If you say the word ‘Christmas’ to anyone old enough to understand the concept of the occasion, their mind will instantly go to presents, decorations, and St Nicholas (sorry – ‘Santa Claus’) flying with his reindeers and sleigh.  You may have seen town squares featuring tiny huts where children can sit on a jolly knee, while receiving seasonal tack and petting a live reindeer, and wondered where the animals have come from.  Hiring them is surprisingly inexpensive, and they really do add an authentic and exciting touch to any Christmas themed event.  There are several companies in the UK that specialize in the care, transport and training of these majestic and gentle creatures, and we in Britain have one of the most reputable and care-orientated systems in the world for looking after these beautiful beasts.  For anything between £200 to thousands of pounds, you can hire a bobsleigh complete with reindeer for your corporate event, family party or public function, and this will complete a focal point for the festive look with barely any need for other decorations.

For children’s birthday parties, hiring a mobile farm can be the perfect way to entertain the kids while also teaching them a little something about caring for and respecting animals.  Particularly effective during the springtime due to an abundance of ducklings, lambs and other adorable baby creatures, your hip-height guests will be fascinated by handling these live creatures, and the animals themselves will be happy and properly tamed – meaning that you can introduce the idea of contact with these creatures in full confidence that you won’t need to reach for the box of plasters that you’ll almost certainly have perched in an accessible spot.  As long as you have the ground to put the mobile farm on or have asked a venue to agree (don’t go anywhere near flowerbeds or precious lawns – goats in particular will eat literally anything that looks like it can be eaten, and even some things that can’t – I lost a rather lovely garden gnome to one a few years ago who certainly will never fish again), you won’t regret hiring live animals to entertain your kids.  It won’t get boring, it creates very little mess (all the unpleasantries are always handled by staff) and you’ll go down in history as being the coolest mum ever for throwing an unusual and memorable party.  Food, drinks and everything else really can be done at just a basic level with this amount of fun and amusement, and nobody will remember that you didn’t have a buffet or free-flowing drinks when there’s this much distraction under their little noses.  Who wants to eat when you have this little pork chop to cuddle…

For grown ups, hiring a creepy crawly zoo can be a wonderful and sometimes hilariously hair raising experience.  If you’re hosting a cocktail party, themed night or lavish reception, then you could challenge your guests’ bravery by hiring people to mingle amongst the crowd carrying bugs, snakes, spiders and perhaps (so the wimps can have a go) a few furry little friends with big eyes and tiny hands – to ease the tension of the more faint-hearted having just being presented with a giant millipede to play with.  This is a fantastic addition to more alternative, risqué and unusual events.  While your guests are chattering over canapés and Pimms, it’s a great chance for them to have a go at coming into contact with rare and unique animals, and it will also give them a constant source of laughter, conversation and interest.  You can even team your animal handlers up with a photographer so your guests can capture the moment that a Macaw sat on their Valentino shoulderpad, a boa constrictor gave their Boss jeans a cuddle, a baby parrot enjoyed some hand-fed peanuts, or a bearded dragon took a liking to their white wine spritzer.

Always investigate the company you hire animals from, to check that they are properly regulated under a Performing Animal License and  are Health & Safety approved.  All the staff should be CRB checked while working with animals and/or children, and you should also ensure that the company has comprehensive insurance cover.   Music for London can often help with sourcing animal entertainment for events, and they work up and down the country providing a free entertainment finding service for all kinds of events!