Hosting Successful Birthday Parties

By Pat Nihill, MBA
Marketing - ChampionsWay Inc.


Many schools have found birthday parties to be not only a great source of revenue but also one of the best opportunities to generate strong leads that will turn into new enrollments. Hosting a birthday party is very straightforward and really just a variation on a group introductory lesson with more games and activities than a regular class. The key to holding a successful birthday party is in the preparation and the following article provides an overview of the key steps to take to ensure each of your birthday parties is a success!

Step 1 – Write a Letter to the Parents
Address the invitation letter to the student’s parents and send it at least 30 days in advance. In the letter, include the following (you may want to alter these guidelines to suit your school and your staff):

1. State that you are aware their child’s birthday is approaching, and would like to invite their child and his or her friends to celebrate their birthday at your school.
2. Inform them that you will send the invitations for them to the child’s friends; they just need to provide the contact information for who is invited.
3. List what the party will entail. Most schools offer games, pizza, a martial arts themed cake, a brief lesson where the birthday child gets to be your personal assistant and show off what they know to their friends. Martial Arts style games and crafts makes 2 – 3 hours go by very quickly. And of course a take-home bag that includes a coupon for free introductory lessons.
4. Parents can attend or take the day off as you will have advanced instructors on hand to host the party.
5. Mention that the kids always have a great time, learn some basic self-defense techniques, and you have had tremendous feedback from the parents.
6. The average charge is $125-150 dollars (US) for up to 10 children and $5-7 dollars (US) for each additional child.

Step 2 – Hosting the Party
Try to have an instructor to student ratio of 1-8 or better – this is not for the kids, rather it is to ensure that there are enough representatives to speak to the parents when they pick them up at the end of the party.

Step 3 – After the Party
At the end of the party, be sure to do some strong networking with the parents when they come to pick up their child. Be encouraging and let them know that their child has talent. If your birthday host is a beginner, let their guests know that they would be in the same class.

If they don’t take you up on your free introductory offer right then; at least you have new leads to send marketing letters to as you already gathered this info when sending the invitations out.


Pat Nihill, MBA
Marketing - ChampionsWay Inc.