I just found some great Christmas & Holiday Themed "Minute to win it" Kids Birthday Party games over at Birthday party Ideas

These are great additions to a Kids birthday party. After a magic show, and some cake, if there's time left in your party schedule - and cake always seems to be eaten faster than planned, these are really easy games that just take a few minutes each and use supplies which are easily found. You probably have them already. Here are some of my favorite Christmas Minute to Win it games:

Jingle all the Way
4 empty 2 liter soda bottles, small bells, tape
Before the game, take four empty liter soda bottles and rinse them out. Put a large amount of jingle bells into two of the liter bottles, then tape the empty bottles on top so that it looks like a giant rattle. You want the openings of the bottles touching so that the bells can pass from one bottle to the other.
The players that are able to shake all of the bells down from the full bottles to the empty bottles in under a minute wins!
Jingle Bells Junk
Empty tissue boxes (large), rope or belts, jingle bells
Attach an empty tissue box to the player’s waist using a rope or a belt. The opening should be facing the back. Fill the tissue boxes with ten jingle bells. The players then must jump, dance, and wiggle around to get all of the bells out of the box in one minute. 

Red Christmas Tree

36 Red Solo type plastic cups One at a time, give a player 36 red solo cups to stack into a pyramid, or Christmas tree, and then take back down again.
Red Light
25 Red Solo style cups, 1 Blue Solo cup
Give each player a stack of red solo cups and one blue solo cup, with the blue cup at the top of the stack. The player must transfer the blue cup to the bottle of the stack by taking red cups from the bottom and moving them to the top. The player to do this in under one minute wins! 

Had some great shows at the June Lansdale First Friday.


Funny little incident during a break when the police informed me local residents were complaining that the audience was laughing & screaming too loud.


They had a DJ with giant speakers in the same spot before so this is pretty funny.

Magic Routines

So, as I continue my never ending process of developing a magic show and routines within the show that have a good start, middle, and end ( a useful narrative technique) I saw this link from Bizarro    to a video  which, says all good stories basically:

• Tell a story to a certain point, and then need a ...
• But, then or
• Therefore ...
• And also have multiple things going on so that at each crescendo of each story, we can cut back to ... what's happened elsewhere and get that story to it's next (but/therefore)

For magic purposes, if applied to the "snap silks" we have a single sink handkerchief. music playing. But! With a snap there's another. And But! with a snap there's another... and so on for a bit. By the end, there's one last one. THEREFORE, at least as Anastasia performs it, that seems to be it, and all the produced silk hankies are lifted, BUT ... there are many many more all coming out in a flourish!

In the full routine context the first time an additional silk appears is unique, and then serves to lead the audience down a certain path. 

This leads towards the kitten story theory which I will discuss in an upcoming post. 

Anastasia Pennbrook Talent Show Magic 2015 mp3

Despite a sprained ankle, Anastasia was able to put on a great performance with a few new magical twists last night at the Pennbrook Middle School (in North Wales PA) Talent Show

Anastasia's Magical Interview with Kayla Drescher

Here's the promised interview with Kayla Drescher. I found her answers interesting and inspiring for all magicians, but of particular interest to female magicians. The world needs more of these, and I'm happy that Anastasia had the opportunity to learn from an up & coming star ..

What's something you've found different as a female magician and how did you handle it?

The biggest difference for me is
how I need to act and look on stage.  I can't tell the same jokes or sometimes use the same patter as the man or men who created the effect and wrote the directions.  I can't walk the same, use the same props, or even use the same volunteers.  I shouldn’t use a briefcase or bag.  Most audiences see a female performer calling up a female volunteer to be a type of rivalry, where as if I call up a male volunteer, there is more of a friendly and almost flirtatious interaction, which is more interesting and fun to watch to the audience.  It’s the little details like that I’ve learned along the way that aren’t published in any books for us ladies.


Do you find that different groups respond differently to magic? (Children, teenagers, adults and the elderly as well as male and female)

Most definitely!  Children love visual entertainment, various colors, and physical comedy.  Teenagers don’t think magic is very cool, but are still intrigued and will watch.  Adults think magic is for kids, but LOVE to watch it.  The elderly just love to laugh and be entertained, and therefore love magic.  You can do different types of magic for teenagers and older because they have a better grasp on how things in the world work well.  All of these groups have one big thing in common: laughter.  They love to laugh and be entertained.

How and how often do you practice, and who serves as a test audience for any new routines?

I’ve never liked to practice.  But if we’re going to be any good, we have to practice every day.  The best way to practice alone is with a camera at 3 different angles-left, right, and center.  This way, you know what your angles look like.  But the best way to practice overall is in front of an audience.  Use your parents, sibling, friends, open mics, and anyone that will watch.  That’s the best way to see how your routine will work.


David Copperfield has told a story of how he was able to show his pockets empty (when they were not) while being mugged. Have your magic  skills ever proven useful in the real world? How?

 Most definitely!  I used to work as a bartender and would use magic both for entertainment and to get more tips.  One time, a gentleman, who was not very nice, said that if I made his trip memorable, he would give me a big tip.  So I should him magic and got a 50% tip!

Suppose you have just a minute or two to show President Obama a quick magic miracle. What effect would you choose and why?

I would do something original and fun that would make him laugh and make his magical experience memorable.  AKA probably something with a rubber band.

Are there any magical items that you carry almost all the time?  

Rubber bands, hence the answer to the Obama question.  I rarely am without 4-10 rubber bands on my wrist.  I also try to pay attention to my surroundings just in case someone asks me to show them a trick.  That way, I can grab any object around and do something!

Another new magic blog

So there's a great new blog I've found, just starting up by the wonderful magician Kayla Drescher.
http://magicinheels.com/welcomeklog/ She's most well known for winning a little contest held by the Today Show & David Copperfield a while back. She's personally known to me for generously offering advice and inspiration to my young teen magician daughter Anastasia.

Later this week, I'll be posting an interview Anastasia did with Kayla - stay tuned! #magicinheels #klog

Crafty Magic

Here's a collection I found of simple magic tricks that can be crafted at home. Great activity for a rainy day and to encourage creative thinking, arts, and acting skills for children. 

http://magic.about.com/od/Easy-Magic-Tricks-for-Kids/tp/Easy-Magic-Tricks-Kids-Crafts.htm