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Parents Help Magicians (Pt 2)

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Parents help magicians (pt 2) is about parents helping in another way that some do not even think about.

When I go to a party to do a magic show, many things come into play.  One of those things is young children of the birthday boy/girl.  Many parents think the magic show is for all ages, including toddlers.  Unfortunately, some parents think they can leave the room and let the toddlers watch and be entertained.  This can lead to bad experiences for everyone.

Bad experiences

I remember a show I did where the birthday girl had two little brothers.  The mother went into the kitchen to get the food ready and left the brothers to watch the show.  She thought nothing of it, but I knew the show was going to be difficult because there was no adult supervision.  Sure enough, after 5 minutes, the boys didn’t want to sit still and watch the show.  They started running around and bothering the other children.

Adult supervision

Magicians are NOT hired to be babysitters. Contrary to what some people think, we are there to entertain you, your guests, and the children. If there is no adult supervision while the magic show is going on then problems can arise.  Very young children, like 2-3 years old, tend to wander up to the magician and distract him/her.  They can even start to disrupt the show by pulling things out of the magicians box or grabbing things. This may look cute and adorable to others, but it is a nightmare for the magician. In order for him/her to give the best possible show, they need to be able to focus their attention on the performance and the audience, not on children that just want to explore and be their natural inquisitive selves.

So please help us by providing supervision for the very young ones. Everyone at the party will have a better time.

Parents Help Magicians

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How can parents help magicians? I am so glad you asked.  You will be amazed at the answer.

Watch and enjoy the show

The biggest thing you can do to help the magician is to watch and enjoy the show yourself.  I know that there are a lot of things to do, like preparing the food, looking after the adult guests, etc. while the magic show is on, but you really should take the time to be with your child and enjoy the show.  We at funnybone magic make your child the star of the show, so if your not there to see your child perform tricks, then you are really missing out on your child’s special day. He/she will not have another 5th or 7th birthday party again, so why not take the time and plan on watching the show.

Doing other things

If you do other things during the show, then you won’t be able to talk about it with your child after everyone has gone home.   You won’t be able to share in their joy and excitement because you didn’t see it.   Take time and make memories by videoing or taking pictures of your child doing the tricks.  You will never be able to get those memories back.  So I strongly urge you to take the time and watch your child be the star of the show.  It will be the highlight of their day and yours.

If you miss the show, you will not be able to comment to your friends on how good/bad the magician was. The parents will want to know what you thought of the magician to know whether or not to book him/her.  How can you answer their questions if you haven’t seen the show?

Leave a Review

You also won’t be able to leave a review on the magicians website, which all magicians want and need. Many people read the reviews of other parents to see what they thought of the show. Reviews help parents decide if this magician is for them or not.

So plan on watching the show instead of doing other things, you won’t be sorry you did.

Party Ideas for All Ages

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Sometimes it is difficult to come up with party ideas for all ages.  Is my son/daughter too old for me to hire a magician for their birthday party? Great question! How old is too old? I have done parties where the girl was celebrating her 70th birthday. I guess I should say she wasn’t a girl but a lady. The phrase, “Your only as young as you feel” came to my mind when she booked. But that is really the point. It doesn’t matter how old a person is, if they love magic and want to see a great show, then why not hire a magician? We at funnybone magic cater for all ages. We can put on a show for very young children to senior citizens. My philosophy is if they are still breathing, then I can entertain them!!

The important thing to remember when booking a magician is make sure the show is going to be for the appropriate age. Some magicians can only do young children’s shows, some only do adult ones. You don’t want to hire someone who only does children’s shows for an adult party. The guests would be bored stiff and probably insulted and vice versa, the children wouldn’t sit very long if the magician couldn’t keep their attention. Both adults and children have different needs that the magician has to meet. Adults want to see spectacular tricks, whereas children just want to laugh and be entertained. Both want to have fun.

The best way to find out if a magician can cater for all ages is to check their website. What have other people said about the shows in their reviews? Does their website show different types of shows according to ages? Just like one particular car, say a Ford, doesn’t meet everyone’s needs, one magic show can’t meet all the needs of different age groups. The magician you hire has to use age appropriate magic tricks for your party.

Choosing Magic Tricks

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Choosing magic tricks for your child to perform can be a “tricky” task, pardon the pun!!  Is it better to buy a magic box set or individual tricks?

Magic Tricks Box Sets

I have seen numerous magic box sets and the majority have too many tricks in them that are not worth one penny.  They may look good on the box, but when your child tries to do the trick, it just doesn’t amaze him/her or anyone else for that matter. Another problem with a box set is the directions. They are either too hard to follow or in some cases are not even understandable to an adult, let alone a child.

Individual Magic Tricks

I believe the best tricks to buy are individual ones. We at funnybone magic sell individual tricks that we have found to have the “Wow” factor. We have sold them at school fairs, birthday parties, online, basically everywhere. The first thing we do is demonstrate the trick, then we teach the child how to do the trick, and finally we let the child do the trick in order to make sure they know how it works before they go. In this way the child leaves knowing that they have seen the trick, know how to do the trick, and then is confident in being able to do it when they get home. By buying individual tricks you get to pick and choose which ones you or your child like the best and which ones they may not.

How do you know if a trick is good or extraordinary? I look at tricks all the time. I have two criteria for whether or not I will buy a trick.

1. Is the trick easy to do? My philosophy is if a five year old child can do the trick then I should be able to. I don’t want to have to practice hours and hours to be able to perform the trick. I want it to be self-working and easy-to-do.

2. Does it have the “WOW” factor? When I first see a trick I want it to amaze me. I want to be able to say, “Wow that was incredible! How’d he do that? How does it work?” If I can figure out how the trick works right away, chances are children will be able to as well. I am very simple minded and easily amazed (fooled), so a trick doesn’t have to be complicated to reach my criteria.

Magic Tricks

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Magic tricks are just tools of the trade that a magician needs in order to perform.  A carpenter needs a hammer, saw, nails, etc. in order to be able to do his job. Tools are a means to an end. You need them in order to accomplish something. If a farmer didn’t have a milking machine, then he wouldn’t be able to get the milk from the cow. The machine is the tool he uses to accomplish his goal. In and of themselves magic tricks can amaze and delight people, but a great magic show is not about the tricks but about the magician.

Who are you as a performer?

I read the other day a great quote, “An EXPERT makes the difficult look easy, a SHOWMAN makes the easy look spectacular”. No, not a snowman, a showman! To me, that has the “WOW” factor. It’s not about what a magician does (a bunch of tricks that look spectacular), it’s more about who they are. How good of a performer are they? Can they hold the attention of a four year old for longer than 15 minutes?

Your child as a performer

If your child loves to do magic tricks then the best thing you can do to encourage him/her is to emphasise their performance of the trick and not the trick itself. It’s a lot like encouraging your child to be someone on the inside rather than emphasising their outward appearance.

If a woman buys a new dress and she asks her husband “How do I look?” And he thinks it is the most disgusting thing he has ever laid eyes on, he had better be careful what he says or he will end up sleeping in the dog house for the next month. A wise man will say, “It’s not the dress that makes the woman, it’s the woman who makes the dress.” In other words, your child needs to know that his/her performance is more important than having the most amazing trick.