- FAQ
- Deposit Information
- Discounts
- Faerie Good Advice
- Terms + Conditions
We offer a 100% Arrival Guarantee because we know that when the big day comes, there isn’t any room for extra stress. Our staff of 50 gives us the flexibility to have back-up in any emergency. If we’re invited, we will get there.
In the past, we’ve gone through great lengths to visit 17,000 celebrations despite weather, illness, or the dozens of other reasons that can bring a celebration to a halt. From flying hundreds of miles to cover a sick performer, to walking over a mile in the rain in a mermaid tail when the road was closed, we are notorious for ‘making it happen’. Around here, the show must go on. In 2015, one of our Performer’s cars was hit on her way to a celebration (she was fine). She pulled her chariot over, and the driver who had hit her car drove her to the party!
If your Performer breaks our 16 year streak of pulling off the impossible to reach your event and fails to arrive (except for unexpected gathering shutdown or weather problem weather issues), we will refund your show, AND give you a comp for a free show in the future to use or gift.
Want real parents’ opinions on this? Click HERE on a to see a public post we did on Facebook where people got all up in the comments about the topic.
TLDR: Our visits are for everyone.
Our activities are designed to bring everyone together, and we have a variety of themed characters to choose from.
Business hours don’t apply when you need to contact us on the event weekend. Our magic is available ’round the clock.
Need to get a hold of us at 9pm the night before your event because of a location change? Can’t get a hold of your Performer (because they might be performing at another event before yours) and have an urgent question? Our SecreFaeries have a special emergency phone number for events booked in our calendar that is connected to us 24 hours a day. We know you want to relax on the big day and we have the behind-the-scenes support to make sure that happens.
Each of our Performers is an employee of Happily Ever Laughter LLC, and carries liability insurance for every event (just in case our Magic is a bit too powerful! *laugh*). Our entire company is covered by both a liability policy, and a worker’s compensation policy. We also run background checks and most of our Performers are CPR certified (you can request a certified Performer if you prefer).
Each hand picked member of our Faerie Family (you won’t believe how many humans ‘say’ they are an enchanted creature…we make sure to find the real ones!) went through a series of carefully curated educational & play oriented workshops. In that time, our Performers learn how to successfully engage and care for groups of children, large and small, with all of our activities. It is taught by Happily Ever Laughter’s founding Faerie, Fae Diddle Diddle, and some of her most talented staff members.
That’s a ‘yep yep’. 🙂
Because our Performers are employees of Happily Ever Laughter (as opposed to independent contractors), we are in complete control of quality. We provide all of their training and give them the opportunity to engage in additional workshops throughout the year. We never stop learning! Even if they already had some skills in their back pocket when they are hired here, we re-train every single person to be up to our high standards.
All of our costumes are made right here in our #FaerieOffice so we make sure every single item that goes out is picture perfect.
Our Performers know they are fully supported by us behind the scenes. We encourage them to let us know as soon as their supplies show wear so we can replace them with items in tip top shape. We supply all of their costumes, uniforms, and activity supplies in order to maintain consistent quality across the land!
You can invite us anywhere!
We love to visit houses, apartments, parks, schools, offices, or even the beach! We travel all over the Bay Area, (including Santa Cruz and Marin), Los Angeles, and Sacramento.View the full list of locations.
Yes! Here’s a little known Faerie fact : Our wings are just for steering…our shoes are really the key to flight in our Faerie Family. *wink*
Send the SecreFaeries an email with your party location, time, date, and contact information to:
findthemagic@happilyeverlaughter.com
Or, feel free to call us anytime at:
831 346 1196
If you decide to invite us (hooray!), we will ask you to send a deposit. Once your event date comes near, your Performer will call you the day before to double confirm her arrival.
You can click on the Performers’ Page to see all of our employees. All of the costumes, activities, and employees are identical to what you see on our site. We will NEVER send someone you haven’t seen on our site, and always make sure that all of our supplies are in tip-top shape.
Although they are beautiful and popular, Happily Ever Laughter is proud to offer unique themes for events because we find the children are more engaged with our Performers when we arrive in an original outfit.
We’d love to show you how our handcrafted characters can highlight your Disney or other cartoon theme, and also inspire your guests’ imagination and curiosity at the same time! Ask your booking SecreFaerie which Character would be the perfect complement to your theme. After booking almost 17,000 events since 2006, they’ve seen it all!
Our one-of-a-kind Characters will show even your youngest guests that they can dream to be anything they wish… not just the same old Snow White that sings about her missing prince.
Oh! We’d love to! It is well worth it when you would like a little more breathing room during your celebration. Extra time allows us to bring more activities, reach more children, repair popped balloons, and have a longer lasting connection with them so they always remember our time together.
Sounds like you are really planning a party! Wow! Because our goal is to focus 100% on caring for the children, we only bring along the activities we are trained in providing.
We do not have bounce houses, petting zoos, or theater shows. A side note about fun things like bounce houses…they are quite noisy, so we politely request that the generator be turned off (and the house deflated) when we are providing some of our more engaging activities (like our Magic Show activity or Parachute Games Activity) to ensure that the children can hear us!
Your Performer thanks you!
Oh how fun! Yes, we definitely can. If adults are present, each Performer can engage up to 35 children. If you prefer to have the adults offsite, please let our SecreFaeries know *before* you reserve your spot so they can create the perfect plan for your celebration.
Click here to read our weather policy.
How to pay your deposit. Detailed instructions for reserving your spot.
I’m excited to reserve a spot with you!
How do I do that?
Thank you! Hooray!
Take a peek at that invoice that the SecreFaeries sent you. On it you’ll find an order number and the deposit amount required to reserve your spot in our calendar.
With that order number, you can place your non-refundable deposit below:
I prefer my deposit to be 100% refundable, can you do that?
Yes! Worried about rain? Or needing to change the date/arrival time? Or a last minute illness? We understand! When you are paying your deposit, you can check a special box at the end to add a ‘Payment Protection’ fee to make your deposit 100% refundable. Read about the ‘Payment Protection’ here!
I’d rather pay in full, is that ok?
Yes! Click here!
Is the cash on the day what the Performer is earning?
All of our Performers are paid with a paycheck, so even though sometimes they collect cash at events, it isn’t their paycheck *smile*. We have Performers collect cash to help keep our credit card fees lower overall. The cash they collect just comes out of their paycheck. All of our Performers are paid more than what they collect at events. They are princesses, after all *wink*.
I don’t want to use a credit card
You may avoid making a payment with a credit card by using the power of snail mail! You may pay your deposit or full payment with a Money Order or Corporate Check (with your order number on it!).
Pretty please, no personal checks…the money mermaids will have to send them back to you if we receive one…they are just too scary for us!
Mail your Money Order or Corporate Check to:
(made out to) Happily Ever Laughter
211 River Street
Santa Cruz, CA, 95060
It is imperative that you include your Order Number with your check or money order so that we may match your payment to your celebration.
The following timeline applies to all payments that arrive via snail mail:
– The date stamp on your envelope must show that it was sent within the set time limit that the SecreFaeries gave you in your email.
– AND…we must receive the company check or money order 5 business days before your scheduled celebration.
If any of the above requirements are not followed, your celebration spot will not be reserved in our calendar and a SecreFaerie will reach out to let you know the spot has been moved to our waiting list.
Ways to save some precious gold!
Extra Time Discount
All time reserved after the first 90 minutes is heavily discounted.
Hooray!
Our packages are $140 off each additional hour (after the first 90 minutes).
Non-Profits
We have a budget for donating visits to non-profits each year. Reach out to us if you have an event coming up where you need a little extra sparkle from us!
Last Minute Bookings
Peek at our Facebook Page for last-minute discounts. Our Faerie God-Mother likes to make them magically appear there from time to time! *smile*.
Faerie Good Advice
– A brand new way to hear the same old thing
After visiting 17,000 events, we have heard a lot of ideas from grown-ups about what makes a moment extra special for their child. As a Performer who has visited over 2,000 events now, I can honestly say that my favorite part of a celebration is the special conversation that I get to share with the birthday child.
Speaking to a child as a Faerie about moving into their new ‘big girl bed’, or helping children feel a bit less nervous about their upcoming swimming lessons when I am a Mermaid makes me feel like I am doing something a bit more magical than painting faces at their birthday party. These are the precious conversations where unique exchanges happen & unforgettable memories are created. All of our Characters have had a lot of heart-to-hearts, similar to the ones I’ve had with children over the years. *smile*
We recently put our wings together and decided we wanted to combine this special conversation that happens between our Characters and the children with things parents have always wanted to help their child with. We’d like to help parents with the sometimes tricky task of getting their children to listen to things they’ve heard over and over, and we’ve thought of a new way to help get those messages heard.
Our whimsical Characters would love to give ‘Faerie Good Advice’ directly to your child with our short, personal video messages. Instead of hearing Mama or Papa say things like, “Please don’t pour the sand in your shoes all over the living room!”, we’d love to say it for you!
Take a peek at a few of the ‘Faerie Good Advice’ videos we’ve made for some fun friends we’ve met along the way
Do you know a little one that could use some Faerie Good Advice?
We would love to create a video just for them! These videos are being created as a special ‘thank you’ to grown-ups that invited us along to their celebration.
Haven’t met us yet? Talk to our SecreFaeries about how to invite one of our Characters to the big day by making a reservation here.
Here’s how to have a special message created by one of our Characters:
Step 1
‘Like’ our page on Facebook.
Step 2
Return to your own wall.
Step 3
Post a photo and write something fun about your celebration with Happily Ever Laughter (on your OWN Facebook wall).
Step 4
Make sure the post is set to ‘PUBLIC’ (so our behind-the-scenes Tech Faerie can see that you posted about us, otherwise, we’ll never know it happened).
Step 5
‘Tag’ your post with @HappilyEverLaughterParties
Facebook Post Example:
If you don’t feel cozy sharing a photo from your celebration publicly, just let us know. We will happily send you a picture with only your Performer in it, or, you can simply share a sweet sentence about your visit with us *smile*.
Once you have shared your photo or story about your Character’s visit on your own Facebook wall, we will contact you about making your family their very own personalized ‘Faerie Good Advice’ video.
Remember, the post must be set to PUBLIC, and on your OWN Facebook wall (not on ours). This will ensure that all of your friends will get to see the cute video we make for you.
Ah. There ya go. Now you have yet another excuse to check Facebook right now.
*laugh*
This not so exciting page is here for you to review before you agree to book a show with our Performers by paying your deposit or redeeming your gift certificate.
Here we go!
1)
We love to take Performer requests, but in order for us to make sure that we reach every celebration each weekend, we sometimes need to switch Performers around to cover any last minute emergencies that pop up (sick Performer, broken chariot etc.). The good news is…that is how we have been able to attend 99.9% of the events that we have been invited to since we opened in 2006 (we’ve only had to cancel 1 visit in 10 years!). IMPORTANT…If this doesn’t make you feel comfortable, please do not save a spot in our calendar with a deposit or gift certificate because we would be so sad to let you down if we needed to switch Performers!
2)
Your deposit or gift certificate is non-refundable (and cannot be applied to a new date) unless you purchase the optional ‘Payment Protection’ during the check out process when paying your deposit or redeeming your gift certificate. Please note! The ‘Payment Protection’ is ONLY available at the time of check out when paying your deposit or redeeming your gift certificate online. Once your deposit is paid, or gift certificate redeemed, if the fee was not paid at that time, your deposit/gift certificate is non-refundable (and cannot be applied to a new date). Even if it rains. Even if someone falls ill. Even if you want to change the date of your event. Even if elephants come stampeding down the street.
Important note about moving your event’s date or time after paying your deposit or redeeming your gift certificate: After you pay your deposit or redeeming your gift certificate (and add the ‘Payment Protection’ fee), you are welcome to cancel your spot one time (up to 3 hours before the Performer’s arrival) and receive a full refund. That means you can cancel your spot, receive a refund, and book a new spot if you decide to change the date.
Also, if you decide to change the time of your event, you are also free to cancel your existing spot one time, receive a full refund, and rebook a new time spot in our calendar. ‘Payment Protection’ is valid for one cancellation only. You are welcome to purchase new ‘Payment Protection’ with your new deposit payment.
3)
Once you pay your deposit or redeem your gift certificate, you agree to log into our system (we will send you the log in information after your deposit arrives or certificate is redeemed) to confirm that we have all the correct details in our calendar. Please make sure to triple check the DATE/TIME/ADDRESS of your event! If there is a mistake that we don’t catch in time, there is a chance we won’t be able to fix it in time for your celebration (for example…if you accidentally save the wrong date with us…and then realize it a week before your celebration…there might not be a spot on the date you want!)
4)
Unless other arrangements have been made with our SecreFaeries in advance, you agree to pay the Performer the remaining balance (if any) in cash at the end of the visit because our Performers are terrified of personal checks! Thank you for understanding this!
5)
We cannot accept personal checks of any kind. We will send them back to you if they are mailed in and they won’t be applied as a deposit, or as final payment for a reservation.
6)
To comply with California childcare licensing laws, I understand that Happily Ever Laughter LLC requires adults to be onsite during my event. If adults will not be onsite during the event, I agree to notify Happily Ever Laughter LLC prior to making my deposit or redeeming my gift certificate so that appropriate accommodations can be made in advance.
7)
If you have invited us to provide our Obstacle Course activity, we require at least 2 of our Performers to be there. If you made other arrangements with the SecreFaeries to only have 1 Performer there, you agree to have an adult prepared to actively assist your Performer during the entire activity. If the adult stops assisting, we will end the activity.
