Thinking of booking a CeilidhKids Party?
Congratulations! Or Happy Birthday! Here are a few things you might like to bear in mind.
People attend a party because
they want to celebrate.
they want to celebrate.
They don’t necessarily come because they want to dance. So although you might think a ceilidh is a jolly way to celebrate, make sure your guests do so too before you invite them… Please don’t invite the whole class, unless you’re sure that the whole class thinks that dancing would be a nice way to spend the afternoon. Contrary to popular belief, we can’t MAKE people want to dance. We wish we could!
What age is best for a CeilidhKids
children’s party?
children’s party?
Usually ages 4 and upwards. 3 year olds are very sweet, and sometimes they’re fine, but they often have 2 year old friends who just don’t cope.
If you’re old enough to go to school, you can dance with your friend. If you’re not old enough to go to school, you’ll need a grownup’s hand to hold (or an older boy or girl). But one grown up can dance with two children. So any under-fives will need an adult partner, which means extra parents will need to stay and get involved at preschool parties. Even parties aimed at older children will benefit from having a few adults joining in too, especially if there are wee brothers and sisters. Joint parties work well, so why not team up with another family? We can also do adult birthday parties - especially if families with young children are invited.
If you’re old enough to go to school, you can dance with your friend. If you’re not old enough to go to school, you’ll need a grownup’s hand to hold (or an older boy or girl). But one grown up can dance with two children. So any under-
What would the party be like?
We will come with a PA system, recorded music and radio microphone and organise an hour of dancing for you child and their friends, with as many adults as possible joining in too. However it’s still your party. You book the venue, organise the food and the party bags and write the invitations, so you will still very much own the event.
People arrive expecting to dance so after five minutes of everyone arriving and milling about, we are ready to start the fun. After about half an hour, energy starts to flag so it’s a good idea to stop for five minutes for a drink of juice. Then we’ll complete the hour with more dances and perhaps a game to ceilidh music.
Then we will disappear and you can run the rest of the party as you like - food, cake, party games, disco music, a craft activity, or whatever suits!
Tips for success
You need a large area and a critical mass of everyone dancing at once, even if it’s only just for 20 minutes. So if you want people to dance, keep other distractions (balloons, toys, facepainting) to a minimum and just focus on the dancing. They can do the other things afterwards. It can be nice to have a wee quiet colouring corner for the shy ones though.
Put the food out of sight until after the dancing though - or else children will either abandon the ceilidh to go and eat it, or else try to dance whilst eating, and that will not end well for anyone…
Put the food out of sight until after the dancing though -
When and where ?
Somewhere with loads of space - people usually underestimate how much room is needed. We can give you some suggestions for good venues in Edinburgh. Church halls, school halls and community centres are all good. Weekend or Friday afternoons are good times for parties.
