Childrens make a bear parties

Savvy_Sue

^^ makes a lot of sense. Also the Bear thing might appeal to little girls more than little boys, certainly to bigger boys, so unless you want to avoid boys then offering a range of themes with a wider appeal might be worth considering.

paddyrg

^^^ DIY Dinosaurs Party!

Savvy_Sue

For several years I ran Thunderbirds Parties, just for my boys. Each child went home with a hat and sash they'd made and decorated themselves.

SuzieSue

I don't have children so can't really comment, but sounds a good idea to me.

Only thing I would say is if you are going to give a discount voucher for guests, then I think you should make the expiration date 12 months ahead rather than 6 so that people whose birthdays are more than 6 months away will consider it.

flea72

[QUOTE=Savvy_Sue;42322890_some_serious_bits_of_industrial_machinery_to_operate[/QUOTE]

the home stuff bears arent filled by a machine. the kids get given wadding and have to stuff them by hand

there are lots of companies that already run mobile parties, but they are aimed more at schools/childcare facilities, as they want to churn out bears in bulk - quite often as fundraising, so the school buys skins at a piece rate, and then they set their own price and keep the profit

maybe this is another avenue the OP could go down, to have a stall at PTA events and fetes

I also think £19 per child is alot - seeing as you can usually get bowling or a softplay area for under £10/hd including food and party bag - even BAB starts at £9/hd, factor in a trip to Mcds for a happy meal afterwards and thats still only £13/hd tops

i think the only plus of your idea, is that there wont be pressure sales on the parents of attendees, as when you go to a BAB party most kids want the extra outfits, unless you also plan to have all your wares out, as a ploy?

I also prefer parties that arent at home - too many distractions - when at home kids get bored alot quicker, and start to drift away from the activities, and you spend half your time having to round them up again - most parents expect to be totally left out the loop if paying for a party, and its harder to control other peoples kids in a house situation, than in say a hall, or shop

F

Joannag_2

Thanks all, lots of fair points. Around here the biggest draw is a soft play place which is £11 per child for play/something and chips.
TBH I could do it cheaper - but the business link (Superb and free) course I went on suggested to price for quality - too cheap puts people off!
Some around the country I have researched charge the price of bears plus £100 plus to run the party.

The £150 for 8 children would be the larger 16 inch bear - I can of course price up the smaller 8 inch ones too.
re: boys there are great pirate themed bears for the younger ones, I don't think I would try and appeal to the older boys (though my friends 13 year old boy is mad for build a bear still!!)
Have registered my domain name today...watch this space!!

thanks again for the feedback!

paulwf

Joannag wrote: »

TBH I could do it cheaper - but the business link (Superb and free) course I went on suggested to price for quality - too cheap puts people off!

My personal opinion is to price at the higher end of the market - within reason of course. This means that you have the option to do special offers or discounts if you need to. On the other hand if you start cheap there is no room to put your prices up in the near future so i wouldn't go down the cheap route.

As you will presumably rely a lot on referrals you can't suddenly put your prices up by a huge amount which is another reason to start high. I would try and come up with a range of prices to broaden your appeal. It's also customer psychology, very few will go for the cheapest option and again few will go for the expensive option, you include those in your price list to focus people on your main option.

Joannag_2

You are so right Paul, I myself always like a middle price option!

Parents can still hire the village hall for £20 if they don't want the party at home - I'm investigating local businesses such as cafes that might like me to come in and run a party, then they will get the food revenue.

Overall, the main thing for me is that there is little risk - if all else failed I could sell my stock on ebay. I think this is something I will be really good at doing (I'm a naturally bubbly sort of person!) and there is a gap in thte market around my area.
BTW, for previous posters, the build a bear shops don't do franchises or anything like that, already looked into it. The company who will supply me has shops all over the world already, so an established brand, not a rip off of build a bear, so no dangers of law suits!!

themull1

I wouldnt do it for my kids, too expensive, i like build a bear!!

babybutton666

ive just booked my daughters party at build a bear and for 6 people it'll be about £120 - you set the price limit. The bears range from £9 to £18 (but thats the stupid one from hop the film) and the outfits are about £8 for a normal dress so for £17 per head you can get a bear and outfit - i've never had any problem at all with build a bear, the quality is fantastic and as far as kids go it's the designer label of making your own teddy bear!
If my daughters had the choice of a build a bear party or a make your own bear in the house party for about the same cost they would opt for build a bear every time.
At the costs your projecting then it's not much competition - also then the parents are stuck with many kids in their house (i had one party in my house and will never ever do it again - far too much stress). With build a bear the bears are all standard size (except for the sanrio character heads which are too large for head accessories) - the choice for extra outfits is phenomenol (i cant spell) which you probably wouldn't be able to compete with - basically im sure its a good idea and some parents might go for it but with older age kids mine would not be impressed if i said your having a bear making party and it isnt build a bear - they'd rather just have a sleep over - plus you can buy bear making kids on ebay pretty cheap and i'd reckon many people who decide to have a home bear making party would opt for that due to the cheaper costs...........