Jacksonville’s Best Entertainment for Birthday Parties

Several months ago I posted about our favorite birthday party venues in Jacksonville, and today I am following up with some wonderful options to add some fun to a party at home. Our family seems to go to LOTS of birthday parties so most of these we have experienced first-hand. We think these are some of the best vendors in Jacksonville!

Mom Tip: You can often get a glimpse of what party vendors have to offer by checking out Family Nights at local restaurants.

Spacewalk

Hands down our favorite bounce house rental company! Competitive pricing, clean bounce houses, but best of all great customer service. We have Spacewalk at most of our birthday parties and love working with Gus. I have used him for other events – he gives a discount to churches, schools, and other non-profit agencies! In fact, my first experience with Gus was when volunteering for a Christmas party for foster children at the zoo! Not only do they offer bounce houses, but they also offer concession machines and party supplies.

Mom Tip: Make sure that the bounce house rental company leaves a tarp in front of the entry to the bounce house.  This helps keep the bounce house a little cleaner and provides a spot for kids to leave their shoes. Not all bounce house companies do this, but Spacewalk does!

Little Barrels of Fun Jacksonville Birthday PartyLittle Barrels of Fun

Perfect for a choo-choo train party – a fun little train that comes to you, Little Barrels of Fun! At the party we attended, the train just did laps on the streets around the house. The driver, wearing his engineer’s cap, was as nice as could be. Here’s their Facebook page for more info.

The Pottery Lady

We’ve never had her for a birthday party, but I have arranged for The Pottery Lady to come do several playgroup events for groups of moms, babies, and toddlers. So much fun and such great customer service. Kristin’s pottery pieces, paints, and supplies are top quality, and she always returns the fired pieces of pottery with a quick turnaround time! You can often see her at the Riverside Arts Market selling her beautiful ceramics.

Mom Tip: I usually buy a cheaper piece for my kids to paint to keep them busy while I am working on my “masterpiece” that includes their precious little handprints and footprints!

Twist of Fun Balloon ArtTwist of Fun Balloon Art

We love Twist of Fun Balloon Art! Justin is an elementary school teacher and father, making him great with the kids. He is fun, patient, and super talented! Parents and kids all love him! I feel like he can make ANYTHING out of balloons. My kids alone have gotten a frog with a long tongue complete with a fly on it, a wiener dog, a panda, a giraffe, a rocket, a penguin, a tiger, a Scooby Doo, a bomb, a lion, a coiled-up snake, and a ladybug. He always makes a balloon that fits the party theme. Once he did ALL of the Yo Gabba Gabba characters, and at another party we attended he made the dad an awesome beer mug! I love the fact that he is NOT dressed up as a clown.

Mr. D, Caricature Artist

Mr. D (Bob Drost) does amazing artwork. We usually try to make on of  Mr. D’s  Chick-Fil-A family nights, but we also recently had the pleasure of attending a birthday party. And it goes to show that family nights are just a GLIMPSE of what these vendors do for parties because we liked him even better after seeing him at the party. After the party, he gave the birthday girl a collection of caricatures of all the guests at her party! Call or email Bob at 904-349-2177 or bobdrost3d@yahoo.com.

Mom Tip: When our caricatures are finished, we like to make photocopies and let the kids color them!

Bricks 4 Kidz

Perfect for that birthday boy or girl that is intrigued with Lego bricks! Bricks 4 Kidzprovides Lego games with energetic host/hostesses. At the party we attended, the kids built their own vehicles and raced them down a track. They also did a relay race with buckets of Legos. The host even turned cleaning up into a game! We also attended a special group event hosted by Bricks 4 Kids. It was not a birthday party but an interactive Lego experience. My big kids got to try out the motorized Lego bricks to put their creations into motion and my little one used Duplo blocks to make an alligator.

Debra Heuskin Face Painter JacksonvilleDebra Heuskin, Face Painter

Wonderful face painter – we met her at a family night at Zaxby’s. The first person to paint my babies’ faces. She does “Disney quality” work. These are faces you would pay $15 or more for at Disney. A mom herself, she is great with the kids and always amazes me with her patience! Check her out on facebook or go visit her at Riverside Arts Market!

Mom Tip: We use baby wipes to remove face paint from those cute little faces!

Captain Character

Captain Character brings loads of entertainment. He’s basically a one-man show with puppets and magic. He also does balloon twisting, face-painting, and even passes out cotton candy!

Pinto Pony Party JacksonvillePinto Ponies

A friend of mine just threw a party for her six-year old daughter who is really into horses right now. She was very happy with Pinto Carriage Works, and believes without a doubt that this was a party her daughter will never forget! The guests fed the ponies carrots and all enjoyed several rides. They were even allowed to hold the reins making it seem like they were real cowboys and cowgirls. Yeehaw!

Rollin’ Rita’s

Rollin’ Rita’s we probably know best for their frozen drink machines, but they do have other fun party rentals like chocolate fountains, generators, misting fans, and outdoor heaters.  I learned about Rollin’ Rita’s several years ago through one of the Junior League of Jacksonville’s annual fundraising events, and now I look for them every year.  Never disappointed!

Diamond D

Yes, you can have your party at Diamond D Ranch or for a fee they will come to you! Pony rides, petting zoo, and horse drawn wagon are a few of the options they offer off the ranch. We have had them at school functions and always see them at the annual Hooked on Fishing event in Jax Beach.

Mrs. Bubbles Bubble Party JacksonvilleMrs. Bubbles

We used one of Mrs. Bubbles’ bubble machines at a school event, and it was a big hit. I mean who doesn’t love bubbles? Most of her events, she brings music and creates a bubble dance party!

Do Your Own Thing

Be Creative! It’s easy to add a little entertainment to your party without spending a fortune. At one party, the hostess had a friend come dressed as a hula girl to teach the guests a little hula dance. At another, the mom had a friend come to her son’s super hero party dressed as a villain to get sprayed by all the guests with silly string. We also once arranged for a hairdresser to come to a friend’s glamour party to give all the guests a fun hairdo! You can just have a friend dress up as your child’s favorite character. A quick little appearance adds so much fun for the kids.

Girly-Girl Partea’ Inc

Girly-Girl Partea’ Inc has been northeast Florida’s premier children’s event planner, specializing in themed parties since 2008. As a mobile business, they bring the party to you and cover all of your hosting needs from set up to clean up and everything in between. They provide multiple pre-packaged party themes including princess parties, spa parties, classic tea parties and tween parties for the St Augustine and Jacksonville areas. They are also available for custom party themes, designed specifically to fit your needs. Girly-Girl Partea’ is best known for their entertaining and authentic princess characters including the Snow Sisters, Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Little Mermaid and more. They are in the process of expanding into boy party themes as well with hopes to add superheroes, pirates and themed holiday characters very soon. Visit their site view package options, pricing and photos.

Links to other vendors in Jacksonville

Hire A Fire Truck – Hire a Fire Truck

Sugarplum Entertainment – Princess Parties, Pirate Parties, Clowns, and Magicians

Julius Magic – Fun magic shows

Street Party Game Truck – Mobile Arcade

Mrs. Kate – Sing-along interactive show with puppets

Clix Photography – Event Photography

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