Costume Characters for Hire NH, MA
We offer two very different types of cartoon characters for hire in NH and MA: face characters and mascots
Face Characters look like regular people in costumes. We currently offer mermaids, pirates, fairies, and clowns, as well as North Pole Elves in December.
Face characters are able to do face painting, balloon twisting, play games, and fully interact with children.
Mascots are large foam costumes that obscure the body, face, and vision of the actor. We have about a dozen options available, depending on location and time of year.
Mascots are available to do seated meet-and-greets (like the Easter Bunny at the mall) as well as limited movements/dancing (like a sports mascot on a sports field). They are unable to speak, produce art, or play games because of how limited their costumes are.
We have multiple types of costume characters for hire NH, so please continue reading for more info!
Face Characters 101
Face characters are an upgrade to have your party artist (face painter, balloon twister, temporary tattoo artist, etc) come in a costume and play a character.
For example, our normal face painting package would come with a face painter dressed as a normal person.
If you want to upgrade your face painter to a character (let’s say a mermaid), then the face painter would come dressed as a mermaid and interact with the children in that character, while doing face painting.
Some packages our face characters are available for are:
- Face painting
- Balloon twisting
- Temporary tattoos
- Games
The limitations of our face characters are:
- We do not currently offer name-brand face characters (ex: princesses from movies).
- Face characters have limited availability due to demand and may have higher travel fees than non-costumed artists.
We recommend face characters for parties with a theme (ex: Under the Sea; Circus Carnival; Tea Party) or with very young and shy children.
Mascots 101
Mascots are a stand-alone experience separate from our arts packages. The size and scope of the costumes makes it impossible for actors to hold anything (they are wearing huge gloves), speak (there is a ton of foam in the way of their mouth), move/walk independently (they have extremely limited vision), or play games (their shoes and bodies are too large to move easily).
That said, we find mascots to be exceptionally high value as an addition to most arts packages.
For example, a non-costumed face painter or balloon twister could come in their regular street clothes, entertain the kids, “leave” the party, change into a mascot, and reenter the party as a new character.
Some packages our face characters are available for are:
- 30min visit for photos and dancing after face painting or balloon twisting (1 artist with multiple activities)
- Multiple-hour meet and greet (similar to the Easter Bunny visits at the mall)
The limitations of our face characters are:
- Limited activities and interactivity due to how difficult the mascots are to wear.
- For every 1hr in the mascot suit, the actors need a 15min break to cool down and rehydrate (the costumes can quickly heat up to 110°F).
- Mascots cannot be placed in the direct sun in temps over 70°F or outside at all in temps over 80°F for safety reasons.
- Mascots require an adult from your family or staff to remain with them at all times for their safety as they cannot speak and have very limited abilities to walk or move.
We recommend mascots for large corporate events looking to entertain a huge amount of children or for children’s birthday parties looking for a specific character. When people are thinking of Costume Characters for Hire NH, they typically think of mascot–honestly, they’re quite popular!
How To Hire a Face Characters in NH
1. Decide on your base art package.
Face characters are best used for activities such as face painting, balloon twisting, temporary tattoos, or games. Decide what you want them to do!
2. Choose your character.
We currently offer mermaids, pirates, fairies, and clowns, as well as Christmas Elves in December.
3. Make your reservation.
Confirm with our office that the face character you want is available in your location for your time/date. Face characters are more specialized than non-costumed artists, and generally sell out faster than our non-costumed artists.
4. Set up your space.
There are various set ups that face characters need, depending on their art form.
- Face painting: 1 table, 2 chairs.
- Balloon twisting: 1 table, 1 chair.
- Temporary tattoos: 1 table, 2 chairs.
- Games: minimum 22′ space with tall ceilings. (If you are unable to accommodate this, we may be able to alter our games. Inquire with our office.)
How To Book A Mascot Cartoon Visit
1. Choose your character.
We offer about a dozen characters, but have very limited availability per character. We highly suggest you contact our office as soon as possible to make sure the character you want is available your location on the time/date of your party.
2. Pick your package based on number of kids.
For small parties, we recommend adding a 30min mascot visit on a more-interactive package such as face painting or balloon twisting.
For large parties, such as commercial or professional events, we suggest having a 1hr+ mascot meet-and-greet, similar to the Easter Bunny at the mall.
3. Set up your space.
For short 30min visits, mascots just need an area to stand that’s mindful of heat safety. Mascots cannot be placed in the direct sun in temps over 70°F or outside at all in temps over 80°F for safety reasons.
For visits over 1 hour, mascots will need:
- A dressing room to change, as well as take breaks (for every 1hr of reservation, the mascot will greet people for 45min and take a 15min break to rehydrate and cool off outside of their costume.)
- The mascot actor will also need an area to sit/stand that is conscious of heat safety. Mascots cannot be placed in the direct sun in temps over 70°F or outside at all in temps over 80°F because their costumes are so hot.
4. Get an adult helper.
Mascots require an adult from your family or staff to stand with them at all time. Mascots cannot walk independently, cannot speak, cannot check on the time, and have an extremely limited range of visibility. The ideal adult helper is mindful of others, responsible, and can be trusted with long task as they will have to be with the mascot for the whole duration of the visit.
5. Check the weather.
Make sure temperatures don’t change your plans. Remember: mascots cannot be placed in the direct sun in temps over 70°F or outside at all in temps over 80°F for safety reasons.
Interview with Olivia, Professional Kids Entertainers in NH and MA
1. How long have you been entertaining as a costume character at events?
I started with Kaleidoscope wayyyy back in 2015 when I was in high school! I was in the theatre program in my home town of Ellington CT and originally started as a face painting fairy. I stuck with it through my 4 years at Stonehill College in Easton MA and loved it so much I’m still entertaining now–and I’m actually a science teacher in Boston!
2. What make for a great character actor at a kids’ party?
I think you just have to really love kids. When you come as a pirate or fairy or whatever, they really interact with you like you’re another kid and invite you into their imaginary world. It’s a really special experience, but you have to love to goof around.
3. What is the biggest tip you have for parents booking a costumed character?
Make sure you have the space set up for us. We try to arrive early, but if we can just immediately start interacting with kids and not have to help you figure out tables and chairs or spaces, we can have a really fabulous grand entrance and make the visit feel a lot “bigger” in a way.
4. Anything you wish clients knew when engaging a costume characters for hire NH?
Mascots are so hard! Please try on one of the heads and see!
Our visibility and movements are so limited, we’re really counting on you to help us through the event. Please make sure you choose a trustworthy volunteer who won’t abandon us during the visit, and please remember how hot it would feel for you to be wearing boots, ski pants, a winter coat, a scarf, a hat, and a ski mask–all on top of your street clothes–at your event.
The best things you can do for us is setting us up in a great location with a great volunteer and take our safety as humans seriously.
