To book a Grinch character for a holiday party in Edmonton, decide what you’d like from the visit: an entrance, some time with the guests, photos or all three. Tell the performer the guests’ ages, ask how they’d handle a child who’s nervous, and agree when they’ll arrive around the food, the gifts and any Santa visit.
What you’re booking is a Grinch-style character: a performer in Grinch-style costume and make-up, playing a grumpy green holiday character for your guests. It can work at a family gathering, a school or community event or a company party, as long as the visit’s planned around the people in the room. Then send us your date, venue and guest count to compare options with prices from children’s entertainers, and we’ll check your date with the one you pick. This guide covers what to tell the performer, what to ask before you book and what to have in writing.
What does a Grinch-style character visit look like?
Each performer plans a visit their own way, so ask each one to walk you through theirs. A simple shape to ask about has three parts: an entrance, some time with the guests, and photos before the character leaves.
The entrance is the moment the room notices the character. Ask how the performer likes to come in, whether they’d like someone to announce them, and whether music would help. Tell them how you picture it: a grumpy entrance played for laughs, or a quieter arrival that lets guests warm up.
The time with the guests can be a short interaction, such as a chat, a joke, some grumbling about the decorations or a quick game. Ask what they’d do in your room, and what they won’t do. If anything’s off limits, such as the tree, the presents or the food table, say so before the day and have it written down.
Photos can close the visit, so the character finishes with each child or group before heading out. Ask how they’d run the photos, and how they’d like to leave the room.
When you send your request, say you’d like a Grinch-style character visit, and describe the plan you have in mind. Ask each performer how they describe their act, and use the same words on your invitation.
What should you tell the performer about your guests?
Give the performer a head count: how many children and how many adults, the youngest and oldest ages, and whether the guests are mostly family, classmates or colleagues. Put it all in your request.
Ask what they’d suggest for your mix of ages, and why. We don’t have reliable numbers on which ages enjoy a character visit most, so compare the performers’ answers for your group rather than going by a rule.
If a guest uses a wheelchair, has trouble seeing or hearing, or doesn’t like being touched, mention it to the performer quietly before the day. Ask how they’d include that guest in a way that suits them.
How do you help a child who’s nervous of a grumpy green character?
We can’t tell you how any one child will react to a grumpy green character, so plan for a child who’d rather keep their distance. Ask the performer how they handle a nervous child, and what they’d do if a child hides behind a parent or starts to cry.
Ask whether they can soften the character for a child who’s unsure, such as a gentler voice, a slower approach or staying a few steps back. Ask too whether they’d wave from across the room rather than come close.
From your side, you could tell the children ahead of time that a grumpy green visitor is coming, if you think that’ll help. Keep a parent near any child who’s unsure, and make it plain that nobody has to go up for a photo.
If you know a child may be upset, tell the performer before the day. Agree on a simple signal, so a parent can step in quietly and the visit carries on for everyone else.
How long should the visit be?
Map out the party from the first guest to the last, then decide how much of it the character takes. Ask each performer how long their visit runs, and whether that time includes getting into costume.
Choose a short walk-around visit if the character’s a surprise in a busy party with plenty else planned. It’s a quick moment that leaves room for everything else. The trade-off: some guests may miss a photo.
Choose a longer visit with photos and games if the character’s the main event, or if you’d like every guest in a photo. The trade-off: it adds to the price, and it needs a plan so children aren’t left waiting a long time for their turn.
If you’re still unsure, ask a performer to price both lengths for your party, and compare what you’d get for each.
What should you ask about photos and filming?
Ask the performer whether guests can take photos and video, and tell your guests what they’ve said. Ask whether there’s a set time for photos, and how they’d like guests to take turns.
Pick one photo spot with good light and a plain background, away from the door and the food. If you’d like a group photo too, plan it for before the character leaves.
Ask the performer whether they mind photos going online, and ask parents the same about their children. At a school or community event, check with whoever’s running it what the rules are on photos of children.
If one person’s taking the photos, such as a family member or a photographer, tell the performer who it is, so they know where to look.
Where does the character arrive and get ready?
Ask the performer whether they arrive in costume or get ready on site. If it’s on site, ask how long they need and what sort of room suits them, such as a spare bedroom or an office with a door that closes and a mirror.
If the entrance is a surprise, plan a side door or a back way in, so the children don’t spot the character early. Pick one adult to meet the performer, show them where to get ready and tell them when to come in.
On a winter day, send the performer parking directions and the door to use, and clear the path of snow and ice. Set aside a spot for their boots, coat and bags where children won’t go looking.
For a hall, a school or an office, ask the venue when the performer can get in and where they can get ready. Ask whether performers from outside are allowed, and whether there are rules for them. Check with the venue whether it needs anything from outside performers, such as proof of insurance, and tell the performer early.
Does a family party, a school event or a company party change the plan?
Yes, mostly in numbers, space and who’s watching.
At a family party at home, the guest list is small and the room is familiar. A visit with a photo for each family can fit well. The trade-off is space: clear a spot for the entrance and the photos, and keep pets out of the way.
At a school or community event, there may be a lot of children and a fixed timetable. Ask whoever’s running it how long the character has, where guests wait for photos and who keeps things moving. Ask the performer how they’d handle a big group, and whether they’d suggest a walk-around visit rather than a photo with every child. Check with the school or the event’s hosts what they need from outside performers.
At a company party, the room may mix children with adults who don’t all know each other. Tell the performer it’s a work event, and ask how they’d keep the humour right for colleagues as well as children. If it’s adults only, say so, and ask how they’d play the character for a grown-up crowd.
When should the character arrive, around food, gifts and Santa?
Choose an entrance after most guests have arrived if you’d like everyone to see it. Late guests miss an early one, so ask whether the performer can hold off a few minutes for stragglers.
Keep the visit away from mealtime, when guests have plates and cups in their hands. Choose before the food if you’d like the character to start the party, or after the food if guests arrive hungry.
Gifts need their own plan. If the children open presents at the party, decide whether the character comes before or after. Tell the performer where the gifts are, and agree whether the character goes near them at all.
If Santa’s visiting too, decide the order with both performers. Choose the grumpy character first if you’d like Santa to close the party. Choose Santa first if the gifts come with Santa and you’d like the character to end things on a laugh. Ask both whether they’ll share the room at any point, and tell each who the other is.
Pick one adult to keep track of the timing. When the food’s running late or guests are still on the way, that person tells the performer when to come in.
Would another children’s entertainer suit your party better?
Choose a Grinch-style character if you’d like a holiday visit built around an entrance and photos. Choose another kind of children’s entertainer if you’d like one show everyone watches together, such as a magician in Edmonton, or something the children do, such as games, face painting or balloon twisting.
You can pair them, for example a magic show to start, then the character’s visit and photos while the food’s set out. A second act adds to the price, so ask each performer what they offer before you book two.
How much does a Grinch-style character visit cost in Edmonton?
We don’t publish a price range for Edmonton children’s entertainers yet; you’ll see a price with each option we send. What changes the price:
- how long the visit runs;
- a short walk-around visit, or a longer visit with photos and games;
- the date and the day of the week;
- travel, if the party isn’t in the city.
If your party is outside Edmonton, give the full address in your request. If your date’s flexible, ask for prices on more than one day, so you can compare. When you compare options, check what each price covers, such as arrival, time to get ready and the photos.
What should you get in writing?
Before you pay, check that these are written down:
- the date, the address, the start time and when the performer arrives;
- where they get ready, and which door they use;
- how long the visit runs, and what’s in it, such as photos or games;
- the guests’ ages and roughly how many are coming;
- anything off limits, such as the presents, the tree or the food;
- what you’ve agreed on photos and filming;
- what happens if you need to change the date or cancel.
Anything you’re not sure of, ask about before you pay rather than at the door.
Questions to ask before you book
- What does your visit include, from the entrance to the exit?
- How long does the visit run, and does that include getting into costume?
- How do you handle a child who’s nervous of the character?
- How would you play the character for our mix of ages?
- Can guests take photos and video, and how do you run the photos?
- How do you arrive, and where do you need to get ready?
- How should we describe your visit on our invitation?
How booking works with AGNT
AGNT is a booking company. You send us your date, venue and guest count, and we send you options with prices from children’s entertainers in Edmonton. You pick one, we check your date with them, and it’s booked once you’ve paid. If your first pick isn’t available, we’ll tell you, suggest a similar children’s entertainer, and check your date with them.
Some of the Edmonton children’s entertainers you can book through AGNT are Fairy Godmother’s Princess Team, Jojo’s Magic Circus and Magic Art Studio. You can see more on children’s entertainers for hire in Edmonton.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead should I book a Grinch-style character?
As soon as you have a date, a venue and a rough guest count. We don’t have reliable numbers on how far ahead people in Edmonton book a holiday character. Your date’s checked with the performer you pick, so choosing early means you know sooner.
How long does a Grinch-style character visit last?
It depends on the performer and your party. Ask how long their visit runs and whether getting into costume is included, then choose a short walk-around visit or a longer one with photos and games.
Can guests take photos with the character?
Ask the performer first. Agree when photos happen, where the photo spot is, and whether filming and photos going online are fine, then tell your guests.
What if a child is nervous of the character?
Ask the performer how they handle a nervous child before you book. Keep a parent close to any child who’s unsure, and make it clear nobody has to go up for a photo.
What will the character do at the party?
Ask each performer to describe their visit, from the entrance to the exit. Tell them what you’d like and anything that’s off limits, and get the plan in writing.
Does the venue allow an outside character?
Check with the venue, the school or whoever’s running the event. Ask whether outside performers are allowed, when they can get in, where they can get ready and what the venue needs from them.
Can a Grinch-style character come to a party with Santa?
Ask both performers. Decide the order, tell each one who the other is, and agree whether they’ll be in the room at the same time.
How we put this together
This guide draws on the questions people raise when they plan a costumed holiday character for a party: the visit, the ages, a nervous child, photos and timing. We also opened the results that rank for this search. The Edmonton ones list public spots for a photo with a Grinch character, and the others are theme-party ideas, so we added what none of them covers: bringing a character to your own party here. Prices aren’t here because we don’t publish a price range for Edmonton children’s entertainers yet. You’ll see a price with each option we send.
Your next step
Tell us your date, venue and guest count, and we’ll send you Edmonton children’s entertainers with prices, then check your date with the one you pick: book a children’s entertainer in Edmonton
Featured photo by Jason Mayer on Unsplash
