Sorting out the entertainment for your child’s party can be a difficult and stressful process. These tips, based on experience, should help make booking an entertainer a smooth, trouble free process. (Note, they are written from a UK perspective but are relevant in any country.)

1. Make sure the entertainer confirms everything in a letter or contract.

When you have agreed all the details for your party, make sure the entertainer sends you a confirmation letter or contract from the entertainer that clearly sets out the costs, timings and commitments from both parties. A professional entertainer should make all their terms and conditions available to you anyway.

2. Does the entertainer have insurance?

Booking a children’s entertainer without Public Liability Insurance is a bit of a risk in the current litigation-happy society. If you are hiring a venue, you should also check insurance requirements with them. Many hotels and party venues now insist that entertainers have Public Liability Insurance. Don’t be afraid to ask for evidence of insurance from entertainers who claim to have it.

3. Has the entertainer had a Criminal Records Bureau check?

Many professions, such as teachers, who have regular contact with children must have a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check. Although a self-employed children’s entertainer does not have to be CRB checked, most professional entertainers will be able to supply you with evidence that they have gone through the process. There may well be similar checks in countries outside the UK.

4. Check that the cancellation policy and payment terms are completely clear.

Ensure you know how the payment is handled and that it is clearly laid out the contract or confirmation letter. Some entertainers will take a non-refundable booking fee or some may require a deposit which is refundable. Some may require the balance paid after the performance or party or want to sort it out before they begin.

5. Make sure you understand what the quoted fee does and does not cover.

Are all the materials, such as presents and balloons, etc. included in the fee? Does it include VAT (or other taxes outside the UK) and travelling expenses? If extra children arrive at the party, will there be an additional cost? Unexpected costs can make payment time at the end of a party a little uncomfortable!

6. Are you completely comfortable with the performance content?

This may seem obvious, but little details such as the entertainer incorporating juggling in their act and you having a very low ceiling could cause problems on the day of the party. So check the obvious such as the ages the performance is suitable for, the length of the performance and details about what the performance involves.

7. Know the performer’s requirements.

Make sure you are fully prepared by understanding what the performer needs in the way of power supplies, space, furniture, etc. Check if they can perform outside and inside if it rains. It is likely that an experienced professional children’s entertainer will question you to ensure their requirements are met..

8. Do you want any optional extras?

Many performers offer optional extras as part of their show, such as give-ways and presents. Some may even include the as standard. Check if there is any additional costs involved and make sure they are suitable for all the children at the party. Examples include balloon models, photo’s, and party bags with toys and gifts.

9. Check the levels of supervision required by the performer.

Many entertainers have a specific adult to child ratio so they can ensure children are adequately supervised. It is important you can meet these requirements and you know what happens if the audience is larger than expected.

10. Book in plenty of time.

Good children’s entertainers book up quickly, especially on weekends during the summer. When organising the entertainment for your party, it can be useful to have several dates in mind, especially if you are interested in a particular entertainer.

These tips are provided by the UK Entertainer Directory which lists a variety of children’s entertainers including magicians, clowns and balloon modellers. Visit the directory now for all your children’s party entertainment needs.

Need a little light relief from work? Maybe you just have some time to waste… check these sites out.

For a hand-picked selection of youtube video clips, check out topyoutubevideos.com. They pick out the funniest and most popular youtube videos for your viewing pleasure. There is even a toolbar (Firefox Extension) for the top of your browser, which means you can check out the top videos without leaving the site you are on.

Turtlesays.com is another site that selects only the best you tube videos and also brings you funny quotes jokes and pictures.

There are so many things that are good about online games. For example, they are free, you don’t need a top of the range PC to play them and you can choose from a huge variety of games – could they get any better? Well, yes. How about if you could share your favourite games with your friends on your MySpace page?

Diggygames.com has loads of free MySpace games for you to play and share – all you have to do is embed the code on your site (and that can be any site, MySpace, blog or whatever). All you need to play them is flash.

The games range from the weird (and slightly frustrating) Impossible Quiz where you have to answer a series of questions using logic and pure guesswork, to more traditional arcade games like Pinch Hitter 2, a baseball game.

If you have stuff that you really need to get done, don’t visit this site!

There can be few people who haven’t visited or heard of the video sharing site YouTube – especially since the recent take over by the internet giant Google. Since it’s creation in 2005, YouTube has become one of the most popular destinations for people wanting a few moments of video entertainment. In fact I know of a couple of people who watch it instead of TV.

It has become so popular that some organisations and businesses see it as a threat to the productivity of their workers and so they prevent people from accessing the site through their internet connection. This is quite common in schools and offices.

View YouTube is a site that helps you to get around this.

It explains how to use a proxy server (a site allows you to view YouTube through their server) to indirectly view video content. This type of utube proxy effectively unblocks the restrictions that some networks apply.

All work and no play makes for a dull working day so why not break up your computer time with a little online gaming? It can’t hurt – as long as you don’t get distracted and spend hours playing instead of working!

Online Games Zone is a great place to go for online games. Not only are they all free but there is also no need to install anything on your computer (as long as you already have flash installed), so no need to attract the unwanted attention of your IT support department. And of course, because they are online they are always there and you can play the same games and interact with the same gaming community at home, work or in the coffee shop.

Online Game Zone have a wide variety of games available, from strategy games like Commando III and Worm Craft to racing games – check out Drift Battle.

Now you know where to go for your gaming fix – just remember to get some work done as well!