Notice there is no “we” on this page.  Book Silly Jilly, and she is who will be at your party, the entertainer with five-star reviews.  Also, if you confirm a few days before your party, be comfortable knowing you have confirmed with the entertainer.

I am available most days except for Tuesday evenings when I make balloons at Syberg’s Chesterfield. I am also not available July 24 to 28 and August 13 to 18. 

This segment was written on April 28 , 2025.

Sadly, starting January 2023, I need to reduce my balloon twisting slightly due to it aggravating my hand arthritis.  

For Syberg’s restaurant and Pediatric Dentistry, I will be creating simpler balloon animals and incorporating more gags and magic.

For large events with hundreds of kids where kids line up, as I make sixty medium-sized balloons animals per hour, I will switch to extra simple balloons with jokes. 

For medium-sized events, I have switched (from sixty) to making up to forty-five medium-sized balloons per hour, spending one minute per balloon animal like I used to, but adding more gags and more drawing on the balloons. Forty-five balloons per hour is still more than almost every other St. Louis balloon artist. Or I can make 80 extra-simple balloons per hour with jokes, and the kids get four choices: a dog, sword, hat, or heart.

For events with less than approximately forty-five kids per hour, such as, birthday parties and most grand openings, are perfect for medium-sized balloon animas, and I’ll do gags as I make balloon animals.

The balloon workshops are still on, and sometimes I’ll get my husband to blow up the eight balloons per student for the workshop. The twisting is not that bad for my arthritis; the worst part is tying the knots.

 My old website is disorganized but still 95+% accurate (not including pricing) and has more details. http://sillyjillytheclown.homestead.com/SillyJillytheClown.html.

You may take photos and videos of my performance, and please share them with friends or the public. Fine with Silly Jilly if you do whatever you want with the photos or videos. When taking photos, remember to stand behind or to the side of Silly Jilly too, and get photos of the party guests’ reactions.

Visit Silly Jilly the plain-clothes balloon artist at Syberg’s in Chesterfield Valley, on Tuesdays, 5:30 to 8:30, for a free small balloon animal and a magic trick or gag.  

sBring the kids to meet Silly Jilly the Clown at Eckert’s Belleville, alternating September and October weekends and egg hunt weekend.

Once a month I make balloon animals at Pediatric Dentistry of Sunset Hills.

I will travel almost anywhere. For example, I have performed at several Columbia, MO events, the Ste. Genevieve County Fair, a company party in Branson, a nursing home in Anna, IL, and birthday parties in Greenville, IL, Carlyle, IL, and Gerald, MO. Call or e-mail for pricing. For parties located about two hours from Webster Groves (Cape Girardeau, Hannibal, and Springfield, IL), it is Silly Jilly’s regular price (no-balloons: $210 first hour, $100 each additional hour; balloons: add $10 to each 15 minutes) plus a usual travel fee of $100 for a typical weekday and $140 for a typical weekend day with a two-hour minimum, and for every fifteen minutes past two hours, $5 discount.

I even make my amazing balloon animals and hats at adult events, for example, 40th birthday parties and nursing homes.
Ages three to seven especially love my gags and magic show. If you would like me to do my show at an eight, nine, or ten-year-old birthday party, I’ll make my show a little shorter and will still be a success as long as almost all the kids are ten and younger.
I don’t worry about impressing parents with my magic, figuring nothing will be more magical for the parents than the enjoyment I provide the children at the party.

The St. Louis magic club awarded me second place in their 2021 competition.

Clients of my colleagues are sometimes required to sign a multi-page contract with a list of rules such as “No videotaping,” and “No food served during the show,” and “No canceling.” I do not make you sign a contract. Also, your adult party guests may talk as much as they want during Silly Jilly’s show. Many of my colleagues require adults to watch their show, not me. If adults are talking, I’ll just turn up my pa system so the kids can hear.
The only rule I have is for events with over approximately 100 kids, and that is to help to end my balloon line. And sometimes I require shade.
I’ll usually send a confirmation letter or text reiterating my end of our discussion.

For a magic show and/or meet-and-greet, I charge $185 for the first forty-five minutes and $25 for each additional fifteen minutes for events located within a 40-minute drive from Webster Groves. Other St. Louis metro locations are usually $20 more, sometimes waved for multi-hour bookings.

For balloon animals, that is an additional $10 per fifteen minutes. A balloon hat for the guest of honor is no additional charge. 

For example, if at a birthday party, you want a balloon hat for the birthday child with a few minutes of meet and greet, then a half-hour show, then a half-hour of balloons, my fee is $255 ($185 first 45 minutes and $70 for a half-hour of balloons), and I will be able to get up to 25 balloon animals made.

Events located a two-hour drive from St. Louis (for example, Springfield, IL, Hannibal, MO, and Columbia, MO) are approximately $150 more on weekends and $100 more on weekdays with a 90-minute minimum.

Events on weekdays and in plain-clothes, $30 discount.

I do not require a deposit; however, you may pay one. Payment is not due until right before I leave the party, but many party planners pay beforehand to make things easier for them during the busy party day.
If you have to cancel the party, there is no charge as long as you let me know at least four hours before I am scheduled to arrive. But try to let me know as soon as possible; I may have another child wanting Silly Jilly to perform at their party at your time. Parties where you are paying extra for pre-made balloons might be partially charged if you cancel after Silly Jilly has made those balloons.

You can either pay me (Venmo @Jill-ColquhounSchmidt, check to Jill Schmidt, or cash) or donate my fee to my Charity:Water fundraiser.  If I don’t mention it to you, please let me know you would like to do the donation.

📚 Dear Librarians,
Children (especially ages three to eight) will love laughing their heads off with Silly Jilly the Clown at your summer reading program or other program. 
Options:
🪄 $170, Twenty-Five Minute Magic Show Full of Belly-Laughs, Posing for Photos or Answering Questions After the Show, and Pre-Show Meet-and-Greet and Gags
🪄 $195, Above, But Magic Show Is Thirty-Five Minutes, and After the Show, All Audience Members Get to Do My Show Faniale of Sitting on My Custom Made Five-Feet Wide Whoopee Cushion
🪄🎈 Additional $50 Plus $3 Per Expected Child, Add to the Above a Balloon Animal Workshop Where the Kids Learn How to Make at Least Three Balloon Sculptures and Take Home Their Creations.
🎈$170 Plus $3 Per Child, Balloon Workshop, Pre-Workshop Meet-and-Greet, No Show
Pricing is for locations within a 40-minute drive of Webster Groves. Contact me for pricing for other locations.

Childcare centers book Silly Jilly the Clown year after year.
I’ll arrive approximately ten minutes before you would like me to start and spend a few minutes setting up. As the kids arrive, I’ll do some meet-and-greet and silly gags. Then the fun, funny magic show, which lasts approximately 30 – 35 minutes. That is my forty-five minute price of $185. Then sort of as a school discount, I will stay later and visit some of the three and older classrooms for a few minutes if you would like. There I will answer questions, repeat one of the students’ favorite parts of the show, or pose for a photo. The students feel special when they get a visit, and one teacher posted on Facebook that the classroom visit was the best part of me being there. Before I tried it, I mistakenly thought having my show longer would be better than visiting the classrooms, but visiting some classrooms is a big hit.

I could stay longer make balloon animals or do a balloon workshop.

Check out how much fun the kids at Kiddie Academy have on Silly Jilly day: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18W5KpCXGv/

The price of $185 applies to schools located within a 40-minute drive from Webster Groves. Larger childcare centers may wish to book me longer to visit all the three-year-old and older classrooms, and maybe the two-year-old classrooms, too. For pre-schools with just one classroom and 20 or fewer students, the fee for the meet-and-greet, magic show, and a few minutes talking with the students after the show is $160, and I will perform for approximately 40 minutes.

If you’re looking for an entertainer to volunteer or perform for $100 to gain exposure, seek someone who needs more gigs. I receive plenty of bookings, so I don’t need to take on free events for promotion.

If you find a new balloon twister, they might love to volunteer for a weekday event or a January weekend event to promote their services. Keep in mind, even new entertainers get booked during busy event times, so asking them to perform for free on a popular Saturday afternoon is similar to asking someone with a traditional Monday–Friday job to work a half-day without pay.

In 1994, I enrolled in a continuing education clown class, thinking it would be a fun way to spend Thursday nights. I enjoyed the class more than expected and started performing as a clown. Making and remembering balloon animals came easily to me. For over 30 years, I’ve been making balloon animals at restaurants nearly every week, plus performing magic shows and twisting balloons at over 100 other events each year (except 2020).