I of course waited until last minute but Happy Kids Chicago came in to save the day and made my…read morenieces 2nd birthday one she will never forget! Amazing and friendly staff and will definitely use again! Minnie and Mickey were absolutely perfect!

This Mickey Mouse team was AMAZING ! My friends and family had a blast with them! They were so…read moreinteractive with the kids and we didn't even know they took photos for us too and sent it to us afterwards! Thank you so much ! Having great entertainment really makes a big difference in memories !

Jessica was great! She came to our grand opening at our fish store! She was on time and in costume!…read moreAll the kids were so excited to see Ariel and get their face painted. She was very professional and did a great job! If we are ever in the market for a face painter we will be giving Jessica a call!

Dreamcatcher Entertainment helped with my younger cousins birthday party. Jessica was quick,…read moreprofessional and extremely flexible with our needs for the party. She did a surprise Snow Queen appearance that left the kids talking hours after she left. Highly recommend!

We had Chase and Marshall entertain at my son's 4th birthday party and it was a huge hit! Cruising…read moreCharacters was easy to work with, and they put on a great show. Each actor was accompanied by an assistant, so we had four people total at the party. It really took the pressure off of us to not have to entertain the group! I would highly recommend this company!

I used Cruising Characters for my daughters birthday. They made the party!! The kids wanted to…read moretake pictures and sing with her!! It was amazing..Well worth it!!

After hiring princesses not 1, not 2, but 3 times in the past year I consider myself an expert &…read morecan confidently state that Looking Glass Friends Entertainment has THE BEST princesses. For my 4 year old's recent bday bash she requested Anna and Elsa make the long trip from Arendelle. I sent one quick email to Christine at Looking Glass Friends Entertainment I was able to make a little girl's dreams come true. Christine was on top of her game. We never even chatted by phone, but were able to figure out all the details over email (a gal after my own email obsessed heart). For $140 I was able to book 30 minutes with my daughter's favorite princesses. At the time of booking I filled out a quick event agreement highlighting what I'd like the princesses to do at the event (in this case sing a few songs, read a few stories & just interact with the bday girl and friends). The week before the event Christine sent me another email asking for specific details about the bday girl. So impressed with her organization skills! The snow princess & queen were scheduled to arrive at 10:30am. At 10:28am I was a bit worried they weren't going to arrive (& noticed a missed call from Christine), but then I looked outside and saw Anna & Elsa making their way thru the streets of the North Shore. Fortunately, we've had an especially cold November so Elsa felt right at home. There were so many activities occurring at the party that I didn't think I really needed to hire princesses, but as soon as I saw the ginormous smile on my daughter's face I knew it was $140 well spent. Anna & Elsa may have been better than the ones in the movie. They had studied Christine's notes ahead of time & knew that they had met my daughter many times before; "It's sooo nice to see you again! Happy bday!" I didn't expect them to get the attention of all 80 kids, but I was amazed by how many little girls surrounded them. Anna had a few dozen kids run over to her as soon as she announced they'd be reading a few stories. Now if only I could get my 2 kids to listen to me like that! Their voices were incredible and my daughter felt so comfortable with them (she didn't leave their laps the entire 30 minutes they were with us). And of course just hours after the party I received a follow up email from Communicative Christine asking for feedback about how the queen and princess did. Again, so on top of her game! I'm so hoping we move on from our Frozen obsession (& perhaps even princesses) before my daughter's 5th bday, but if I'm lucky enough to hire princesses for a 4th time in my lifetime I won't look anywhere else besides Looking Glass Friends Entertainment. Their princesses are the real deal...or, um, as real as it gets.

They were the best addition to my girls birthday party. They came on time, did an AMAZING job with…read moretheir performance and all the kids were so happy. Thank you Elsa and Anna for making My daughters birthday sooooo memorable. Highly recommend!!

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.

So I only found out about this amazing business cuz Hawthorn Mall had an event to meet Belle. This…read moreprincess came right out of the movie! She was so in character and was great with the kids Her royal helper was great too! I loved how magical everything felt! Hoping to hire Mulan or Raya for my daughter's birthday this weekend! Can't wait!

From the owner: Local Fairytale Celebrations character bookings in the Lake in the Hills and surrounding areas!read more

We hired the First Princess for our daughter's 4th Sofia the First Birthday Party. She did an…read moreamazing job and was never out of character. It was $195 for 60 minutes of packed entertainment. It included a grand entrance to her theme music, games and prizes for the kids, twisted balloon animals, singing and dancing, a princess story, face painting, pictures and a special gift (A beautiful purple gem ring) for our birthday girl. We had about 19 kids total. 12 four year olds and a 7 that were two and under. Sofia managed to fit all this entertainment for them in one solid hour. I was in contact with the owner via telephone and she told me that she hand picks theater students to play the character roles. Thanks for the fantastic job Fairytale Entertainment!!!

I hate leaving negative reviews and pulling a total Karen, especially because I've used Fairytale…read moreEntertainment three times in the past without issue. Unfortunately, this last experience was disappointing from start to finish. I specifically booked Buzz Lightyear for my son's toy story party, but wrong costume arrived instead. Mistakes happen, and I understand that no company is perfect. However, the performer also arrived 45 minutes late to what was only a two-hour party, which significantly impacted the experience. What was most frustrating was how the situation was handled afterward. When I contacted customer service, I was met with arguments and skepticism rather than an apology. Despite providing a timestamped photo showing when the character arrived, they chose to rely on the word of a teenager rather than the evidence I provided. The conversation felt unnecessarily confrontational and dismissive. Eventually, they agreed to provide a $50 credit toward a future booking. Not only was that resolution underwhelming given the circumstances, I said I wouldn't be using them again and they eventually agreed to credit my credit card back, but weeks later I still have not received the credit. The issue wasn't just the wrong character or the lateness--it was the lack of accountability, empathy, and customer service. A sincere apology and a proactive effort to make things right would have gone a long way. As a repeat customer, I expected better. Unfortunately, because of how this was handled, I will not be using Fairytale Entertainment again.

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.

Don't recommend! Communicating with them is horrible. They booked me down for the wrong day so I…read morehad to track them down the day of my event. Told me they could only do a 30 min show instead of the 1hr I had booked them for. Definitely messed with my event schedule. Stressful and worst experience I've ever had.

Always able to help. On time, fun and very nice costumes. Keep up the good work. As an owner of…read moreanother company in the area, I need to say that Edgar and his staff are always awesome! We are always counting on them.

My Party Princess is a dream to work with! They do a wonderful job at making the day magical for…read morethe littles (and i'm sure the preteens too) my 4 year olds princess party was so much fun, the staff was so helpful and sweet, we invited Rupunzel to the party and i highly recommend adding a princess to your party, it was so cute. The pizza package worked out wonderful for my crew, all in all an amazingl stress free party, Thanks Melissa!

I just had my daughter's 6th birthday party and was extremely satisfied with all that My Party…read morePrincess did! We had the royal treatment and my birthday girl felt so special getting her hair done! They took care of the entertainment, the snacks, decorations, cake...literally everything! All that I had to do was take pictures (and pay) All of the girls who came to the party had so much fun! I highly recommend!