Nov_Dec_1998

November/December, 1998
And now, tho1e holiday birthday, ...
(Another in a series of party how-to articles by The New
Calliope's cover clown)
The magic tricks can be subtly or completely changed.
By subtle, I mean to use a trick that you normally would use
By Karen"Peppermlnt" Reinholt
and tie it in to the season with your storyline or patter. For
P.O. Box 13187
example, at a party with a Winnie the Pooh theme, I ask the
Portland,OR 97213
children what color is Pooh Bear's shirt (answer: red). I
It's that time of year again. The holiday season is upon
us and everyone is trimming trees, hanging up stockings or
lighting the Menorah. However, there are still birthday
parties to celebrate. The big dilemma for most parents is to
suggest that we do something nice for Pooh, like make him
a new shirt. I open my sewing bag (change bag) and pull out
a blue silk. The children will tell me it is the wrong color. We
then use their magic to try to change it to red. It usually will
make their child's birthday special enough so
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turn pink or green before we finally get it right
it doesn 't just blend in with the holidays. Let's
and the birthday child pulls out the final silk,
look at several ways you can adjust your party
to add that special touch.
which is red. This is a trick that can be used at
any time of the year with any type of theme.
During the holiday season , I change it to
The first important thing to remember
occurs when you are party planning with the
parent (The New Calliope, November/Deember
1996). It is imperative to ask if they
making a new suit for Santa Claus. The rest of
the trick continues as explained, with the end
resulting in the birthday child pulling out the
final red silk (Santa's color).
want you to include the holiday in your show
or to focus entirely on the birthday. My
Another example is performing a sponge ball
December birthdays are about half and
routine. You begin by asking what color is
half. Half of the parents ask me to stay
Rudolph's nose (answer: red). The sponge
completely away from anything to do with
ball you hold up is black. They'll tell you it is
the holiday season and focus on their
the wrong color , prompting you to ask for
child's birthday only. The other half asks ......_ _____________
their help with magic. Whatever your normal
me to definitely include the holiday, or give me carte sponge ball routine is, the final outcome is producing the
blanche. One thing to remember when asking the parents red sponge ball. You can find instructional books and
during the party planning is to specify "holiday." I learned videos on sponge ball routines from places like Harry Allen's
my lesson many years ago when I asked a mother if she Daytona Magic and Duane Laflin's Magic and Silks.
wanted me to include some "Christmas" magic in the show.
She responded by telling me they were Jewish.
If the parent specifically asks you to focus only on the
birthday, your party can be planned pretty much as you
normally would at any other time during the year. There are
a few things to keep in mind, however. One is the
excitability of the children during this season.There is so
much sugar being ingested that your audience can be
somewhat hyperactive .If the party starts right after school
lets out, parents will sometimes ask whether they should
serve a snack first. I like to recommend a light, healthy snack
before I get there .
Let's explore what can happen when the parents want
you to incorporate the holiday season into your birthday
show. First and most important is not to lose sight of why
you are there : To celebrate a birthday. Don't get so caught
up in the spirit of the season that you forget to honor the
birthday guest of honor. My party scenario remains the
same. The changes I make are with the magic show, the
balloon animals and face painting.
8 The New Calliope
If you want to change completely to holiday magic,
there are a lot of wonderful choices. Some of my favorites
are using a change bag that looks like a Santa stocking, a
Santa Claus climbing down the chimney (there are several
variations of this), Rudolph silks where his nose is missing ,
making an angel halo appear from your change bag to give
to the birthday girl, etc. These can only be used during the
holiday season, but are wonderfully effective in connecting
with the Christmas spirit. And don't forget, you can use
them to entertain at other holiday events like Christmas
office parties , holiday festivals , etc.
When a parent lets me know they are celebrating
Hanukkah, there are a number of fun ways to incorporate
this into your show. As far as magic is concerned , you can
produce the Star of David from a production box or a
change bag. Also , the "Dreidel " is a wonderful game and
song the children can sing along with.
The use of puppets can involve everyone in the
season. My puppet, Tricksy Rabbit, normally lives in a black
hat. However, at Christmas time , he comes up out of a
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