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As a children's entertainer I have a confession to make. I hate making balloon animals! I just don't enjoy the chaos that always seems to go with it - 25-30 kids all lined up waiting wanting a barbie doll or a rocket launcher, with some mother pushing in with their kid because they need to leave early. Innevitably someone's balloon breaks and I need to make more or some kid sees someone elses balloon and doesn't want theirs anymore.
So I generally don't do balloons, except for a routine i do in my show for the birthday kid. That is - until last night when i realised they do have a place after all.
For the first time I made a child cry. She was scared of me! Maybe it's because I am dressed a little smarter for a resturaunt than I usually do for kid's shows - but she hid behind her father and wouldn't look at me. Apart from being crushed that a kid wouldn't immediatly take to me I needed to do something because it was a big table and I wanted to leave them with a positive feeling. So out came a pink balloon. I stood about a meter away from the table and did my usual blowing up balloon routine - which made most of the table (adults) laugh. I then made a poodle and presented it to her father as a peace offering - and then went on to another table. Every now and then I walked past and I'd smile at the kid until eventually she gave me a huge beaming smile. So that was my cue - I stopped back at that table and gave them my best - and it was great
One of the adults even asked if she could have a balloon as well..

I'm a balloon modeller (or Inflated-Latex Engineer, as I like to call the profession) but I tend to keep balloons seperate from my magic. The main reason for this is that when making balloons, my pockets are so full of latex in various shapes and sizes, pens, scissors, that I've no room for any magic props.
I think I need bigger pockets.

A favourite with the boys is still Spider-Man with Doc Oc coming in second. However, with the new Star Wars film coming out, I expect light-sabres will crop up again.
The girls tend to go for dogs and teddy bears.

Sometimes, kids don't seem to know what to expect from a balloon sculptor. I think they have the impression that all we can make is dogs.
I was at a party last year, when a little girl came up to me.
"What would you like making?" I asked.
"Pink" she replied.
"Pink?"
"Yes please"
So I made a pink poodle for her. She went away happy

I think what I'm learning is that the act of blowing up a balloon and modelling it can be in itself very entertaining - if you do it right. That is what's made the difference for me. I used to hate just making and giving away balloons - it seemed like it had nothing to do with my show - it was just something I had 'inherited' by virtue of being a children's entertainer. Now I'm having fun doing it - even if it's just to make a dog for one person. I've now graduated to making a flower for girls and a sword for boys. *patting myself on the back*