Birthday Party Magic

Magic for a Children’s Party

Magician and Children’s Entertainer

Children love magic and so hiring a magician for a Birthday Party is a great way to entertain them.

Once a parent would pick up the Yellow Pages and look up the Children’s Entertainers section where there would be a long list of kids entertainers and magicians offering their services. Today the first port of call is likely to be Google.

Of course children today are very sophisticated and they see such amazing things on TV and You Tube. If you type Magician into Google ( at the time of writing ) you will find a list of articles about the amazing Dynamo whose tag line is “Magician Impossible”. How does he do those incredible illusions? This got me thinking about the expectations of parents and children regarding Birthday Party Magic.

If you type “Magician, North Yorkshire”, or “Magician, Catterick Garrison” or “Magician, Richmond”, the chances are you will probably end up on my Birthday Party Magic Show page and be looking at me Ron Wood aka “Mr Jolly” rather than the famous Dynamo.

Expectations

So what do people expect when they book a Magician / Kid’s Entertainer for a Birthday Party?

Mostly parents want the children to have a great time. They want to hire someone who is good with the kids, who is professional, organized, reliable and experienced. They are not too concerned about the actual content of the show and what tricks will be performed. They may ask if you include balloon modelling or party games. They may even request a particular routine that their child saw you perform at another party or event. They are certainly not expecting disappearing ladies, tigers jumping through hoops or famous people being levitated four feet off the ground.

Children’s Magic

Performing for children is an art in itself. Children like funny stuff. They love it when things go wrong. They like tricks which

Jubilee Magic Show (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

have a story attached to them and they love to join in.

A good children’s magic trick should:

be straightforward and easy to follow
use colorful props
have some humor
be part of a story
include audience participation
have a magical ending

Most important of all is the skill of the performer. An experienced children’s magician can engage and mezmerize an audience using the simplest of props.

Variety is the key

Children have fairly short attention spans and need to be kept interested. An endless string of magic tricks will not work. Variety is the key. A good children’s magic show includes other activities such as balloons, games, storytelling, puppets etc.

The ability to entertain and delight a group of children for sixty minutes is magic in itself.

Birthday Party Magic to me is not about individual tricks, its about being able to create a magical experience of excitement, fun and laughter. Bringing happiness and making happy memories which parents and children will look back on enjoy long after I have gone!

To Enquire about booking a Magic Show for your Children’s Party ask for a free quotation.

Gerry Anderson Tribute

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Torchy the Battery Boy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Thunderbirds Creator Dies

Most puppeteers will know that during the Christmas season Gerry Anderson passed away at the age of 83, on December 26th.

Gerry, the film and television producer, created a studio that became one of the greatest puppet film organisations that was known throughout the world, and many of the series of iconic programs that were made are still being shown in many countries.

The early programmes such as ‘Torchy the Battery Boy’,‘Twizzle’ and ‘Four Feather Falls’ were typically puppet style figures. Later the series became major works based on international rescue pursuits, featuring more naturalistic characters, curious creatures, and monstrous flying craft. The puppets were often based on well known film stars. It is interesting to know that Gerry admitted that it was a mistake to make naturalistic characters.

Despite the fact that the programmes were made with puppets, he never really liked them; the only puppet that he liked, and did keep, was ‘Parker’, from ‘Thunderbirds’, his favourite series. It was the last puppet character that I created, and the time that I left the studios. Gerry’s ‘Parker’ was sold in Japan for £38,000, the highest price paid at that time for a puppet in an auction; more recently another Parker was sold for £50,000.

The Anderson studios provided many well known puppeteers years of work, making puppets and manipulating them creating them.

The creators of special effects had their own studios and were one of the most talented groups of special effects creators in the film industries, many of them continued to produce masterpieces of special effects for some of the finest major cinema films. The writers and the actors were also some of the leading film and television personalities.
Two years ago, at the last ‘Fanderson Event’, I was invited as a special guest; sadly Gerry was very ill and found it difficult to remember people. The event was extraordinary in many ways, with writers, actors, creators and other specialists involved in the films related to the creation of the various programmes, spent many hours signing books, photographs and other objects. There were remarkable extraordinary hobbyist copies of puppets and the various crafts seen in the programmes. Gerry and the other guests provided talks and interviews to packed audiences. People of all ages, young and old, travelled from many parts of the world to join the event.

It was wonderful to see so many people young and old alike that have, and are inspired by the programmes. Some of the many talented hobbyists ultimately found themselves working in the studios and special effects departments. The ‘Fanderson’ organisation and the world wide following of fans will certainly make sure that the legacy of Gerry Anderson and the team that created the films will continue into the far distant future.

John Blundall
December 2012

Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson dies aged 83
Gerry Anderson: Obituary
Thunderbirds puppeteer Gerry Anderson dies, aged 83

Laughter is the Best Medicine: The Health Benefits of Humor

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THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF HUMOR AND LAUGHTER

Chuckle The Clown

Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use

See Full Article

Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., Gina Kemp, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. Last updated: November 2012.

Hire Chuckle The Clown to bring laughter to your party.

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Birthday Party Clown

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Clown for a Birthday Party

Chuckle The Clown

If you are wondering how to make your child’s birthday party a very special memory that they will never forget then hiring a clown entertainer could be the answer you are looking for.

A clown turns your child’s special day into an exciting magical experience.

Clowns are exciting and fun. Children love their colourful costumes and crazy antics.

Clowns are often multi-skilled and can do lots of fun stuff like juggling, balloon modelling and magic tricks but what makes them different from other entertainers is that they are very silly too!

Children delight in watching the clown get into a muddle. Clowns are clumsy, forgetful, hoplessly incompetent. They get mixed up, they drop things, they walk into things, they fall over and sometimes even fall asleep.

A clown show is more like a pantomime!!!

Clowns are very versatile performers and can work in all kinds of situations. They are perfect for a children’s birthday party but can also entertain in shopping centres at family fun day events, store promotions, fetes, shows and galas.

Clowns can work with children of all ages but they can entertain adults too.

A clown will bring laughter, smiles and happiness to your child’s party.

CLOWN PARTIES ARE FUN!

Looking for a Birthday Party Clown in North Yorkshire or The North East?

Chuckle The Clown covers Richmond, Catterick Garrison, Northallerton, Darlington, Barnard Castle, Northallerton, Harrogate, York and Middlesbrough. He also works in Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham and Leeds areas.

Contact Chuckle The Clown using our enquiry form here.

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Christmas Eve, FREE Show!

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Christmas Puppet Show

Ron with Santa and Rudolph from the Christmas Show.

Jolly Good Productions present:

“Santa’s Busy Day”

A puppet show with magic and lots of festive fun.

The Town Hall, Richmond, North Yorkshire.

Monday, 24th December 2012.

11am to 12 Noon.

All welcome. Ideal for younger children ( 4 – 8 years old ).

Admission is FREE. Donations to the Mayor’s Charity most welcome.

Refreshments available to purchase.

T’Old Hoss

The Old Hoss will perform immediately after the puppet show.

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How to plan a Children’s Christmas Party

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Christmas Party Planning Checklist

Organizing a great Christmas party can be a headache. Use this basic check list to help you plan your event:

Rudolph The Rednose Reindeer and Santa Claus (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

Pick a date.
Estimate how many children and adults will be coming
Choose a venue.
When will the party start and finish?
Decide what entertainment you will have.
Room decoration.
Consider food and refreshment.
Book Santa Claus
Sort out presents for the kids.

Choosing a date for your Christmas Party

There are only two or three weekends in December and as the dates are usually in big demand it is a very good idea to book early unless you are holding the party on your own premises. The most popular Saturday and Sunday will always be on the middle weekend so avoid these if possible. Consider a Friday evening or mid week as an option if you can.

Estimate numbers attending

You will need to get an idea of numbers of adults and children attending and the ages of the children. It is a good idea to send out booking forms in advance to find out who intends to come. If you are spending a lot of money on the party you need to have some commitment from people that they will be there.

Knowing the ages of the children also helps when booking entertainment and food.

Choosing a venue

Here are some points to consider when looking at venues:

Xmas Puppet Show (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

Location. Is it easy to get to.
Parking. Does it have a car park or FREE public parking close by?
Access. Is it easy to get in and out of?
Ground floor? Booking an upstairs room can be a real problem for discos, bands and entertainers with lots of equipment.
Space. Is it big enough?
Seating. Are there enough seats for the adults? Does it have any tables?
Changing area? Is there a changing room for acts and Santa?
Performance area. Where will the entertainment take place ie stage, dance floor?
Does it have a kitchen or a bar?

Party times

When will the party start and finish? Consider these points:

Allow time for everyone to arrive.
How long will the entertainment last?
How long will it take to feed everyone?
How long will it take Santa to give out the presents?
Will there be any more entertainment after Santa has gone? If so for how long?

Entertainment

Are you going to entertain the children yourself or will you book in a professional children’s entertainer?

Entertaining children is very demanding. If you are a teacher or have a lot of experience in working with kids and have other reliable adults to help then you could do it yourself.

If not then you will need to hire in professionals who know what they are doing and are self contained with everything required to do a really good job.

As it is Christmas look for entertainers who offer a proper Christmas Show. Puppets and Magic always go down well and children love to dance and play games so a Christmas disco is also a good idea.

Look for entertainers who can offer a selection of entertainment to appeal to a broad age range.

Decoration

Christmas Balloons (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

Most venues will have Christmas decorations already but you may want to add to this. Balloon decorating is a great way to

create atmosphere. A few eye catching displays can transform the party room. If you do need to put in some Christmas decorations then build this into the budget and allow time for setting up. If you are employing a supplier to do the decorating find out how long they need and arrange access for them accordingly.

Food and refreshment

At the very least you will need to provide tea and coffee for the adults and soft drinks for the children. It is a nice idea to put food on if you can. Children don’t need a lot of food and sandwiches, sausages on sticks, crisps, biscuits and cakes are all that are needed. Keep it simple. For the adults a finger buffet will also suffice. Don’t arrange too much food as it may be wasted.

If your party is mid afternoon people may have eaten before they come. They may also be planning a meal at home afterwards so take this into consideration.

Santa Claus

No children’s Christmas party would be complete without Father Christmas. You will need to sort out a willing volunteer to take on the job and a costume. Alternatively book in a Santa or ask your entertainer if they provide Santa as part of their package.

Presents

At some Christmas parties the adults provide presents for their own children in advance. At others they pay for the presents and the organizers buy the gift for them.

Sometimes all of the children receive the same present or presents can be sorted into boys or girls and then by age range.

The presents will need to be wrapped and put in a sack for Santa to carry. Alternatively place then next to Santa’s chair so they are handy when he makes his big entrance.

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A Fabulous Christmas Party

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Christmas Fun!

We had a fantastic time once again at the annual NSK Christmas Party.

I took the gazebo up on Wednesday morning and when Hazel and I arrived on Friday to start work on the balloon decorations it was all dressed up complete with Santa’s chair and lights. We made four balloon topiary displays and ten sets of foils for the tables.

I arrived at 8am on Saturday morning to open up the doors to the canteen and shortly afterwards the rest of the team arrived.

AR brought all of the games and inflatables and Jolly Good Productions provided the entertainment.

Christmas Characters (Photo credit: ronwooduk)

Our first job was to build the five balloon arches in front of Santa’s grotto. With Emma, Kassie, Joe, Greg, Katrina and me working as a well oiled machine we were soon well under way. Natasha, Becky and Hazel soon joined us so we had plenty of hands on the job and the arches were up in no time.

We then set up the face painting, craft workshop and my puppet show. AR meanwhile had set up the bouncy castles, soft play, side stalls, vision racers, Wii games, and the Football game.

All set by 9.45am and looking good. Time for a bacon butty and a cuppa before the guests arrived.

The party started at 10.30am and there were over 130 children with parents, friends and family too. Santa arrived with Rudolph and the party was soon in full swing. The side shows an stalls stopped at 12 noon for my Christmas Show and opened again at half past.

By 1.30 pm every child had seen Santa, the families had been well fed and entertained and everyone left feeling happy.

It had been a lovely event and we are all looking forward to next year!

Mr Punch’s Xmas Party
Christmas
Dear Santa, Here’s a List of Great Christmas iPad Apps for Kids | PadGadget
Follow that elf and find spirit of Christmas

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Mr Punch’s Xmas Party

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Christmas Punch and Judy Show

Imagine the fun when Judy decides to hold a Christmas Party and leaves Punch in charge of the baby whilst she goes to do the Christmas shopping. Will Punch behave himself or will he get into trouble when Judy comes back. What will Mr Punch get for Christmas and will he be asleep when Santa Claus comes down the chimney?

This special Christmas Punch and Judy Show is ideal for any Christmas Party or Christmas event. It has all the knock about fun that children love but with a festive theme and of course a lovely Santa Claus puppet for even more excitement.

To arrange a booking or to find out more call 01748 821621 now.