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Hi Folks,
I mostly perform close up coins 'n' cards magic. However I've now been asked to do 'something' at the kids xmas party at my fire station.
Has anyone got any recommendations for suitable tricks that I can work on for the next few months? There will be between 30-40 kids (help!!!) all between the ages 5 to 9 (give or take). I reckon on hopefully doing about 10-15 minutes (before I pass out with the strain...).
Any tips, ideas, gags, etc.. will be gratefully received!! Oh and I don't mind spending a bit of dosh and I've done a good bit of puppeteering in the past if that helps...

Ooh, 5 - 9 year olds. Dodgy age group. Too old for silly magic, too young for cards, coins and mind-reading. They'll want to know how everything works, will try to rip your props apart and if they've had sugar will be uncontrollable.

My advice is to have one of your powerful hoses ready to disperse the little sods.

I'm sure somebody will be along in a short while to offer sensible advice. personally I think a blazing house would be preferable to 30 eight year olds. They're the devil's spawn. If it all goes pear shaped just set off the alarm and leg it.

sponge balls could work well as could silks. I guess that anything bright and visible is the way to go.

Haha, now you've got me worried!!
Sponge balls is a great idea though... everyone loves them don't they?!

another idea, how about a miser dream using sweets? Or some other sweets production?

I have performed at Christmas for the past two years to a similar agegroup in a school

Lady of Mystery is right about sponge balls. Goes down well.

Don't forget the simple TT silk vanish but add a bit to it, the first couple of times push it out of your hand on to the floor and pretend you have vanished it. Get the kids shouting out to you.

I have Metamorpho spots which I bought from Mike Danata - a changing the handkerchiefs from plain black and plain whiche to spotted - there is a bit of Tommy Cooper in this I always feel, again goes down well.

Magic colouring book is another winner, you can make up your own story and ways to get the colours in and out of the book.

I recently bought an appearing bouquet of flowers, I have only used it once on a group aged from three to eight and it worked well enough. Again I got this From Mike Danata.

The Magic Egg can has an element of potential slapstick about it, it does need a bit of pre show work but if you can get a known adult to be the victim it is good. It was easy at school, I used a teacher.

I am at work at the moment so can't go and review my stuff, I will have look when I get home and get back to you if I can come up with any more.

Got one. Cups and balls! I am not great at it myself although I have a Michael Ammar DVD I am studying because I think it should be a strong kids effect.

Also if you can weave in a bit with D Lites kids love them as well.

Will get back to you. Oh and puppet work is good as well.

What a chaotic answer! Hope it helps

A good rope routine would go over well with that age group. I usually do cut n restored, double cut and professors nightmare for a short rope routine.

If the lighting is adequate a good d-lite routine would work as well. To add to Lady of Mystery's comment, you can also do a meisers dream with d-lites. Rocco shows it on his d-lite demo.

Big D

pick up a copy of mark wilsons complete course most of the make at home magic will work at a party.
as said keep it simple and bright, get two pringles tubes and stick them back to back and cover with fablon or wrapping paper. fill one end with sweets and the other end with silks, ribbons or anything else you can make up from material.
use as opener, pop off top lid and wave ahnds over top and pull out your silk / material stuff, they won't be too impressed so offer to make them vanish, stick em back in and turn tube around, open lid and proffess that there gone, if there in a receptive mood you can go for the oh no it isnt / oh yes it is speech, finaly to prove ther gone tip out all the sweets into a bowl for the little darlings to have if they behave and for your assistants during your other tricks.

Many thanks for all the replies so far.... You've gone a long way to alleviating my fears. In fact I'm nearly looking forward to it!
Off to my workshop now to mess about with some pringle tubes!!

Card's are generally not a good idea in my experience with one exception - a svengali deck. I find it goes down a storm if you play it like you're confused that they keep picking the same card, as if they are doing the magic to 'mess up' your performance.

Sponge balls are always well received. Cup and balls has to be short and punchy with plenty of visual productions or they lose interest quickly - in a close up performance they will constantly want to lift the cups themselves. Hose required as has previously been suggested

I would agree that cards wouldn't work well. The younger ones won't understand even the basics about cards, like the names of the suits or that there is only one of each card in a deck. Now that families don't play cards so much, even the nine-year-olds might be shaky on this sort of thing.

I've seen ads for card tricks using things like animal picture cards. If you have some decent clip art around, you could print up some animal cards for a quick visual card trick.

Popular cartoon characters should go down well. They should be liked by the whole age range and both boys and girls. The number 1 name that comes to mind is Spongebob Squarepants, who has universal appeal.

Burps, farts, underpants, bogeys, etc. are perpetually popular sources of laughs at this age.

colour changing kings to aces can work with the young, but using the same principle with animal pictures getting them to make the sounds works even better, end with them turning to sheep ie following the crowd.

Dust of the classics, and present them well. A simple sponge routine, a cups and balls or chop cup routine, professor's nightmare, maybe a linking rings routine if you have one. There's lots of stuff in mark wilson, but i would avoid the magic colouring book for that age group, a lot of them will probably have already seen it. 30-40 kids is actually a nice size of audience to perform for, they often play of each other, and laughter often spreads more. Good luck!

Definitely Profs. Nightmare....You might, it's probably been mentioned to you already, get Fulve's book on rope magic. It's a great book with cheap tricks.

It's not magic but children like it, if you make animals (or a sword) with balloons (I don't know how it is called properly in english). It takes you perhaps 30 balloons training but then you can make some different animals in less than 30 sec.
Maybe there are some ways to include it to magic but I don't think it's necessary.

P.S.: Don't try to pump the balloons with your mouth. It'll hurt.