Has anyone thought about or offered a magic lesson to the birthday person as an upsell?

I was tossing around the thought of offering a magic lesson before the party and depending on the child, having them perform a routine. I have worked with kids for many many years including operating a daycare so I would have no problem including a child and coaching an age appropriate routine.

Sometimes the magician is scheduled to perform towards the end of the party and most people leave afterward and the birthday person is available for a lesson

Oriental Trading offers a beginner's kit for $20 and one could add on an additional fee for the lesson.
http://tinyurl.com/65clju
The kit includes a hat and cape.

Obviously this wouldn't fit every situation but the kit could be sold as part of the party package and the child could wear the hat and cape during assisting.

Well... Has anyone? LOL

nope, but looks like a good magic set... (compared to other sets...)

Target has a really good magic set right now for beginners. It is also $19.99. My 6 year old niece loves magic thanks to my daughter so we just bought her this magic set for Christmas-- the best part-- it does come with lessons! I didn't see it on their website, but they have it in stores.

Update: Don't confuse the one I am talking about with some of the other cheesy ones on the shelf! The one I am talking about seems to sell out more than the others. The one I am talking about comes with a DVD and looks less like a toy set compared to the others. It is however, still a beginners set.

That’s a terrific idea.

While in Europe, I would present the Birthday Child with a hand-made magic wand.

I also give out an elegant Magic Certificate to the Child officially naming them a Sorcerer's Apprentice.

A magic trick, magic set or magic lesson is a wonderful idea. I do not perform enough children's shows, but I may work something of this nature into a party package.

My Mother recently went on a Cruise and the Magician on the ship was selling Easy to Learn Magic DVD's. She bought me one not knowing it would do me no good, however I was glad she did. Judging by the quality of this DVD, it was easy to see that the magician made it himself and was teaching magic from Magic for Dummies. He was selling these for $25.00 each and making quite a lot of money.

After the Holidays I will make my own "beginners" DVD and add that to a birthday package for children and adults.

I like the idea of presenting the Birthday child with a Magic Kit. I also present a framed Certificate to the child. Often times, I also perform a Hat Tear and let the child keep the hat.

I wouldn't get that set. Don't teach them the cups and balls or linking rings. They are too good. I found some dollar store magic sets that are ok.

Cenafreak- Why shouldn't they teach kids good magic effects? Isn't it in everyone's best interest to have a future generation of magicians?

I really like the idea of teaching kids magic after their birthday parties. I've offered to do so for a couple years now. It's a great way to get repeat bookings, as well as give the birthday kid a little something extra. I would say go for it, because it will end up being a benefit.

i have to agree that you shouldn’t expose magic like the linking rings. Inspire the children to do effects with objects from around the house. If this sparks an interest then they can seek out magic shops. There are books that teach these effects or you can purchase an instant author kit and make it more personalized.

I believe that giving away magic sets cheapens the art form. Magic is already exposed to much so why increase that exposure?

How is that exposure when you teach a child magic? By that same idea, you learned all of your magic from exposure. Everyone of us have learned magic from exposure. I hope it's easy to see the flaw in that argument.

Incorrect, if someone seeks out the answer then they are open to have it If you are exposing magic as an up sell then this horrible.

That’s why I say you need to teach children the basics with things that can be done with items around the house. Give them the fire to take the next step. If they want to take the step they can or they can leave it. However if you respect this art form then why would you cheapen it by giving them a set. Children need to be led on the right path.

I just read a similar thread somewhere else. I am a huge proponent of teaching kids magic. However, there are tons of great starter magic effects without giving away the secrets to the bread and butter effects.

Then if the kid shows interest then they can take can work their way into the classical material. I would guess that if you gave 10 kids a magic set, 9 out of 10 would just look to see how the tricks are done and never go any further.

I got my start in magic 30 years ago because of a magician at my birthday party.

My mom hired him to perform for my friends and I at my 8th birthday party. When he got there, before he set up he pulled me aside and gave me a present. I unwrapped it to find a trick (the 4 lollipops). He preceded to show me how to use it.

During the show, he stopped and called me up to perform my trick in front of my friends and family. They went crazy and I was hooked!

When I started performing birthday parties, I bought dozens of that same trick and did the same thing. The parents and the kids loved it and I know of at least two kids that I performed for who are now involved in the hobby.

This was part of my gig and I told the parents about it ahead of time so it wasn't really an up sell, but I did have people afterwards ask me about lessons.

I might start doing this, but I would never reveal the cups and balls.

The only people who should be worried about the cups & balls being "exposed" in a begginer kiddie magic set are the ones who still perform the routine that comes with the beginner kiddie magic set. There are are so many C&B routines out there and so many C&B techniques that it is very easy to build or learn a routine that would completely flabbergast someone familiar with the basic kiddie routine. For example, I don't know a of single kiddie C&B set that has instructions which discuss final loads.

C'mon... Bill Malone's C&B routine on the Here I Go Again DVDs actually uses a "kiddie" C&B set but goes way beyond the basic routine! Then there's the Sankey routine which ends with the production of five different sizes of sponge balls... and don't get me started about David Regal's routine in which he closes by producing a full set of kiddie cups and balls from inside of the standard set he used for the entire routine.

Having said that, I hand-pick the effects that go into the birthday kits I provide and do not include a C&B set. However, it's not because I fear exposure; rather, it's because I prefer to give out tricks that require practically no sleight of hand.