Esmeralda is exactly who you want to hire for your next party! We had her do face painting for my…read moredaughter's 5th birthday party. All of the kids and adults loved her. She made everyone, even the younger, more timid kids feel so comfortable with her gentle and kind demeanor. You can see for yourself in her photos, but all of the face paintings she did were absolutely beautiful!! The kids were so proud of how great they looked. It was so fun watching them walk around and show everyone at the party their special face paintings. And to top it off, Esmeralda was extremely communicative, very thorough and super helpful when we were discussing pricing and availability, booking and finalizing details before the event (she was so accommodating and came 1/2 earlier than we had originally discussed). I would highly recommend hiring Sparklez n Spikes for your next event!!

Esmeralda was amazing! We had a party for my son and all the kids & even the adults loved her. She…read moreis professional, sweet and attentive. Highly recommend & would book again

We loved our experience with I Am Princess parties. The young lady that was Ariel came on time and…read moreshe looked just like the character she was portraying. She was great with the kiddos and so very engaging as well. The kids were captivated by her singing and the sweet activities she did with them. My daughter asked me when we could have another princess come to our house right after the party was over. The kids also loved getting their face painted as well. I would highly recommend I Am Princess Parties to anyone looking to have a wonderful Princess or character experience for their children!

[EDIT] I want to respond to Dulci's wildly inaccurate claims in detail…read more 1// There was parking had entertainer arrived on time. I held a spot but obviously had to give it away when she didn't show up on time. 2// No one treated her unkindly upon her arrival. I asked front desk staff to please look out for performer arrival as they've been nothing but helpful with the kids party, we can corroborate with video footage if needed. This is slandering MCC staff 3// I was texting Dulci and calling the performer throughout her arrival, trying to help her find the clubhouse and also trying to help her with the elevator (and direct her to where balloons are for entrance). Her stress came from being late to the party and not finding parking in the main lot, not from any unkindness toward her. What an outrageous experience trying to blame the parent and the staff when services provided wasn't up to par. I stand by my review - and I think Dulci's response is a great example of the type of gaslighting that will happen to you if you book through this business. [Original Review] This was quite a negative experience TBH. We booked a princess for a 5yo birthday party in Moraga about 2 months in advance and the beginning of the process was easy enough. It's a pretty standard booking. However, every single interaction after I paid the deposit was like pulling teeth. They got my name wrong. I had to chase down the entertainer. I never got timely confirmations (despite promises that I'll be contacted). A week before and 2 nights before and I'm still tracking down who the entertainer is. And the entertainer showed up ~45mins late to a 2 hour party. I've included screenshots of communications. I am shocked they have so many positive reviews - please reconsider unless you want to micromanage the entire process and be disappointed. However, I do want to be fair and did not give 1 star because the entertainer did finally show up and she did entertain the kids (although for 1 hour not 2 like I booked, but I still paid her $150 for 1 hour of her time). So, I would not book again through this provider. Dulci refunded me my deposit, but that doesn't give me the valuable time back for the birthday.

I have to give Kari a big 5 stars for the way they handled the negative situation from my…read moredaughter's birthday party. Not only did Kari reimburse me for the cost of the original party she offered me a free 2 hour party to show us what they can be like. We have an annual NYE party where we count down at 9pm so the kids can all bring in the New Year but the parents can get them to bed by 10pm. I asked Kari if she would be willing to come out on NYE, thinking she would say no, but she didn't, she said yes. I will admit I was hesitant. I was a little worried but I figured it would keep the kids occupied. Hannah, our performer, called me 30 minutes earlier than our planned start time just to let me know she was already in the area and could start early if I wanted, but didn't have to. I had her still come at 6:30 since most of our guests wouldn't be there by then. She had an adorable 70's flashy disco diva outfit on, which the kids loved. She was TERRIFIC. She kept those kids entertained for a full 2 hours! They loved her. Her magic show was awesome, her enthusiasm was great, and her professionalism and ability to stay in character was top notch. The parents were so impressed and happy with her! I am happy to make my first post of 2013 a positive follow up for Kari's Magic Parties and I am seriously thinking about having them come back next NYE! Thank you Kari for following through and showing me how great you guys can be,

I initially contacted another party performer after reading some troublesome reviews of character…read moremixups and no shows and no refunds. But because that other performer was already fully booked, i ended up going with Kari's magic parties per recommendation of my nursing school classmate. I sent my inquiry 3-4 weeks before the party via email because their website was in construction I think at the time. When they told me they had an availability I was elated. They told me that the performer was supposed to call me by 5 pm the day before the party. The days leading up to the party I totally forgot about the performer. To my pleasant surprise miss Sarah called the day before the party. Initially the services I wanted were face painting and balloons and a sing a long. She told me since we had her for 2 hrs and only about 10-15 kids I could add another service. Since my daughter was 2 and the kids were aged 2-9 she recommended toddler time which entailed "head shoulders, knees, and toes". That sounded awesome since my daughter loves those songs but I opted for the magic show option so that the adults and older children would be entertained as well. The day of the party she arrived perfectly on time. As soon as she entered everyone was in awe of Miss Sarah's beauty. She embodied Elsa PERFECTLY. We had the movie playing during the party and some younger children actually thought she stepped out of the tv and through the front door! Lol. She asked for a place to paint and a cup of water and off she went. She stayed in character the entire time. Everyone young and old enjoyed her magic show. And she was there to cut the cake with us. She posed with EVERYONE and was so pleasant! She was very easy to talk to and kept asking if there was anything more she could do. Overall I am so thankful for Sarah and Kari's Magic Parties for the wonderful experience. Sarah had a very important job of bringing the party to life as Queen Elsa and that's EXACTLY what she did! Highly recommended and am excited to work with them again in the near future!

If I was able to give 10 stars I would!! Lori is AMAZING!…read moreOne of the best face painters I have ever seen! I booked her for my daughters 10th birthday party, she took her time with each child and even when they needed touch ups she would in between fix their faces. She was awesome with the kids (and adults). I thought it was cute When the parents picked their kids up they all handed them her card (LOL) My daughter did not want to wash her face! I can't wait to have her at our next event!

Excellent service. Lori offers a variety of services and with such beautiful work. She's like a one…read morestop shop. Her and her daughters came to my event and the designs were great, sweet girls and easy to work with. Will hire again !

We recently had Kit and Steven come as Gwen Stacy and Spider-Man for our daughter's birthday and…read morethey did an amazing job! Despite the cold/rainy weather, they kept the energy high and the kids entertained! Everyone had a blast. Thank you Cinderella Company!!

We had Ariel the Princess come to our house in the San Mateo area for our 3 yr old daughter's…read morebirthday. She parked farther and walked in on purpose so the kids wouldn't think she drove here which was a nice detail. She did story time and sang , magic tricks, a bunch of fun kid group games/activities with music on portable music device which she had technical difficulty which is understandable and perfectly fine so we helped with spotify on our cell phones. Please be on standby host parents to help carry character's belongings. For host parent, consider charging up your own Bluetooth music speaker to have ready as backup. We had food and games and she was so helpful too with gathering kids and singing happy birthday. She provided a tiara and special bracelet for the birthday girl which was perfect. All the kids and parents were so amazed and enchanted with the whole experience that parents sat and enjoyed and also filmed the experience. We had face painting and she had time for guests to take some pictures too. we loved how we could have a Disney princess come to our home. There's a small travel fee of course since we are outside of the normal area. Would highly recommend while your kids are young and still into characters. Ariel stayed in character and price point was good too. Thank you Cinderella company for helping our daughter's dreams come true.

We used three Rainbow Order face painters for our 2nd grade end of year park day. They were easy to…read morework with leading up to the event, got us all the paperwork we needed for the district, and communicated well. The day of, they showed up promptly, set up quickly, and got started on face painting as soon as we were ready for them. They worked quickly, did quality painting that all students were happy with, and had a ton of colors and glitter to choose from. They were really sweet with the kids, and did an overall fantastic job! We would definitely use this company again in the future!

The kids loved it at the party! Very kind and on time. We highly recommend for parties!!! Thank you!read more

I've used A Dream Party for birthday face painting and those experiences are 5 stars. However this…read morepast weekend at the Brentwood farmers market my daughters got their faces painted by Carmen, the owner and another girl who must've been new. The new girl's work was subpar, but that's not why I'm writing this review. I'm writing it because of Carmen's unprofessionalism toward her new girl. Openly ridiculing and talking down to her in front of my family, telling her it didn't look good and to just do arm work for the rest of the day. We were there early and there was nobody waiting behind us. She could've waited until we left before correcting the girl. If the girl wasn't ready to do face painting, that's a training gap on Carmen's part and she shouldn't have been out there in the first place. A reputable business isn't just about doing good work, it's about how you treat both your customers and employees alike.

Carmen is a true professional. As soon as she arrived, she immediately began making balloons for…read morethe children, ensuring each one received a special creation. Even amidst the chaos of the birthday party, she made a point to find the birthday boy and personally hand him his themed balloon. In my opinion, her services are very reasonably priced and well worth it. I highly recommend her.

We couldn't be happier with their services! From start to finish, everything was seamless and…read morewell-organized. The face painting was absolutely beautiful, the balloon twisting was a huge hit with the kids, and the caricatures were truly amazing. All of the entertainment kept the kids engaged and excited the entire time, and everything ran so smoothly. We've received so many compliments from other parents about how fun and well-done everything was. We're so grateful to the whole team (Daria, Molly, Kevin, and Jennifer) for helping make the party extra special. Highly recommend!

Loved having a face painter and balloon artist from Happycake at our daughter's birthday party…read more Face painting options were a huge hit and everyone loved the balloons.

BOOK HER!! I booked her for our child's birthday and…read moreChrissy did a FANTASTIC job! Her work is amazing, all the kids loved her artwork. Face paint, rainbow hair, arm/hand paint.. she did a wonderful job and she's great with the kids. She even did a little piece for the mamabear! I definitely recommend her for any party or function. SHE IS LEGIT! I booked another company a few months ago but Chrissy's artwork is very very nice! So stop looking around a book Fantasy Faces!! **Also don't forget to feed and hydrate your entertainment**

Hired for a 5 year old birthday party…read more She spent 30+ minutes per kid, and used up all of the time we paid for with a significant number of children still wanting their faces painted. We ended up paying extra to have her stay longer and finish. On top of that she was pestering my wife and other guests for "sugary, non carbonated drinks" all afternoon. She kept complaining to my wife and guests of elbow pain and requesting ice for it in a bowl. Then when the pizza came for the kids she asked for multiple pieces of the kids pizza. After we had cleaned up the whole party she and her "assistant" were still not done packing up their stuff. When they finally finished packing their stuff into a rolling suitcase they flagged down my wife and asked her to ask me to come fold up their folding table and carry their bag to their car. For $500 I would think you would bring your own drinks and food and pack your own crap.

Courtney is the sweetest! I appreciated her advice and expertise. I had a last-minute request for…read moremy daughter's birthday and she was very helpful, patient, and very knowledgeable when others brushed me off. She answered all of my questions and was very accommodating. If you're looking for someone to help with your party I highly recommend balloon thrills!

Leanne rocks!! We ordered a Get Well balloon bouquet for my brother in the hospital. The turnaround…read morewas quick with a perfect delivery window the next day. At the moment our balloons were leaving the shop for delivery, we received the call that my brother was released from the hospital... he was on his way home! Great news, but what happens to our gift now? I called Leanne and explained our situation. She was great! She had me text her my brother's home address, she re-arranged her delivery route, and our delivery arrived at his home right away. Nice way to welcome him home! Awesome service and the balloons were perfect. Sorry for the meager-quality photo. My brother was home, but not yet fully recovered when he took the shot.