Montessori Birthday

· Leave a comment ·

“Thanks Owen. It was great having you here. Look forward to more. You were amazing.”

Chawla Family, Niagara Falls

Most of my birthday party magic shows are in private homes. Occasionally rec centres or church halls and every now and then kind parents think outside of the living room.
Last Thursday the parents of a 6 year old girl decided to share the fun with her Montessori school mates by holding her birthday magic show in the gym at Pathways Academy shortly before dismissal. A treat to end the school day.
After setting up I had a few minutes so I snapped pics of these fun wall paintings encouraging different kinds of physical activity.
Four shown but others included Wiggle, Jog, Spin, Dance, Tiptoe, and Slink. I had to look slink up in the dictionary. For this PE context (gliding steps) it checks out…!

Postal Magic?

· Leave a comment ·

Saw this news item being re-posted all over Facebook but, as the original story is from the CBC, I figure it’s legit.

Fred, a WW2 vet soon to turn 100, is requesting cards for his birthday.

Click here for the original CBC story.

Some of these types of ‘feel good’ pieces are bogus or long out-of-date but this one rings true so what the heck, I’ve got a stamp and card to spare!
If you’re reading this before March 6, 2020 you can deliver a little postal magic too!

My magic chair…

· Leave a comment ·

I always touch base with my birthday moms a few days before the show to say hello and review details. At that time I usually request a folding style chair be made available for my use.
Used while setting up and helps me get down closer to eye level with the kids for a couple of bits in the show.
At this recent party the artistic birthday girl went all-in leaving no doubt which chair was for me. She even added the (often overlooked) exclamation point to Mr. Oh!
Love it when I see this type of kid engagement. Not surprisingly this party was a joy to perform at.

Family Friendly Fun!

· Leave a comment ·

Birthday shows are for the kids but I love it when the adults stick around to watch. It can make the show truly family friendly fun.

At one recent birthday party, a return visit for a now 8 year old girl, there was a lovely gaggle of family and friends present. These ‘big kids’ enjoyed the show too. It doesn’t happen every show but when it does there’s an extra layer of fun to be had; subtle jokes and gags I can toss in to keep the big kids on their toes.

Received a lovely email from this birthday party mom afterwards which included pics of adult reactions to birthday magic shenanigans. Don’t get these types of pics very often so, with mom’s permission, I’m sharing here.

Also, as noted on my birthday party services page, ‘bunny banner’ photos are taken by party hosts to share with parents. And, if the family pooch is chill, it can get one too…!

Auto magic?

· Leave a comment ·

Was at the grocery store the other day and saw this quirky ride in the parking lot. It was hard to miss.

Reminded me of another bedazzled vehicle so I dug through my photos and found this. Same license plate, natch!

HALLE must be only part way through decorating her new ride. I can still see the truck! Of course, I may need to update this blog post in 2 years…!

Pick a Card…

· Leave a comment ·

Was watching a webcast not too long ago and business cards came up. Are they still relevant in our digital age? The webcast host seemed to think so.

Haven’t actually had one for quite a while but motivated by the webcast I decided to play with an idea I had of splitting my top hat graphic. So I purchased a ‘gig’ on Fiverr.com.

Fiverr is a listing site where people all over the world who do digital jobs hang out a shingle. From business card design to Photoshop work, voice overs and much more. I’ve purchased about 75 gigs on Fiverr over the years with generally good results although there have been a few spectacular dogs along the way too. Caveat emptor!

After perusing a few pages of business card offerings I bought a gig from this chap in Peru. I sent him my rough sketch and this mock up arrived about a day later:

I liked the look. Didn’t request any revisions to his design. A happy Fiverr experience!

Next purchase was 500 biz cards from online printer Vistaprint. I use them regularly and they usually do a good job. This was the result:

Trimmed the bottom two with a corner rounder myself just to see what it looks like. Square or round, which corner look do you prefer?

So, if I’m at your house for a birthday party magic show, you now know the story behind the wee pile of business cards I might ‘accidentally’ leave behind!