting cards, bookmarks, photo frames, door hangers, etc. Older kids could even do basic knitting or crocheting.

So whatever your speciality, you'll probably be able to come up with some item or other that would work for this type of party.

Money matters

The easiest way to charge for a kids craft party is per child attending. As different age groups have different abilities, it's a good idea to come up with several different 'packages' to offer to parents. This also allows for different budgets, e.g. for beading parties charge x for bookmarks, y for bracelets and z for bracelet & necklace sets.

When working out your prices, don't forget to take petrol costs and time taken to prepare into consideration as well.

I'd suggest that you take a non refundable 50% deposit when the birthday party is booked, as you will probably need to invest in more supplies. That way you won't lose money if the party gets cancelled. Parents can pay the balance at the end of the party, based on final numbers.

To avoid misunderstandings, it's probably worth putting things in writing and just getting parents to fill in the form and sign when they book the kids craft party.

Preparation

As with any home party, arrive about half an hour before the birthday party starts to set up. Depending on the age group, number of children and the venue, you could set up at a table or just on the floor.

With children it's easier if you provide a kit for each of them to work with, rather than allowing them free reign with choosing materials. You can add a few bowls of extras in the middle of the floor or table for them to add to their creations, but each child should probably have their own basics to start with.

If they need tools, try to have as many of each as possible, so there's no arguing - children aren't as polite as adults about sharing and waiting their turn, and you don't want a fight to erupt! Consider labelling everything as well, so there's no question of what belongs to you and what doesn't.

Please also take safety into account. Don't use tools or materials that would be dangerous for the age group you're working with, and make sure you are keeping a close watch at all times.

Keep projects simple

At a kids craft party, every child needs to be able to finish in the time allocated, so help out if necessary, but make sure you don't make it too complicated for them in the first place.

For example, if very young children are making jewellery, it might be worthwhile you attaching the clasps beforehand and then finishing them off at the end while the kids are eating - so all they need to do is string the beads on in the order they like.

A nice touch is to provide a special bag for each child to carry their creation home in - for jewellery little organza pouches are inexpensive, or use pretty paper bags for bigger crafts.


Click here for a great kids crafts resource.

If you've done a kids craft party, I'd love to hear all about it - click here to send me your experience!