Do you love kids - acting, singing, dancing & pretending? Are you outgoing, energetic, and good at improvisation?

 

For standard parties, Happily Ever characters are paid a minimum of $70 for up to 1 hour actually worked in character at an event + any tips. For events longer than 1 hour, the rate is $70 per hour.

 

You are responsible for your own gas/mileage.

 

For most locations, you are not paid for your travel time to and from the party, other than for unusual circumstances or long distances (outside the standard service area). (You will be informed of the location of the party and have the option to accept or decline it prior to being booked).   

 

Happily Ever characters are independent contractors, not employees.  Most of the time you are paid in cash and you will be responsible for your own taxes. 

 

If you are from the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex area you will also need to be able to pick up & return the costumes for events.  If you are from an area outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex area you may be storing the costume/supplies at your home, or you may pick up from a local manager.

 

It is important that you are attractive, articulate, outgoing and personable. 

 

You must be able to look, act and sound like the character and fit into the costumes that we already have in inventory, as we cannot buy new costumes for each person.  (Most Princess characters need to be able to fit a size extra small, small or small-medium adult costume.  There are a few princess costumes in stock that can fit a medium/large, but not very many and this depends on the character.)

 

Male Pirates, Princes or Super Heroes can fit an adult standard, medium or large. 

 

Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus can fit an adult Large, Extra Large to XXXL.)  

 

To wear a mascot-type costume (anything where you have an artificial body, head, hands, feet, etc.) you can be anything from an adult Small up to a XL or in some cases XXL.  We do not have a lot of mascot costumes and we use these the most for holidays. 

 

You must be able to pass a criminal background check, because you will be working directly with children and because we have to carry business liability insurance. 

 

Happily Ever characters should have have some kind of related background and/or training in some form of entertaining or child care, music, acting, dance, cheer leading, coaching, art or teaching.  

 

It is also helpful (but not required) if you have a skill such as face painting, balloon twisting, singing, dancing, play an instrument, magic tricks, are bilingual (Spanish is especially helpful), etc. and/or are willing and able to learn balloon twisting and face-painting quickly.

 

You should be at least 18 years old (preferred age ranges for princess characters are 18-35).  (Santa and Mrs. Claus characters preferred age ranges are 40-70).  (Pirates/super heroes work best at age range 18-35).

 

You are required to have a valid USA driver's license, own a reliable transportation vehicle, carry auto liability insurance, have a smart cell phone, internet, and email.  

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You may not have any tattoos or piercings that would be visible in any costume that do not fit the character you are portraying.  (Many of the princess gowns are off the shoulder, or low in back, somewhat low in front, etc. Mermaid costumes may be more revealing. (Fairy Tale characters would not have tattoos. No princess would have facial piercings.)  Character integrity is an important aspect of this business. 

 

You must be able to speak American English clearly without any strong accent or dialect, unless that accent or dialect fits your character.  The more characters that you can portray, the more work that you can do.  The ability to speak/act in the accent of the character you are portraying is a plus. You must be legal to work in the USA. 

 

You are not allowed to bring any person or animal with you to any party or event, without prior authorization.  (You may have someone drop you off and pick you up, but they are not allowed to interact with anyone or to enter the location of any party or event).

 

To be considered, you will need to submit an email indicating your interest to happilyeverparties@att.net. 

 

Please attach a close up photo, a full length photo and a resume or list of any prior related training and experience. We will also need your full legal name, gender, age, town you live in, current clothing sizes, shoe size, measurements (if you know them) height, hair and eye color, and any special talents that you may have that you think would be useful. If you have any audio or video links, please feel free to send them. 

 

Please let us know if you have allergies of any kind (especially to any type of textiles or pets, as many parties take place in homes with pets and costumes will be made of multiple textiles.)  You may not be latex allergic, (due to the need to work with balloons), be claustrophobic (if you want to wear mascot costumes) easily subject to heat exhaustion for any outdoor events, etc.  Let us know if you are a confident swimmer (for swimming mermaid events) and if you have any other medical issues that could interfere with your ability to work. 

 

We need your email and cell phone number as contact information for events. Most of your contact with us will be done by email so you will need to check your email daily.  We will generally not text you, except for emergencies. 

 

Happily Ever characters are not guaranteed work or any specific number of hours.  The amount of work depends on your availability and suitability for characters requested based on the dates, locations and times that clients request characters for parties.  Most of the parties/events are on weekends, so you will get the most work if you are available on Saturday and Sunday. 

 

When you work for Happily Ever Parties you can work as many other jobs as you like.  However, you are NOT permitted to use any of the costumes, supplies or training you receive from Happily Ever Parties to do freelance work, start your own competing business, or to work for another character entertainment company.  

 

Princess characters are not permitted to work for any competing princess character company (even if they provide the costumes, supplies & training) while working for Happily Ever Parties.  If we discover that you are, we will delete you from our contact list . (This would constitute a conflict of interest for you.  We go to the expense to recruit, hire, photograph, promote and train employees, and we do not do this so that you can use that training to benefit our competitors.  Thank you for your cooperation.) 

 

The more skills you have, the more in demand you will be, as clients may request a singing or a face painting or balloon twisting character.  The further you are willing to commute to each event, the more events we can book for you. 

 

In addition, you will need to be very quick in responding to emails, because if you do not respond to an attempt to book you, we will move on to the next person and book them instead. In many cases, we will send a group email and the first person to respond that they are available will be booked.  If several respond at the same time, we will assign it to the person who best fits the requested character and skills.

 

If you have a history of getting 5-star reviews for your events, you will automatically be at the top of the list for consideration of future events. We also frequently offer rewards for those who get great reviews.

 

If you are late for events, cancel confirmed bookings on short notice, or don't respond to any inquiries we send about events you will be moved to the bottom of the list.  You may be removed from the list entirely, if this behavior appears to be habitual. 

 

Not showing up to a confirmed event, without prior notice and arrangement, is grounds for immediate dismissal. If dismissed, you must still return all costumes & supplies.

 

If you quit, you must return all costumes and supplies. 

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Attending any event while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or conducting any other criminal activity, would also be grounds for immediate dismissal. Do not drink alcohol while working, even if it is offered by the host or hostess.

 

Costumes, wigs & supplies are a big investment which cost a great deal of money and you must treat them with respect and with the same care you would give to them if you had invested your own money into them.  Do not damage costumes or wigs, and be very cautious of eating or drinking in costumes, especially anything containing onions or garlic, as the smell will linger - or anything that may stain them. Do not tangle the wigs.  Do not wad or ball up the costumes.  Put them back on the hanger and return costumes & supplies in the same condition they were in when you received them. (We are not your mother and should not be expected to clean up your mess after you.)

 

You are required to purchase an inexpensive wrapped gift for the guest of honor at each birthday party you attend in character. (The name, age and gender of the birthday child will be provided to you).  Occasionally the birthday "child" may be twins or a combined birthday event with more than one sibling who have birthday dates in the same month.  (In which cases, you will need more than one gift). These gifts can come from Dollar Tree, Big Lots, Dollar General, etc.  

 

All Costumes, accessories and materials are provided for you.  (You will need your own shoes, boots, etc. in most cases).  If you have specific costumes of your own that you wish to use, we will need to approve them first.  We are open to using your own costumes, provided they are not a strong departure from our costume for the same character, as we want to be true to our advertising. 

 

You will be required to pick up your costume and supplies (In Denton, Texas if you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area) before each event and return your costume and supplies in a timely manner after each event (so that they can be used the following weekend by someone else).  In many cases, someone may be available to meet you part way to bring you the costume (or pick it up), but this is not guaranteed.  

 

If you live outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth area you may be storing your costume or supplies at your home or you may be picking up and returning them from a local manager in your city. You will not be compensated for your gas mileage or time to pick up and return costumes and supplies.  (Should you fail to return any costume or supplies within 30 days after a booking with Happily Ever has been completed, you may subject yourself to criminal theft charges - as many costumes are worth hundreds to thousands of dollars).

 

You will be provided with details of each event in advance, and will be responsible for calling/communicating and confirming with the party hostess/parent at least 1-2 days in advance of each event.  You must be on time for every event.  Preferably 10-15 minutes early.  (Occasionally, there may be an event with an earlier call time of up to 1 hour.  This would usually happen for a large business type of event.)

 

Happily Ever handles advertising, sales, invoicing, business overhead, booking, background checks, liability insurance, bank & merchant services, web sites, costumes, supplies & accessories purchase and maintenance, recruiting, training, shipping, & staffing. We manage the business end and keep everything running smoothly, so you only need to concentrate on entertaining the children. 

 

Your only responsibilities are picking up/returning costumes/supplies, calling the hostess to confirm the event, providing a gift for the birthday child, arriving at the event on time, looking great, and being a great professional entertainer at the event that you were booked for.

 

We collect the booking deposit (the company's share)  at the time we reserve the party.  The balance due is paid to you in cash at the event, plus any tips.  Unless there is an unusual situation, 100% of the money given to you at the party ($70 per hour in cash plus any tip) is yours to keep. (Tips usually range from $0 to $100 for any given event). 

 

If the client pre-pays the event in full, we pay you the cash upfront when you pick up the costume, or via PayPal or Venmo if you are at a remote location.

 

We care a great deal about treating our entertainers well and fairly . Our contract terms and conditions ensure that the entertainer is protected and respected.  Many of our entertainers have been with this company for many years and many of our existing entertainers have been referred to us by other entertainers.  It's a great, well-paying and fun job for those who are talented, responsible and professional.

 

Happily Ever Parties has been in business for more than 10 years and has booked more than 2000 costumed characters while maintaining an average 5-star review rating across multiple platforms.  

 

Email happilyeverparties@att.net to apply.