Hi guys, I have a 2 year old daughter whom will be turning 2 this year, she absolutley LOVES Barney she screams and jumps around when it comes on T.V. So i was thinking for her birthday that we would rent the character to come to her party. Its a great service, they come for an hr and do age appropriate games and face painting but my husbad thinks that the little kids will get scared and i dont want to waste my money (its not cheap!) so that leaves me to wonder will the character rental be a hit or will the little kids, all around 2yrs old, be scared???
From having worked on the actual Barney show - I know that "renting" the Barney costume is not licensed. Anyone that you rent from will be doing it illegally. That being said - I think it's overkill for a 2 year old party.
I do parties (face painting/balloons/magic show), I come as a princess and a clown. I have rarely had problems with 2 yr olds being scared.
Honestly though, children who are closer to 3-4 do better with characters, especially when face painting is involved... so I would really wait a year or two for the most impact.
Chick fil A does weekly family nights and often as a character there. I would maybe try bringing your child to see a character first there or at Check e Cheese so you will know how she will react.
keep it simple! It makes life soooo much easier....& she'll still be happy.
There's a big difference between loving a character on a TV screen and then meeting them in real life and seeing how huge they are. My daughter loves Disney characters but meeting them in person when we went to WDW last winter was a different story (she did okay, but had to warm up to them). I would err on the side of caution and skip having Barney there - they could all end up too scared if he is there, but they won't miss him if he isn't. I guess another thought would be to ask how she does with Santa Claus and any other dress-up characters she's met - knowing that their responses can always change depending on how they are developing inside (meaning, what didn't bother them 6 months ago could be a big problem now, and vice versa).
I hired Elmo for my son's 2 year bday party. He loved Elmo at the time and I have no regrets at all. There was my son and 4 other kids ranging 18 months to 2 1/2 and they LOVED it. No fear or shyness at all from any of them. Elmo and his helper knocked at the front door and my son answered the door with me and just stared at him in awe for a minute. Then excitedly hugged him. Elmo sat down and his helper read a story to the kids. Elmo played with the kids and posed with them etc. They were just so excited. Have fun.
I wouldn't spend the money at that age, personally. Even if your DD likes it, what about the guests? I would feel awful if kids were terrified at a birthday, you know?!
I have seen so many instances where kids are scared of the live characters especially at that age. It just not the same seeing a fun cartoon-like character on TV and a huge monstrosity in real life. I wouldn't risk it.
For a two year old? Totally scary.
This is why I hate clowns. Well, that and Stephen King's "IT."
How does she do around characters and at Chuck E Cheese?
My opinion is that it will be scary for the kids and definitely not worth the money. Two-year-olds are happy with a lot less. Like bubbles and lollipops. :)
Some kids may be terrified, some will be excited. It's hard to know beforehand.
A lot of them could be.
My son was 4 when we did batman at his party and some of the kids were scared and they were older. Even if your daughter loves Barney on tv she may not in person. But i can't say it's not worth the money because it was the best party :) and well worth every penny
If you have some time before you have to sign a contract as the company if you could bring your daughter down to "meet" Barney.
If she loves it, go for it. If she screams and hides, assume the others will do the same and wait another year!
as some of the other moms asked- how does she do around other costumed characters! we did Elmo for my daughter's 2 year old party and she freaked out- but we should have know because she freaks at all costumed characters- some of her friends love it though so it depends on your kiddo. she does much better with princesses or fairies who are not in full costumes.
Have a great party!
