If you are planning a kid’s party, there is always lots to plan for: the invites, the party food, the cake, the balloons and the music must all be part of the plan.
Of course, little girls’ party dresses should also be part of the mix if you have daughters, as they will love showing off their new outfits on this exciting occasion.
All this should make for a great occasion with lots of fun. But some like to go further by bringing along a special guest in the form of a dressed-up character from popular culture, like a film or kids’ TV show.
Chase from Paw Patrol might be one such character, although the Daily Mail might have shocked a few by revealing this week that the man inside this costume at one recent party was none other than Roy Keane, the former football hard-man who is now an uncompromising pundit.
Keane had posted the picture of himself in the outfit on his Instagram post. He joked: “Available for party hire. I don’t like parties or kids but the pool needs heating.” Suffice to say he must like kids really, as he was accompanied by two of his grandchildren.
Most party organisers wouldn’t choose Roy Keane to play the part of Chase. However, there are certainly some worse - and scarier - options.
This was discovered the hard way earlier this month by a mother in the US who had been forced to scrap plans for Elsa from Frozen to show up. Instead they hired a character called Mr Bigfoot. When the giant hairy character turned up looking like Chewbacca in a tutu, the children screamed in terror and ran.
Thankfully, things calmed down and TikTok footage even showed one of the kids later giving Bigfoot a hug.
Even so, there is a lesson here; two outfits really matter at a party. One is worn by your child, the other by a surprise special guest. Both should be chosen very carefully to bring lots of smiles.