Carnival guard dance coach gift: one book that captures the season
A carnival guard dance coach gift that lasts beyond Ash Wednesday: in a Flashbook, what Germans call a Freundebuch, every dancer in your carnival guard dance group (Garde) gets their own double-page spread with two photos and their own answers, and so does the coach. One book costs €24.90 including design, printing and shipping, or €22.90 when 3 groups from your club order together and €19.90 from 5 groups. It reaches you 5 to 7 working days after the last answers and payments.
The book, the questionnaire and our WhatsApp support are in German. Other languages and shipping to other countries on request.
What goes into your guard dance group's book
On every double-page spread: two photos, ideally one in uniform and one without, plus a name, a signature, four short details with icons and the answers. We adapt the questions to your group, whether you celebrate Karneval, Fasching or Fastnacht. For example:
- In which season did you join the guard?
- Which figure in the guard dance do you do best?
- Where was your best performance this season?
- What happens in the minutes before you march in?
- What do you do after Ash Wednesday?
For the children's guard, the parents fill in the questionnaire. Photos and answers are used only for the book; more on this under Children's photos and data protection.
Shared pages for the guard and the club
The photos are cut out and arranged into one cover picture, on a background you choose, for example a picture of your town. Then come the group photo in uniform, awards such as “Best march-in”, a double-page spread for special moments of the season, two spreads for signatures and sayings, and at least 4 blank spreads for family, friends or the carnival prince and princess to write in. Up to 4 sponsor pages are included in the price, and the sponsor logos go on the back cover. The book is a landscape A5 hardcover on 170 g/m² paper that you can write on with a ballpoint pen.
Carnival guard dance coach gifts: what works?
Until a guard dance is polished, the coach rehearses it with her group for many weeks. Among gifts for a guard dance coach, the book is one that everyone takes part in: each dancer says on their own spread what the rehearsals mean to them. The minimum order is 10 books, and one of them goes to the coach. If she is stepping down, it becomes her leaving gift; more in the guide Coach leaving gift.
A gift for the dancers in the guard
The book is also a gift for everyone who dances in the guard: everyone in it can have their own copy, a keepsake of rehearsals, performances and the journeys in between. The Tanzmariechen, the club's solo dancer, belongs too and gets her spread in the guard's book.
A gift for the carnival prince and princess and the Council of Eleven
A Flashbook is a shared book: everyone in it can have a copy, and the minimum order is 10 books. For the carnival prince and princess, that means you make a book of the season with everyone who accompanied them, and the prince and princess are in it themselves. A Council of Eleven (Elferrat) can have a book of its own too, as long as at least 8 people take part. For anything else, just ask in your enquiry.
How your guard dance group's book comes together
- Sending an enquiry takes 2 minutes. Then the link arrives on WhatsApp.
- You share the link in the group chat of your guard. Everyone answers the questions on their phone in about 5 minutes and uploads two photos. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays you get an overview on WhatsApp of who is still missing.
- Once all the answers are in and every book is paid for, the books are designed and printed. 5 to 7 working days later, the season is in a book.
When does the book fit into the carnival season?
In most clubs the season starts on 11 November and ends on Ash Wednesday, which falls on 10 February in 2027. Things calm down after that, and that is exactly when a look back feels good.
At the end of the season. Hand out the books at the guard's last get-together, while the performances are still fresh in everyone's mind.
When moving up to the next guard. Anyone going from the children's guard to the youth guard takes the old group along in the book.
For a club anniversary. If your club is celebrating an anniversary with a repeated number, like 33 or 111, a book for every guard dance group fits the celebrations. More in Club anniversary ideas.
How much does a book for your guard cost?
The price is per book, includes design, printing and shipping to Germany and Austria, and drops when several of your club's guard dance groups order together.
- 1 to 2 groups
- €24.90
- from 3 groups
- €22.90
- from 5 groups
- €19.90
A book holds 8 to 42 people, and the coach and team staff count too. The minimum order is 10 books, but not everyone has to buy one. Everyone pays for themselves with a payment link, or one person pays for everyone by invoice within 14 days. Because every book is designed individually, you can't cancel.
Questions from guard dance groups and carnival clubs
Do our children's, youth and adult guard dance groups each get their own book?
Yes, each guard dance group gets its own book, with its own questions too. Ordering together brings the price down: €22.90 per book from 3 groups, €19.90 from 5 groups.
When do we need to start so the book is ready by the end of the season?
There is no fixed date. Printing starts as soon as everyone has answered and paid, and then it takes 5 to 7 working days. So share the link early in the season.
Our Tanzmariechen dances solo. Does she get her own book?
There is no book for just one person; a book holds 8 to 42 people. The Tanzmariechen gets her spread in the book of the guard dance group she belongs to.
Our guard dance group has fewer than eight dancers. What now?
Add the coach, the team staff and the Tanzmariechen, or make one book together with a second guard dance group from your club. From 8 people it works.
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