First Paying Face Painting birthday party today

[Glitterfly Faces]

This afternoon is my first face painting birthday party. 
Wish me luck.
I am so nervous.
 
 
 
 
 

[Alison]

Hi ~  I guess you're back now - all happy and excited.
Wanna tell us about it?

Ah- to be happy for one gig.

[Glitterfly Faces]

haha....too funny Alison.
It was fun. 
But, I am tired of doing cats and Spiderman.  That's all the kids wanted.
How do I entice them for something more creative?

I had this little guy who was telling me what to do while I painted him and then b/c I had no idea what toy he was speaking about, he got upset and told me he hated the painting.  WHAT? 
I could not imagine my daughter being so rude.  But, I just laughed and the moms around were telling him how asweome the design was.  But, other then that....I loved seeing the smiles on the kids faces.

A few moms asked for my card, but, I don;t like to hand them out at a paid party.  So, I asked the mom if she could forward on my info. for me.  She was more then happy. (I think)

I do fin that although I am being paid for a 2 hour party, I spent almost 4 hours to prep, drive there and back and clean myself and brushes when I got home.

It was a good experience all togehter.

[Sherry]

Oh no!  It makes me think of the children who get in my chair and think they need to explain to me how to do one of my designs, not realizing that I've done this design so many times, that I know it backwards and forwards.  Or when they tell me I'm doing it wrong!   

[Glitterfly Faces]

Exactly.  This one little guy was actually rude about it. 
Some of the moms were quite surprised how rude and demanding he was. He kept coming back to have stuff added on while I had another child in the chair.  I just kept telling him to go to the back of the line so the others can have a turn and if I had time, I would add more stuff.
He actually came up to me while I was over by half an hour (unpaid) and packing up to get it fixed HIS way.

But, the other 25-30 kids totally made up for him.  Their surprises and smiles were priceless. 

I had a 9 year old boy there and I did the mask monster face.  He was so shocked and excited when he saw it.  he kept saying "it didn't feel like you painted this when you were doing it."  haha  Too cute.

[Alison]

Children, just like adults, each have their own personality.
Personally, I don't like anybody, child or adult, who tells me what to do.
But it makes me wonder - what made this little child to be That way?
Why does s/he have to boss people around?  Why does s/he have to be so demanding?
Demanding attention in all sorts of ways.

Note: 
It's usually easier to just put up with it for a few minutes and get rid of the situation as uneventfully as possible.  But if you work a lot, and the situation comes up often enuf, you will lose respect for yourself if you don't learn that We don't Always have to be niiiiiicieeey niiiice.

[Sherry]

You're right Alison.  I see the whole spectrum of behaviors in children as well as adults.  I think they're adults in little child bodies.  They can get away with more, because they have the things they're saying coming out of little cute faces!   

But when it gets to be over the top, like it did for you Kim, then it's not so cute anymore!

[Glitterfly Faces]

I did feel very disrespected.  Even from this small child.
How would you ladies of handled this situation?  In a pay per face situation when the parents have paid for a painting and the child says they don;t like it?  Do you give the money back if you cannot fix it to their liking?  How much time do you spend on this kid when you have a line up?
OR
At a private event that has been paid for be someone? 

I just didn;t know what to do.  I was actually shocked at the behaviour of this child.

Thanks so much for the advice.
Kim

[MandiIlene]

Unless that kid was the birthday kid, I usually try to enforce rules like
 
You HAVE to pick something off the board
One painting per kid

I have no problem marketing at a paid party, most parents when they hire you understand that you are "for hire" for anyone else that wants you too. I usually pass out cards to the people who ask, then leave a few with the mom (or just on a very viewable table/counter) and say if anyone else asks please pass these along. I haven't had anyone refuse to take a few more cards (don't know if they got tossed later!?!).

I am glad to see you coming along, I remember what it was like!!!

I usually tell the parents when I am 10-15 min from closing time, and agree to paint X amount of kids that are left, and anyone after that would be X dollars for 30 more minutes, etc. Now that you know how long it takes to prep and break down, work on simplifying your kit, so you don't have to spend more than 5 minutes doing it at the beginning and end, bring a bottle of water, so you don't have to find water, and make them provide a table and chairs.

~*~Mandi~*~

[Glitterfly Faces]

Great advice.  Thank you.  I definitly think the board will be a good addition for me to movet things along quicker.