I have been looking at this site for a while, but I am just introducing myself.  I have recently restarted my church ministry, and I am hoping to build a successful party business for myself as well.  I love my puppets, and I am really looking forward to this new chapter in my life. I do however, have no idea what people charge for parties with puppets, and I would love to get some feedback from some people who do this for a living or a hobby, but also make income from it.  I am retired, but I want to to do something, and I am hoping to make this my second career.  Thank you all for your feedback.

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff............ Congrats on starting a new career and being semi-retired. They are quite a few members here that have church ministries as well as businesses entertaining, and teaching classes on puppetry. the others will be along shortly, meanwhile make yourself at home.

Welcome! Yes, Billy has already said it all!

Welcome to Puppets and Stuff!

The best thing to do when it comes to pricing, is to find out what you competition is charging in your area. In this case that would be other party entertainers. You also need to determine how long of a show you are going to do. Will you be there for just a quick 30 min period or would you be there longer doing walk around entertainment.

Prices cover a pretty large range depending on where you are located. You do need to think about your cost though.  What would be the average cost of getting you and your puppets to the show? Even if it is just a 30 min show don't forget that it takes time to get there and time to get back home. Add that time up and then think what you are worth per hour. Something else to keep in mind is volume. This can be hard when it comes to doing parties, but think about what day most children's parties would be on. If you can get two or more shows booked on the same day within the same general area then you have cut down on both travel time and possibly the cost of gas to get there.

Most of my experience with this is pretty old. It has been at least 10 years since I was willing to do birthday parties. There are others who are currently doing it and I am sure they will be along in time. Also we have had discussions on this in the past that you may find while your browsing the forums.

I "retired" from teaching 3 years ago to travel full time as a children's entertainer. I am a ventriloquist, but so some magic and of course puppetry in my shows as well as story telling. Like Shawn said, find out what others charge and go from there. I know that if I lived in a more metropolitan area I could charge more than I do, but I have to take into consideration what is considered acceptable. Pricing is a difficult subject - I do charge less for birthday parties than for a school or library show. My reasoning is that every child should be able to have a special birthday party once in their life! However I don't give them away either because they are a LOT of work! It has been a learning curve for me and everyone here at P&S has been wonderful in helping me through the process. This can be considered your one stop resource for logos, web-design, ideas, puppet supplies etc! Have fun and I am happy to answer what I can!