Smarty Pants was fantastic at our recent event AND each and every time I've seen him perform over…read morethe years - which is many times (because many people see how amazing he is)!! It's not just his talent with super fun and surprising balloon characters but his adaptive nature and outstanding personality, engaging everyone at the parties/events. I would absolutely recommend him for all types of occasions : private or big birthday parties, festivals, block parties, - anywhere there will be children!! He is one less thing at your party you need to worry about because he is a sure thing! Truly, he is a whole family favorite!!

What a fun performer. I came across him at the Park Ridge Kiwanis annual pancake breakfast, where…read morehe was doing some entertaining mostly for the kids but definitely for the adults as well. It's through him that I heard of the Central Street Busker Festival that took place the next day and his line was loooong! Most recently, we went to his show last week that the Mt. Prospect Public Library held for spring break. That was very very well attended, with a long line of folks waiting to get in (and that's with all of us registered to attend!), but the show was a lot of fun. He did a little magic, a little comedy, and some fun balloon tricks. This guy has been doing this all his adult life--unless that's also a joke and part of his act--but regardless, he's great at his job. I'm looking forward to seeing him again and my little one having the chance to pick her balloon creation on her own.

For my son's 5th birthday party, Liga and Melissa did a tremendous job with their magic show. They…read morewere extremely professional, timely, and very responsive via email when I booked them. My son and his classmates (20+ kids) were absolutely delighted with the magic show! I would highly recommend hiring them.

I was looking for face painters and balloon artists for our block party and found Gonzo Group. I…read morewas particularly drawn by Melissa's bio and how she was afraid of clowns when she was younger but nowadays, she performs as a comedy clown. I had a great experience with Liga and Melissa. Great communication, very professional. The kids had a blast with their painted arms/faces and the balloons -- you should have seen the epic balloon sword fights. They were nothing but accommodating and would definitely book them again. Highly recommended!

I hired Jay Jay to perform for a mixed group of young children and adults last fall, which involved…read morea number of very specific requests: I needed a performer with a particular look and style of greasepaint, familiar with method acting / camera work, and skilled at balloon-tying. Shortly after making contact, we met to discuss the details (over pancakes) and I immediately knew that I had found a consummate professional, deeply passionate about the art of clowning. From that first meeting, and throughout the planning phase, I learned all about his personal history (he was the acting president of the Midwest Clown Association at the time) and the history of his craft (he's a leading scholar on the subject of clowning and regularly presents at conferences across the country). When the day of the event came, Jay Jay arrived in street clothes, transformed himself into a clown in front of an audience, while continuously narrating the process. He explained the significance of each component of his costume, the symbolism of his makeup, and participated in an exhaustive Q&A session. He then proceeded to perform a loosely scripted engagement with guests--making intricate balloon animals and props--all the while, inhabiting a persona we developed together over the preceding weeks. Afterwards, Jay Jay stayed behind for a video-recorded session to assist in the documentation of the day's activities, and though it had been a long day, he did so patiently, with incredible care and attention to detail. His performance nearly brought me to tears, and every single one of our more than 50 guests were awestruck.

I was relieved to find Jay Jay for my sons 5th birthday party. I was so happy with his…read morecommunication and obviously he knows his way around the balloons:) Definitely recommend.

Suzanne from Couple Of Clowns was absolutely amazing! She was so friendly and came completely…read moreprepared, which made everything stress-free from the start. She really went above and beyond to make sure all the kids were happy, especially the birthday boy! She even kept checking in and touching up his face paint throughout the party, which was such a sweet extra touch. You can tell she truly loves what she does. We had the best experience and would 100% recommend her!

Very nice people, talented, good with kids. Fast response time, creative designs. On time.read more

I'm sure I've hit a world record for character rentals. I know lots of options when it comes to…read morefind Spiderman, Elsa and other princesses. However, this year my kids challenged me with wanting the following characters at their bday parties: one of the My Little Ponies, Pikachu (Pokemon) and Elmo. While I had to go elsewhere to find the pony (probably the most challenging of the requests), Blazing Birthdays was one of the few character rental companies that had both Pikachu and Elmo. I was most impressed with their communication. Their managing director, Scarlett, was super helpful on the phone and followed up with a very detailed email after our initial phone call. After hearing a bit about my parties we decided on 1 1/2 hours for Pikachu (30 min of Pikachu followed by an hour of balloon twisting) for 25ish five year olds. And then 1 hour of Elmo (30 min of Elmo followed by 30 min of balloon twisting) for 25ish two year olds. I received a call from the characters the night before both parties, which is a first in my many years of character rentals. I could tell by their voicemails alone that they were going to great...and I was right. Colman was Pikachu and ran around our party screeching "pika pika"- the kids absolutely loved playing with him. After 30 min of playing pikachu disappeared and Colman appeared ready to twist a lot of balloons, mostly swords for this crowd of 4 and 5 year old boys. He was also really great w/ the kids and had no problem getting their attention. Catherine was Elmo. She ran into some traffic issues so was a few min late to the party, but texted to let me know and was very apologetic so it was no big deal. I was a little afraid of how such little ones (one and two year olds) would react to Elmo, but she was super sweet with them and they loved her. She (or he) gave a bunch of hugs, posed for pictures and even danced around for them while they ate. And then after Elmo helped my son blow out the candles she reappeared for some balloon twisting. Half the crowd disappeared at this point to make it home for nap time, but the ones who stuck around really enjoyed the balloons...especially my 7 yr old who took advantage and probably had 5 balloons made for just herself. There are a lot of options when it comes to character rentals, but Blazing Birthdays is the first one I would call next time. Professional, reliable and priced fairly as well. Thank you Pikachu and Elmo for making my boys birthdays extra special!

We rented out the Elmo Character for my daughters first Birthday. Prices are not listed on the…read morewebsite but if you call the number (I believe her name is Lynn) is almost always available to answer questions and give information. She's very friendly and nice. The open communication is great. They offer a wide variety of services from characters to magicians, clowns, face paint and balloon artists. Elmo was wonderful. He was on time and not in a rush to leave when his hour was up. He was really great with the kids. We played games like limbo and sang interactive songs. Elmo read books to the kids and posed for pictures. The energy level was great and all the guests left happy.

The actors/actresses are seriously amazing. I booked Anna and Elsa for my daughter's 3rd birthday…read moreparty, and while I questioned myself whether or not this was necessary, I have zero regrets about it. Booking was a breeze...I was nervous at first about potentially not being contacted back after submitting my request online through their website, but they emailed back within the given time quote and expectations and instructions were made very clear. All of that is fine and dandy, but let's get to the real reasons why these guys/gals should get all the props. Once Anna and Elsa promptly arrived at the party, the kids obviously lost their minds. I didn't have to give them any instructions on what to do; they were very experienced and self-sufficient and handled the rest of the party. None of the characters seemed uncomfortable with kids and they were all very engaging and brought enough games to keep them entertained so that I could sip on my mimosa(s). We had a minor hiccup with a mild rain shower, and the actresses just rolled with it and improvised on the spot. The kids even forgot that it was raining outside. Very professional, friendly, and easy to book service. If you can't bring a birthday party to Disney, have these guys come to you. Worth every penny.

Best thing I ever did was use this company for my daughters 1st birthday five princesses came to…read morethe party and all the kids loved them it's the best thing u can do for a kid I want to thank them again they were so Beautiful and nice I recommend this for everyone they really do make the party

This is a REPOST, as I was threatened with a law suit if I did not remove my original post, which…read morewas soon after my daughters 5th birthday party. I ordered a Dora character, and she was 45 minutes late, when she arrived, her costume was wrinkled and dirty. The children were not engaged by her, and eventually I had to ask her to switch to her magician costume and carry on with that part of the show. Her cd player did not work, but luckily there was a sound system as the venue. It was a HOTT MESS. Then I received a threatening email. I was sorely disappointed, and felt bullied. I wont be removing this one. ...update...there was no trial

I was inquiring about belly dancers and the representative, Clare Ashley was rude and obnoxious!!!…read moreShe didn't provide freindly customer service and she was very short with me because she wanted to get off the phone! She didn't allow me to ask my questions and the website didn't have clear pictures of the belly dancers. She sent me pictures of the belly dancers but assumed it was for my husband and it wasn't even for my husband!! I would not use this service because my inquiry about the service was a terrible experience! The price of $150.00 wasn't reasonable for 15-20 minutes! I don't recommend anyone using this service and doesn't even deserve 1 Star!

Pockets did an excellent job at my son's 3rd birthday party! She did everything she said she would…read morein the hour that she was there. All the kids got a balloon and face painting and some even participated in her magic show. I have already recommended her to a few of my friends!

From the owner: childrens parties, face painting, balloon animals, magic, and games. Special events, corporate or…read moreprivate. Picnics, fairs, grand openings, etc.

My sister had an accident that meant she'd spend her birthday in a rehab place. I sent in inquiry…read moreto Jon and he hooked me up with a gorilla in a Blackhawks jersey. Not only did it make my sister's day, it brightened the day for the hard-working staff and other patients.

My sister was in the hospital on her birthday, and had been there for the preceding five days. She…read morewas seriously ill, and in pain all the time. She couldn't receive flowers to her room, and was unable to eat, so i went with a singing telegram. The singing chicken brightened up her day enormously. She said it was the first time she had laughed in a week, and was the best present she ever received. Would recommend to everyone.

BUYER Beware!!! We knew from the beginning that we were not…read moregetting anything close to top notch Entertainment from this guy when we booked him but we at least expected them to be somewhat Entertaining even if they did the little routine on the video they sent would have been just fine and that is not asking much at all! Instead they came in flounced around ... got paid and left. I wish I could have a way to post exactly what they called a show for our event along with this review! Literally my 3 year old could have done what they did. We have never been so embarrassed!!

DO NOT hire this CLOWNS in any circumstances, I repeat, DO NOT hire them…read more I hired them to provide entertainment to our daughter and son's birthday party with specific instruction that I need someone to come and do magic show and games. The day before the event, the owner calls to inform me that the performer that was supposed to come is sick and they have replacement. The replacement may not be able to perform what we have had requested but that's the best they can do on short time. After heated conversation with the owner (which he was very rude over the phone, I still can't believe they are in service providing industry with this kind of attitude), we mutually agreed that it would be best just to cancel the service. Now comes the worst part, I had already put down $75.00 deposit which I was promised that I will get back. No brainer, right? I guess not, after repeated inquires and promises I have yet to receive the deposit back. Now they are not answering my repeated request for return deposit and its been three weeks. If I had time, I would take them to small claim court to get the deposit back but rather I am working with my Credit Card company to recover the deposit. I had hired them to relieve the stress of providing the entertainment to the children at birthday party but ended up causing more stress. Even if they provide the service for FREE, I would suggest not to hire them. You are better off spending that money buying gifts/toys for your guests. Very disappointed.