Magic tricks to liven up a birthday party: Recommended illusions for entertainment and performances
Scenes celebrating the birthdays of family, friends, or a significant other are packed with activities like enjoying a meal and giving gifts.
Some of you may be looking for ideas for entertainment or performances to delight your loved ones.
In this article, we’ve put together a collection of magic tricks that will liven up a birthday party.
Some of them allow for romantic staging, such as ending the magic with a surprise gift.
Use these magic ideas to help make that once-a-year special day feel even more festive.
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Magic tricks that liven up birthday parties: Recommended acts and performances (11–20)
A magic trick where you guess the number someone rolled on a die!
Here’s a magic trick using dice.
Prepare three dice and have someone roll all of them once.
Ask them to remember the total of the numbers shown.
Next, flip two of the dice to their opposite faces and add the new numbers to the original total.
Then hide one of the flipped dice, roll the remaining dice again, and have them remember the new total after adding the numbers shown.
The magician will guess this final number.
The method is simple: just add 14 to the sum of the numbers showing on the two dice that aren’t hidden.
Age-guessing calculation magic
It’s a magic trick where you guess someone’s age after they pick a favorite number from 1 to 9.
By adding, multiplying, and subtracting specific numbers from their chosen number, you end up with a three-digit number.
The hundreds digit will be the number they first chose, and the last two digits will be their age.
The video is the 2024 version, so you’ll need to adjust the numbers to match the year, but it’s a fun trick—be sure to learn it and show it off! Note that it doesn’t work for ages 100 and above, so keep that in mind.
Magic Circle Magic
It’s a magic trick where you instantly break down a number suggested by the audience and write it out.
For example, if the number is 35, you split it into four numbers like “7, 2, 17, 9” or “12, 14, 3, 6.” Anyone can do it if they think about it, but producing it in an instant is the impressive part.
What’s more, you write out four such groups of numbers, and no matter how you add them—by rows, columns, diagonals, the four corners, or the center number—they always total 35.
To pull off this trick, you need to memorize a base set of numbers.
Conversely, once you memorize that, you can instantly break down any number they give you!
Magic where drinks come out of an illustration
Flashy magic tricks are guaranteed to thrill not only kids but adults too! Here’s a trick where a drawn drink turns into a real one.
Draw a picture of a drink in a sketchbook and make a slit at the top.
Hide the real drink behind the sketchbook, then dramatically produce it through the slit! The mechanism is simple, so anyone can try it easily.
Practice your presentation, and wow everyone during the performance!
A coin passing through a glass
This is a simple yet astonishing magic trick using a glass and a coin.
You lightly tap the coin against the bottom of the glass, then make it look as if it passes right through.
In reality, the key lies in nimble hand movements.
The closer you are to the audience, the greater the surprise.
It’s easy to prepare, making it perfect for a birthday surprise.
Why not liven up a loved one’s special day with a little bit of wonder? Once you learn the steps, you’ll find it’s surprisingly simple—give it a try!
Magic Candle
Speaking of birthdays, we think of celebratory cakes—but this is a candle flame magic trick for the cake.
As everyone sings Happy Birthday, you prompt the person to blow out the candles, but the surprise is that the flames don’t go out at all.
It’s recommended for those who want to add a bit of comedy rather than a straightforward celebration.
Magic tricks to liven up a birthday party: Recommended acts and performances (21–30)
Canned juice floats.
Speaking of birthday parties, it’s common for everyone to get together and have a party, and of course you usually prepare plenty of food and drinks.
Here’s a floating magic trick that uses a can of soda.
The secret is a bit funny, so I think it’s something everyone can enjoy together with lots of laughs.