A magician for a family holiday party in Vancouver can stroll between groups as families arrive, then give a short show with the children sitting up front and the adults watching from behind. Choose one part or both. Time the magic around the food, the gifts and any Santa visit you’ve planned, so nothing overlaps.
A family holiday party, such as a staff party where partners and children come along, or a club, strata or community centre party, puts guests of every age in one room. A magician can give the children a show of their own and still keep the adults watching. Decide which parts of the party you’d like covered. Then send us your date, venue and guest count to compare options with prices from magicians, and we’ll check your date with the one you pick.
Below, you’ll find what to tell the magician about the children, how to fit the show around Santa, food and gifts, what to sort out with your venue and what to have in writing before you pay.
Strolling magic, a short show, or both: which suits your party?
Choose strolling magic if families will arrive over a long stretch, or if guests will mostly stand and chat. The magician moves from one small group to the next, so a family waiting for others has something to watch straight away. The trade-off: small children can miss tricks done at adult height, and nobody sees everything.
Choose a short show if you’d like one moment the whole party shares. The children sit together, the adults watch with them, and everyone reacts at the same time. The trade-off: a show needs a clear space and a pause in the party, and the youngest guests may not sit still for long.
Choose both if your party runs long enough for an arrival time and a sit-down moment. Strolling magic fills the gap while people settle, and the show gives the afternoon or evening a high point. It means more time booked, so it changes the price.
If you can’t decide, describe how your party runs when you send your request, and ask each magician which they’d suggest for your guests.
How does strolling magic work while families arrive?
Ask whether the magician can stroll between groups as people come in, so the first families aren’t left waiting. Ask how they approach a group with small children, and whether they’ll come down to a child’s eye level.
Arrivals at a family party can be spread out. Some families come straight from work or school, and others are still looking for parking on a dark winter evening. Ask the magician how long they’d suggest strolling, so families who arrive late still see some magic before the show.
Tell the magician where people gather first and when coats and boots come off. If families wait in a lobby or a hallway, ask whether the magician can start there.
How do you shape the show for the children’s ages?
Tell the magician roughly how old the children are, and ask how they’d shape the show for that age group. A room of toddlers, a room of school-age children and a room with teenagers in it may each need something different. If the ages are mixed, say so, and ask how they’ll keep the youngest and the oldest watching.
Ask how long the show runs. If many of the children are very young, ask whether a shorter show would suit them better.
Ask how they choose helpers, and how they handle a shy child. Ask whether they check with a parent before bringing a small child up to help.
Think about where the children will sit. One option is the floor or low chairs at the front, with the adults on chairs behind them. Ask the magician how they’d like the room set, and have it ready before the show starts.
How does the magic keep the adults watching?
Parents watch the show too. Ask whether the magician keeps something in it for the grown-ups, such as jokes that work for both ages, and whether they can do close-up magic for adults while the children eat or play.
At a staff party with families, the adults may be colleagues who rarely meet each other’s partners and children. Strolling magic gives them something to talk about. Tell the magician it’s a work party with families, so the humour suits colleagues and children alike.
Ask whether any trick borrows a guest’s phone, ring or watch, and how they look after it.
Where should the show go in your running order?
If Santa is visiting as part of your own plans, or there’s a gift table or a buffet, tell the magician the order of the party. Ask where they’d put the show, for example before the food or the gifts.
Choose a show before the food if you’d like something to gather the children while the food’s set out. Choose a show after the food if guests will arrive hungry, or if the meal comes first in your plans.
Choose a show before Santa’s visit if you’d like the children seated together when he arrives. Choose a show after the gifts if you’d like the magic to close the party. Children holding new gifts may be harder to gather, so ask the magician which order they’d suggest.
Pick one adult to look after the magician on the day. If Santa’s running late or the food’s held up, that person tells the magician, and the show moves to fit. Send the running order a few days ahead, with that person’s name and phone number.
What does the room need for a show?
Tell the magician whether guests sit at tables or stand on an open floor. Ask how much space they need, and whether they’ll want a microphone in a large hall.
Check that every child can see, including any sitting at the back or behind adults. Ask about light too, since tricks done in a dim corner are hard to follow.
If music is playing, agree who turns it down when the show starts. Ask your venue whether the kitchen can keep the noise down during the show.
At home, ask whether a corner of your living room would work for a small group. Clear a space, and move breakable things, pets and the gift pile out of the way before the show.
How do you include guests who’d rather watch?
Some children and adults don’t want to take part. Ask how the magician includes guests who’d rather watch from their seats.
If a child is nervous of surprises or loud noises, tell the magician beforehand, and ask whether anything in the show could startle them. If a child finds crowds hard, ask your venue whether there’s a quieter spot nearby where they can watch from a distance.
If any guest, child or adult, uses a wheelchair, has low vision or hearing loss, or doesn’t like being touched, let the magician know before the day. Ask how they’d include that guest in a way that’s comfortable for them.
Can relatives who live far away join in?
Some families have grandparents or cousins in another city or country. Ask whether the magician can do anything online, and how relatives on a video call would see the tricks.
Choose a separate online show if many relatives will join from away, since a busy room can be hard to follow on a screen. Keep the magic in the room if only one or two people will watch on a phone.
What should you ask your venue?
Your party may be in a community centre, a church hall, a strata amenity room, a restaurant’s private room, your office or your home. Wherever you hold it, ask when the magician can get in, where they can leave a coat and bags, and the latest time the party can run.
On a winter evening, ask where the magician can park near the door, and how long they can stay there while they unload. If it’s raining, a covered entrance helps. If your venue’s outside Vancouver, send the full address with your request, since travel can change the price.
Your venue may have rules for outside entertainers. Ask whether it needs proof of insurance from entertainers. Check with the venue exactly what it needs, ask the magician whether they can provide it, and pass every rule on before the day.
Would a children’s entertainer or a DJ suit your party better?
Choose a magician if you’d like one act that works for children and adults together. Choose a children’s entertainer if most of your guests will be young children and you’d like more games and activities than a show: see children’s entertainers in Vancouver. Choose a DJ if the party should end with music and dancing once the children go home: see DJs in Vancouver.
You can also book two, for example a magician for the afternoon and a DJ for the evening. Two acts cost more than one, but neither has to fill the whole party.
What changes the price?
We don’t publish a range for Vancouver magicians yet; you’ll see a price with each option we send.
The price depends on how long you book, the day and the season, the size of the show and travel. Count the time from the first strolling magic to the end of the show, and include any break in between.
A weekend date, or a date in the holiday season, can cost more. If you’re flexible, ask for prices on a weekday as well. A bigger show, or a second performer for a large hall, adds to the price. A venue outside Vancouver can add travel, so give the full address.
When you compare options, check what each price covers, such as strolling time, the show and the arrival time, so you can compare them fairly.
How do you choose between the magicians we send?
Ask each magician whether they’ve done family holiday parties, how they’d plan yours, and whether there’s a video of a show you can watch. Ask how they’d adapt if the children turn out younger or older than you expected.
Choose the magician whose answers fit your guests best, not only the lowest price. If two options look alike, ask both the same questions and compare the answers.
What should you get in writing?
Before you pay, have these written down:
- your date, the start and end times, and when the magician arrives;
- strolling magic, a show or both, and when each one happens;
- the children’s ages, and anything the show should avoid;
- what the magician needs from the venue, such as space, light or a microphone;
- the running order around the food, the gifts and any Santa visit;
- what happens if the party runs late;
- what happens if you need to change the date or cancel.
If something’s unclear, ask before you book, not on the day.
Questions to ask before you book
- Can you stroll while families arrive, then give a short show?
- How would you shape the show for the ages of our children?
- Is there something in the show for the adults as well?
- How do you choose helpers, and what do you do if a child is shy?
- How much space do you need, and will you want a microphone?
- Can you fit the show around our food, gifts and Santa’s visit?
- When will you arrive, and how long will you need?
How booking works with AGNT
AGNT is a booking company. You send us your date, venue and guest count, and we send you options with prices from magicians in Vancouver. You pick one, we check your date with them, and it’s booked once you’ve paid. If your first pick isn’t available, we’ll tell you, suggest a similar magician, and check your date with them.
Some of the Vancouver magicians you can book through AGNT are Daniel Zindler, Rob Teszka and Vitaliy Savchyshyn. You can see more on magicians for hire in Vancouver.
Frequently asked questions
Will a magician suit both the children and the adults?
It can, if the show’s planned for both. Tell the magician the children’s ages and that adults will watch too, and ask how the show keeps both groups interested.
Should we book strolling magic, a show, or both?
Strolling magic suits arrivals and mingling. A show suits a moment when everyone sits together. Book both if your party has time for each.
When in the party should the magic happen?
Strolling magic fits the arrival time. Put the show where the children can sit together, away from the food service and the gifts, and ask the magician which order they’d suggest.
Can the show have a holiday theme?
Ask each magician, and say what you’d like in your request. Keep any holiday touch light, since your guests may celebrate different holidays.
How do we choose the right magician?
Ask each one whether they’ve done family holiday parties, how they’d plan yours and whether there’s a video you can watch. Compare the answers alongside the prices.
How far ahead should we book?
Book as soon as you have a date, a venue and a guest count. We don’t hold reliable numbers on lead times in Vancouver, so we can’t give a typical one. The sooner you pick, the sooner your date’s checked.
Can relatives who live far away join in?
Ask whether the magician can do anything online, and how relatives on a video call would see the tricks. Tell them how many people might watch from away.
How we put this together
We wrote this from what people ask when they book a magician for a holiday party with families: the show, the children’s ages and the timing. We also opened the guides that rank for this search, answered the questions they raise, and added the ones they leave out. It doesn’t list prices, because they depend on your date, how long you book and the magician you choose. You’ll see prices with the options we send.
Your next step
Tell us your date, venue and guest count, and we’ll send you Vancouver magicians with prices, then check your date with the one you pick: book a magician in Vancouver
Featured photo by Luca Volpe on Unsplash
