Child Time Magic

New Website coming

2011-11-10T10:09:00.000-08:00

We are changing the web site to reflect that we will be "the one stop" place for ALL of your Birthday party entertainment.

Why do Silly Magic?

2011-06-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Why do silly magic? Children love to be entertained. Children love clowns, magicians, face painters, ventriloquist, and jugglers. But no matter what they love to be entertained. We can use magic as an art form of entertainment.

My name is Louis the Magician. I perform at the Magic Party Place in Vienna, VA. Over the past 10 years, experience has taught me that what makes children have fun is silly magic. You see silly magic is the type of magic were something bad usually happens to the magician. For example, one time when I was performing I actually tripped and dropped one of the props I was using and the kids laughed and laughed, even though it was an accident. So what I learned was that that makes children laugh. So, the next time I did that magic trick I dropped the item on purpose and included it as part of the show. What ended up happening is as time in has gone by I have learned that children want to just plain have fun and laugh, especially at birthday parties. What they don't like to see are magic tricks that have a lot of build-up, such as talking. The more an entertainer talks the more bored the kids get. Even if the magician is using large scale illusions he or she should get the the point faster for kids. Adults seem to the have the attention span for those type of magic tricks. Children? They simply want to laugh and have fun.

Why Kids Laugh at Magic Shows

2011-03-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

My name is Louis the magician, and I perform at The Magic Party Place in Vienna, Virginia. The answer to what makes kids laugh, is actually very extensive. It has taken me 10 years of experience to figure this out. I started out as a children's photographer over 15 years ago. And during this time it was my job to learn how to make a child smile. In that time I learned that what kids like to see depends on the age but mostly its silly stuff. If you take 4 to 6 year old child they are going to want to watch the silly magic trick. You can do something very magical that takes a lot of great technique but it doesn't seem to work for children of that age. Then, as they get older, the more magic the better and it seems to work. So, with trial and error, when I perform for them at my party location in Vienna, Virginia I have learned what kids like to see.

Birthday Parties are a great time to try out my new magic tricks. Because the children are going to be entertained either way but what I've been able to do is figure out what magic tricks work and what magic tricks do not work. There's a lot of magic out there that tends to be scary for children. I completely stay away from this type of magic.

So in summary, what makes kids laugh? When anything bad happens to the entertainer, when children see what the magician doesn’t see, and when the entertainer has “clown-like” techniques. My party place is conveniently located in the heart of Vienna, VA.

Making Magic in Vienna

2011-03-21T14:23:00.000-07:00

Louis Meyer was ten years old when his grandparents took him to Disney World. There used to be a magic shop on Main Street in those days and Meyer’s grandparents brought him into the store where he bought his first magic set. Back home in Cincinatti, his mother found a magic shop that taught magic tricks, as well as the sale of tools of the trade. A year later, he joined the shop’s kids’ group, the Counts of Conjuring.
That was the beginning of a life-long passion for magic. Now, Meyer performs his magic shows in his newly opened Childtime Magic Party Place on Dominion Road.
"Magic is very hard to learn at first because there are a lot of basic techniques you have to master," Meyer said. Some magic tricks have gimmicks, he explained, a tool that is necessary to make the magic work. Other magic tricks have no gimmick and are totally dependent on the magicians and their skills. A levitating table is one such.
"When you first start out, you use gimmicks a lot," Meyer said. "Then, the more you learn, you realize you don’t need gimmicks, that you can really do the stuff on your own."
CHILDTIME MAGIC’S party package includes 25 minutes of physical play on the venue’s inflatables, a 45-minute interactive magic show starring the birthday child, and 45 minutes in the party room. The centerpiece of the theater is a draped stage reminiscent of olden days. Three levels separate the three components of the birthday party package.
For Angelique and Chris Bennett, of Vienna, who hosted their son’s birthday party at Childtime Magic, the money was well-spent. A colleague of Chris Bennett’s recommended Childtime Magic.
"I loved it," said Angelique Bennett. "It had the right mix of magic and humor. He [Louis the Magician] kept the kids entertained."
The magic show brought out laughter and shouts from the children sitting cross-legged on the carpet while parents sat behind, themselves laughing, in chairs. Abbot the Rabbit and a white dove made guest appearances.
Jeremy Bennett, celebrating his sixth birthday, said he was excited about magic and the magic show. As much as he liked the moonbounce, Jeremy said his favorite part was the magic show. Meyer presented Jeremy, as the birthday celebrity, with his own Louis the Magician magic set. In the party room, Jeremy was showing off the box’s contents. His friend and classmate, Denison Sisson, also said his favorite part of the party was the magic show and that he planned on learning the magic tricks printed on Meyer’s funny money.
Meyer drifted away from magic when David Copperfield became so big in the industry that Meyer concluded that you had to be a David Copperfield to earn a living.
Meyer was working professionally as a children’s photographer when he re-caught the magic bug about 11 years ago. He continued to work photography during the week and performed magic on weekends.
Meyer performed his first kids’ birthday party show in December 1999. "The kids loved it," said Meyer. "They loved what I did. They had a great time. I realized that the experience I had with kids, working as a children’s photographer, making them smile for pictures, really paid off at the kids’ show."
The toll of working seven days a week forced Meyer to make a career decision.
"To be a good children’s photographer, you had to immediately becomes friends with the kids, and there are techniques to get them to smile, not be afraid," Meyer said. "When I did my first kids’ birthday party, I realized that all the skills I learned in ten years of photography came into play. I decided kids’ magic was my forte."
Childtime Magic is ten years old. Even as Meyer traveled from house to house to perform for children’s birthday parties, he had a goal in mind. He wanted to open a permanent location where the parties came to him. He recognized that, while a few other businesses offered games and inflatables, nobody offered a facility that featured children’s magic and inflatable play equipment. Meyer lives in Alexandria but when he looked at a map, he saw Vienna as a central location. He performed at ViVa! Vienna! on several occasions.
"Vienna is really the only little town in Northern Virginia," said Meyer. "I’ve done tons of shows in Vienna and I knew the environment. It seemed to be family-friendly."
As magic shops have slowly disappeared from the retail scene, aspiring magicians have lost the human teacher. Learning magic tricks from a set is difficult, Meyer said. "Nowadays, with the internet used for everything, magic shops are rare. It’s harder to learn magic without having a mentor to teach you techniques."
The Washington, D.C. chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians is one of the largest chapters in the world with its 110 members. The chapter meets monthly where members share techniques and learn from guest magicians.
While heading the D.C. chapter as president in 2008-2009, Meyer recognized something was missing, kids. He recalled the kids’ group he was part of when he first started learning the trade, the Counts of Conjuring, and developed a kids’ group in the D.C. area, which he nostalgically named the Counts of Conjuring.
In mid-February, Meyer introduced a daytime open play time at Childtime Magic. Children have use of the inflatables for a fee of $10, any time between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
IN THE WORKS, currently, are plans to offer afterschool magic lessons for youngsters. A one-week summer camp for 7 to 15-year-olds is planned as well.
For those children who cannot wait for the afterschool program or summer camp to begin, there’s free membership in the Childtime Magic Birthday Club. Each month, the child receives an e-mail with an instructional video from Louis the Magician. Childtime Magic offers the birthday member a discount on the party magic show booking.
Meyer no longer travels to house parties; he performs exclusively at the Party Place. Magician Kevin McGuire performs on the road.
By:Donna ManzConnection Newspaper

How to Choose an Entertainer

2011-03-18T08:50:00.001-07:00

A lot of people ask me what type of criteria they should use to choose an entertainer. The first thing that you need to think about the age of your child. If your child is 2 years of age or younger then I do not recommend hiring paid entertainment. The children just will not understand the type of magic or clowning or face painting that is going on. Instead of choosing any type of paid entertainment, if you have a child that's 2 years or younger, I would recommend that you provide the entertainment yourself. In other words, maybe hire a moon bounce company or play games with the children; anything that keeps them active for approximately 90 minutes will work. Then, when they reach at least age 3 you can hire paid entertainment.

Now, for 4 to 6 year olds, they love paid entertainment. So at that age you can have a magician, clown, or any type of paid entertainer would work. Also there are costumed characters like Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Sponge Bob, etc. So 4 to 6 year olds are the best for bringing in entertainment. Now 7 to 10 year olds are starting to get a little bit more refined. So you can't do the same type of entertainment that you would for 4 to 6 year old, with the few exceptions. One being the magician, you can hire a magician for 7 to 10 year olds, but they must perform a magic show that's appropriate for that age. If they tried to do the same magic show that would work for 4 to 6 year olds with the kids they would not like it. And the same goes for 10 years on up. Now at this point you're looking at more like a teenager type party. This is just a little bit different and you can do a magic show but if they have to be something that's going towards an adult type magic show. You could also do face painting, glitter tattoos, or even a DeeJay.

Magic shows for party places that are age appropriate

2010-11-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

When I do magic shows for kids the first thing that's super important is the age of the kids watching the show. What are the ages of the children that are going to be watching the magic show? One mistake the magicians make is doing magic tricks for small kids that go over their heads. For example, if you did a magic trick with playing cards for children from age four to six they just would not understand that type of magic trick. Same goes for if you did a magic trick for older kids that seemed silly or funny for them because they're just too grown up now. It wouldn't work for them. You would have to do the silly funny stuff for the children that are a little bit younger, approximately age four to six. In addition, if you did a magic trick during the magic show that was scary. Like some magicians will do a magic trick where they will take a sword and stick it through a child's next. While this may work for children who are eight and older, it definitely would not work for the younger kids. So you have to find a good magician that can do a magic show that is good for the age of the children that are going to be viewing the show.

How to Entertain Kids at a Parties

2010-06-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

How to Entertain Kids at Parties

Kids aren’t as easy to please as they were ten years ago. Nothing seems to amaze them anymore. They have literally seen everything and even if they haven’t, they can go to youtube to check it out. With entertainment literally available at their fingertips, what could you possibly give your kids that he can’t search on youtube? Here are some birthday party ideas that are sure to entertain your child and his friends.

Well, you can try to give him what he wants. Birthday party experts (and by birthday party experts, this means kids) agree that the best children’s party are activity filled. Active participation is the best way to keep a child entertained. If you plan to hire a birthday party magician then he should be one who asks for volunteers. Whether you live in Virginia and is looking for a Virginia magician or if you are from Maryland and is looking for a Maryland magician, you should find the best magician in town to perform a birthday party magic show to keep your kids entertained.

Balloon castles are also fun. If you have the budget to rent a castle and if you have the space, a balloon castle will entertain children’s aged 5 and up. Even adults occasionally have fun jumping around in balloon castles. Just make sure that there are adults around to supervise the kids to make sure that any accidents or rough housing will be kept to a minimum.

Kids also love prizes. The prizes you give away at birthday parties need not be expensive. You can give away sweets, toys, trinkets and other things similar in nature. Make sure that the prizes you give away is age appropriate. Don’t give toys with small parts to a child who is just barely out of diapers.

Most kids under the age of eight love balloons. It doesn’t matter if they float or not. Balloons are an essential at every kid’s parties. Remember to give them away after the party to the children who attended. They will love you for it.

Games are also a good way to entertain kids at parties. As what was stated earlier, kids love active participation. Unless your kid is painfully shy, kids usually love playing with each other and competing with each other. Games where you divide kids up in groups are one of the best games your kids can play because it enhances camaraderie among kids.

Girls are especially fond of slumber parties. Slumber parties allow girls to bond with each other and to indulge in their favorite activities without a time limit. Slumber parties are more popular with girls than with boys.

Whatever kind of party you decide to hold for your kid, your child will surely enjoy it if you follow these advices. Remember that you shouldn’t pry too much when your child is playing. You can only control so much. Let your child have fun by himself. Your child will surely have a party that he won’t forget.

The Perfect Birthday Party

2010-06-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

Every child should have a birthday party at least once in their life. It is important to make a child known that he is special enough to celebrate important milestones in his life and having a birthday party is one such way to make him feel special, the more well thought up the birthday party will be, the better. You don’t have to be a birthday party expert to think up of birthday party ideas.

Kids adore magic. This is why hiring a good birthday party magician who can perform a good birthday magic show is well worth your money. You’ll be sure that your child and his guests will enjoy his party.

Themes are also another way to make a kid’s birthday party more colorful. If your child is a girl then a fantasy party will suit her quite well (with her being the queen or princess of course). If your child is a boy, you can give a fantasy party as well, but this time be generous with the knights and dragons. If your child is particularly fond of a television show or a cartoon character then a cartoon themed party would also be fun. If you are going to invite a birthday party magician it would go well with a Harry Potter themed party. It doesn’t matter if you are hiring a Virginia magician or a Maryland magician so long as he fills the part well.

Games and prizes are essential in making a good birthday party. You can play any old game but you should change a few aspects of the game to suit the theme. For instance instead of a trip to Jerusalem, why not call it a “trip to Hogwarts?” Anything can be made to fit the theme of your child’s party. You just have to be imaginative. You should also incorporate the use of a piñata. Children love piñatas.

Don’t forget to make your party suitable for the age of your child. If, for instance, you are hosting a party for a three year old, maybe certain games and themes aren’t suitable for your child.

Serve food that your kid likes. Unfortunately this would entail fried foods and sweets. Make an exception for his special day. After all you have to make his day special. Unfortunately, some of your child’s favorite food might also be messy to eat, not to mention the fact that kids are naturally messy no matter what they eat. For this reason, you should prepare for a big clean up after the party. Expect to clean up a lot of wrapping paper, litter and leftover food.

Remember to have fun when you are organizing your child’s party. Tap the inner child in you and imagine what you would have wanted in your party when you were your child’s age. Ask your child what he wants for his party and make it fit your budget. And if you do get tired from organizing your party, be thankful that it just comes once a year.

Welcome to the new blog

2010-06-10T06:38:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a place where I will give out tips and advice about children's entertainment. Check back often because there will be lots of free information.

Louis the Magician