"How much!?!...but it's only a kids party!!"

[Shaun]

You know the scenario.....

Get a phone call from a parent wanting to hire you to provide a kids party on a prime Saturday evening date. Give them the quote and you hear...."How much!?!...but it's only a kids party!!". My overheads don't get cheaper if I do a kids party and neither does my price. I will reduce the price for daytime or weekday, but definitely not for a Saturday evening.

I've had too many of these kind of calls lately, and if I'm really honest these are my least favourite types of events. I have a lot of respect for people like Mayhem and KrazyKaz that specialise in these types of parties, as it's definitely a skill to do them correctly.

I've officially retired from kids parties.....

[Dragonfly]

I agree totally shaun if you are out you are out on a saturday night whether it be a 13th or a wedding your overheads dont get cheaper and you are still to be paid for your time , i like the challenge of younger discos as if they dont like you they will be brutally honest...

i too reduce my fee for midweek or daytime they seem to think that its only 2-3 hours as opposed to 4 or 5 so its going to be cheaper ???? but fail to understand that although you finish at 9pm and not midnight you cant then just go and do another gig to make up your money......

i quote for upto 5 hours so if i get well we only want 3 the reply is well the option is there then for you to extend if you wish and it wont cost you anything.

[soundmaster mobile disco]

I am the same Shuan,If you take a kids booking at a reduced rate when you have no bookings for that night at say £75.what happens if you get an booking for the same date where you can get your normal price.trying to explain this to people but they just dont understand.

[discomobiledj]

Couldn't agree more. I hate doing kids parties, and I had that exact comment only a couple of weeks ago. At the end of the day a two hour party is actually a 3+ hour party with the set up, take down, travelling etc.

[TONYTIGER]

You know the scenario.....

Get a phone call from a parent wanting to hire you to provide a kids party on a prime Saturday evening date. Give them the quote and you hear...."How much!?!...but it's only a kids party!!". My overheads don't get cheaper if I do a kids party and neither does my price. I will reduce the price for daytime or weekday, but definitely not for a Saturday evening.

I've had too many of these kind of calls lately, and if I'm really honest these are my least favourite types of events. I have a lot of respect for people like Mayhem and KrazyKaz that specialise in these types of parties, as it's definitely a skill to do them correctly.

I've officially retired from kids parties.....

I do a lot of kids partys but tell the client i only do them off peak mostly Sat/sun pm £100 for two hours do all the games but get the client to provide the prizes.

[spin mobile disco]

Just had one lilke this last week. Rang up to ask for a kids party on a saterday next month. Oh last year we had a DJ bubble machine, glow sticks , prizes for the kids and a wife who dressed up in costum for £75. Why dont you hire them again? we lost their number how much will you charge.
I can provide whole lot for £140 as its only 2 hours.
How much??? im on a budget??
Thats as cheap as I can go
But its only 2 hours
I know thats why im not charging extra for bubble machine, prizes, and glow sticks.
Hangs up.
Rings back later , can you do it for £100 thats all we have.
Ok I reply but I will not include bubbles, prizes or glowsticks for that price (thinking im doing a pretty big favour at this point.
Oh I thought you included all that and hangs up.
Email from same , we went with someone else who only charged us £90 for disco, bubbles, prizes glow sticks etc.
I reply I hope he turns up, have a nice day.

Just want to pull ahir out sometimes. My cheapest rate for a saterday is £140 Irealise that kids parties arent as long so include extra's when booked to help balance it out a bit. But work is still the same set up rig, pack away rig, lug gear around, pay insurance , pay PAT. Bets on if other person has these? anyone?

[Have a disco]

Avoid kids parties like the plague especially under 10 years of age which end up to be adult events???? I only do school functions now and ask the parents to hire school premises for there childrens parties they're soon put off buy the overall costs and school regulations for parties

[Tom]

Avoid kids parties like the plague especially under 10 years of age which end up to be adult events????

same here. i only do school disco's as i get sick and tired of people wanting everything cheap even though the DJ was to he bappy and bubbly for a couple of hours. enteraining kids is such a hard thing and if they dont listen there is nothing you can do about it. :bang:

[Dragonfly]

Avoid kids parties like the plague especially under 10 years of age which end up to be adult events???? I only do school functions now and ask the parents to hire school premises for there childrens parties they're soon put off buy the overall costs and school regulations for parties

do you know mr. badger I had that very conversation with mrs. dragonfly not 2 hours ago :D :D

[Excalibur]

I am the same Shuan,If you take a kids booking at a reduced rate when you have no bookings for that night at say £75.what happens if you get an booking for the same date where you can get your normal price.trying to explain this to people but they just dont understand.

Now we're going into murky waters here, but:
I know of DJ's who have taken a kid's party booking, on the basis that half a wage is better than no wage at all, and I can be in the pub for 9.30..............

and when an adult booking comes in, just ditch the kids party! I have done more than one short notice kids party on that basis! It's not nice, but it still happens!:bang:

[rob1963]

Kids parties can work in your favour.

I have a friend who does quite a few.

They are often late afternoon, in which case he has time to go on to a normal gig afterwards, thereby earning money from TWO different gigs on the same evening!

Personally, I wouldn't touch kids discos with a barge pole.

I leave them to the Mr Mayhems (experts) of this world.

[flatliners]

i once done a kids party and at the time i was charging 60 pounds for 2 hours on a sat afternoon i got an extra 2 kids bookings on the day and another 3 people out of the cards i gave out rang me turned out 2 be adults partys and another kids all in all that 1 do get me some nice work so dont knock a kids party just think of the work it could generate
but if people want a kids party on a saturday night they will have to pay saturday night prices

[CRAZY K]

You know the scenario.....

Get a phone call from a parent wanting to hire you to provide a kids party on a prime Saturday evening date. Give them the quote and you hear...."How much!?!...but it's only a kids party!!". My overheads don't get cheaper if I do a kids party and neither does my price. I will reduce the price for daytime or weekday, but definitely not for a Saturday evening.

I've had too many of these kind of calls lately, and if I'm really honest these are my least favourite types of events. I have a lot of respect for people like Mayhem and KrazyKaz that specialise in these types of parties, as it's definitely a skill to do them correctly.

I've officially retired from kids parties.....

Im doing a Western Theme Kids Party on Friday--I ALWAYS insist I wont do more than 2 hours---attention span and all that stuff.

Because its local and 2 hours I knocked £25 off the full rate:D

It was a recommendation--so its take it or leave it--kids can be far more demanding to control --I have to shout a lot more:D ---so no favours on the price.

The lady booking it was a bit concerned about controlling the kids---dont you worry I said---my PA is much louder than they will ever be:D :D :D

I think the great unwashed public out there need educating--

I use the comparison with people like Dynorod--if they turn up you have a fixed charge and then time charging---they dont charge peanuts for turning up thats for sure ---nor do I!!!!!!!!!

Maybe thats how we should quote--£100 to turn up and x pounds an hour--easier to get over to the public?

CRAZY K

[Vectis]

Maybe thats how we should quote--£100 to turn up and x pounds an hour--easier to get over to the public?


That's exactly how I work with one of my corporate clients. One place I work for regularly offers a range of party options, some lasting 90 minutes, some 2 hours, and over the course of an evening several will overlap. Sometimes I'll start at 6:30 and be finished by 8:00, othertimes it's a 6:00 start / finish 10:30 and this often isn't known until the actual date.

So he pays an 'attendance fee' (covers the overheads) then a half-hourly rate.


In light of this and the fact that I love kids parties (over 6's under 16's) I put together a package aimed squarely at that market - a loud sound system with a laptop full of everything you're ever likely to need at that age range, video projector and half a dozen impressive lights & lasers. Fits in half a van, takes 20 minutes to set up. Price is for up to 3 hours, then it's extra per half-hour. It's selling very well. OK so not as much profit as your typical wedding but virtually no planning required, usually home by 10:30 and, as has been alluded to already on the thread, LOTS of repeat business and 'adult' gigs come out of it too. And as my charges are on a sliding scale and also seasonal, if someone wanted to book a kids party on a Saturday night in July, then it would be rather expensive but if they went ahead and booked, I wouldn't feel cheated.

[Tonsk]

I love kids parties and do charge a little less for them if on a Saturday night, but not a great deal..

For example, I have one coming up in November - My ordinary charge is £225 from 8 till midnight for adult functions... This one I'm charging £185 from 7.15 till 9.30.. Will be home for 10.30 so early night and can be up early the next day for a full day with the wife and kid....

Win win for me, plus less equipment, more up for it crowd etc etc....

They do get glowsticks, flashing hair braids, flashing necklaces, balloons etc etc but they are soo much easier to entertain..... As long as you don't lose their interest EVER.... If you do, then you are in trouble...

So £40 less, but an early night with a lot less carrying of equipment.... Worth it in my book.... Plus, as Vectis says, I get lots of repeat work for adult functions from it...

[TONYTIGER]

i once done a kids party and at the time i was charging 60 pounds for 2 hours on a sat afternoon i got an extra 2 kids bookings on the day and another 3 people out of the cards i gave out rang me turned out 2 be adults partys and another kids all in all that 1 do get me some nice work so dont knock a kids party just think of the work it could generate
but if people want a kids party on a saturday night they will have to pay saturday night prices

Spot on as i said i just do them off peak had a quick look at my books brings in between £2000/2500 per year nice little earner. Mind you not everybodys cup off tea you have to be very confident to take them but very satisfying.

[Cj_The_Dj]

i totally agree your in this trade for a living .

you couldn't walk in a shop and say how much for a mars bar . "HOW MUCH!! its only for a kid" lol yes in day time i go cheaper depending on the gig

[Sam]

i totaly agree you in it for a living .

you couldnt walk in a shop and say how much for a marsbar . "HOW MUCH!! its only for a kid" lol yes in day time i go cheper depending on the gig but i would never sel my self sort lol

how do you self sort?

I generally charge cheaper for childrens discos...
why? Because they are easier. and because why should they pay the same as someone who wants a wedding disco.. not quite the same :).. havind said that the childrens discos seem to 'fill the slots' nicely.. when i don't have weddings booked.

I tend never to go below £150 for a disco though. :rolleyes:

[Vectis]

you couldn't walk in a shop and say how much for a mars bar . "HOW MUCH!! its only for a kid" lol

Ah, but if I were an enterprising shopkeeper, I could retort with "Oh well if it's for a kid, then I can do you this snack sized Mars Bar for two-thirds of the price of a normal-sized one"

Then you'd get yourself a reputation as a flexible and considerate shopkeeper who has a variety of options to suit all Mars Bar requirements! :D

Maybe :o

[Cj_The_Dj]

how do you self sort?

I generally charge cheaper for childrens discos...
why? Because they are easier. and because why should they pay the same as someone who wants a wedding disco.. not quite the same :).. havind said that the childrens discos seem to 'fill the slots' nicely.. when i don't have weddings booked.

I tend never to go below £150 for a disco though. :rolleyes:

but around south Yorkshire people wont pay much more than 100.00 because there is some people in yellow pages who charge £90.00

so i cant realy aford to do a sturday night for £60.00 as i would charge in day time for a kid party

[Sam]

but around south Yorkshire people wont pay much more than 100.00 because there is some people in yellow pages who charge £90.00

so i cant realy aford to do a sturday night for £60.00 as i would charge in day time for a kid party


100 for what? Wedding discos??

Seems pretty low..

[djsteve10]

Well belive it some djs go out for £80 around here... Yellow pages around here has just become full of enquiries for cheap dj's... find it very hard to compete with all the under cutting going off but i'm sticking to my prices for what i charge and put out.

As for kids partys people don't realise that we have to work alot harder with the kids, interacting with them, playing games , getting down to their level... Might only be 2 -3 hours but we are putting in alot of work for it

[Larry B Entertainment]

80 to 100 quid is about the going rate round here due to so many average discos undercutting each other. Just got to stick to your guns. People will surely start to relise that they are getting what they pay for. If you pay Ford prices you arnt going to get Ferrari performance so to speak.

[djsteve10]

yep i always tell the customer you are paying for quality like everything else in the world.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

When reading these threads, it always makes me wonder if people actually do as they say they do in the real world.

I might surprise a few of you with an 'undercover' phone call to get a few prices and see what you say.

[djsteve10]

Good thinking daz...

ring a few local companies in my area and you will be shocked at some prices.

[Danno13]

Well yeah.. its one thing saying you quote high.. but that doesn't mean anythinig unless you actually get enough gigs.

I don't do many kids parties :D Have one in November though, but thats only because it was a quiet month so i dropped to £275 for a Saturday evening.. but don't tell anyone...

[Sam]

Well yeah.. its one thing saying you quote high.. but that doesn't mean anythinig unless you actually get enough gigs.

I don't do many kids parties :D Have one in November though, but thats only because it was a quiet month so i dropped to £275 for a Saturday evening.. but don't tell anyone...


who are you talking to.. or was it a general message?

I'm like you.. tend to stay away from the Kids discos.. because i don't go below £150 normally and because I don't like them as much as other events like 18ths or weddings:)

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Well yeah.. its one thingit was a quiet month so i dropped to £275 for a Saturday evening.. but don't tell anyone...

Danno dropped to £275 for a Saturday evening
:D :D :D

[Tom]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Danno13]

I don't know what you're laughing at :p


who are you talking to.. or was it a general message?

Just a general message... not even based on this thread, but more on my time spent on various DJs forums where there are always a few who like to talk about how much more they charge than everyone else, but in reality they only work 2-3 a month!

[Shaun]

Danno dropped to £275 for a Saturday evening
:D :D :D


I don't know what you're laughing at :p





:D :D :D

[Mission]

Well yeah.. its one thing saying you quote high.. but that doesn't mean anythinig unless you actually get enough gigs.

I don't do many kids parties :D Have one in November though, but thats only because it was a quiet month so i dropped to £275 for a Saturday evening.. but don't tell anyone...

I think that's a very generous discount on your £400 usual price ;)

[Danno13]

I wish!


Psssst... I may have changed the odd "1" for a "2" on some of the previous posts... :D

[BeerFunk]

Kids disco? I don't do them, but if i did, I would certainly discount the price a bit. If it was an afternoon party, then I'd probably do it two thirds of the price of a Saturday night party, seeing as I'd either have another gig at night, or Saturday night off :D

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Kids disco? I don't do them, but if i did, I would certainly discount the price a bit. If it was an afternoon party, then I'd probably do it two thirds of the price of a Saturday night party, seeing as I'd either have another gig at night, or Saturday night off :D

£40 then eh? :D :D :D

[Corabar Steve]

but around south Yorkshire people wont pay much more than 100.00 because there is some people in yellow pages who charge £90.00

For what? If that's for a 2 hour kids party then ok it's a little cheap but, supply & demand etc.

If that's for adult functions / weddings, I ought to tell you I've done 2 weddings in Sheffield in the last year & £100 was nowhere near what we charged.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

For what? If that's for a 2 hour kids party then ok it's a little cheap but, supply & demand etc.

If that's for adult functions / weddings, I ought to tell you I've done 2 weddings in Sheffield in the last year & £100 was nowhere near what we charged.

You should put your prices up then Steve :sj:

[Corabar Steve]

I've been telling Angela that for years :sj:

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Doesn't mean you'll get paid more than £6 an hour though :sj:

[Corabar Entertainment]

:ontopic:

[Corabar Steve]

You missed a Zero off that :sj:

[BeerFunk]

£40 then eh? :D :D :D
I'd try for that, it's good business to quote high and haggle ;)

[Corabar Entertainment]

Gentle "cough, cough, ahem!"
:ontopic: ;)