I’ve gathered a bunch of kid-pleasing magic tricks that are perfect for a quick performance! Children in kindergartens, daycare centers, and elementary schools all love magic.
Some kids watch intently, some want to know the secret, and others are so amazed they ask you to do it again—there are all kinds of reactions.
In this article, assuming the goal is to delight children, I’ll introduce a variety of tricks—from ones that are truly simple and over in a flash to those that require a bit of setup.
Master them and be sure to perform them in front of the kids!
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Easy magic tricks that delight kids: surprising to watch and fun to try (1–10)
Tulips from a tube
It’s a magic trick where colorful flowers come out of what seemed to be an empty tube.
The secret is to make each tube slightly different in size and pass the smaller tubes through the larger one.
In fact, all the tubes except the largest one—the one you show as “completely empty, right?”—already have flowers set inside.
When you pass a smaller tube through the large one, you’re actually swapping the flowers.
After moving the flowers, if you show the smaller tube, you can create the illusion that none of the tubes contain anything at all.
My thumb came off!?
You could dismiss it as a childish trick, but it might actually be packed with the efforts of adults who experimented with ways to entertain kids without using props.
This finger-severing magic trick is the number one act that uncles in the family love to show, right? The method is very simple.
First, hold out the back of your left hand so the audience can see it.
Then bend the joint of your left thumb to about a right angle.
Next, press the tip of your right thumb against your left thumb so that the joints appear connected.
Hide the connected part with your index finger.
Finally, slide your right hand smoothly, and it will look like your thumb has been torn off!
Magic where a coin moves in an instant
This is a magic trick you can do with familiar items like a pen and a coin! When you tap the coin you’re holding with the pen, it vanishes.
Then, when you open the pen cap, the supposedly vanished coin pops out from inside.
The key to this trick is presentation.
At the exact moment you tap the coin with the pen, you secretly toss the coin to your other hand.
How naturally you can do this is crucial to the trick! It looks really cool when done well, so definitely give it some practice!
stand-up candy
Let me introduce an easy magic trick that’s fun even after you know the secret: the “Rising Candy.” Grab a lollipop and start practicing! First, pinch the stick between your fingers and tilt your whole arm; this makes it look like the candy won’t move easily.
Then, without moving your fingertips, lower your entire arm—the candy will rise.
Before performing, say something like, “I’ll cast a spell!” That’s the key.
Draw the kids in and give them a surprise!
Did the head come off!?
This trick is guaranteed to make people scream the first time they see it—it’s a magic trick where your head pops off! What you need: a towel, a balloon inflated to a medium size, and black embroidery thread.
The setup is actually very simple.
First, sew the inflated balloon onto the bath towel using the embroidery thread.
If you stitch the neck of the balloon, it won’t pop.
That’s all there is to the setup! Next, flutter the towel so the audience can’t see the balloon, and turn your back to them.
Lower your head as much as you can and place the balloon on top of your head so it looks like it’s your actual head.
Then lift the towel up together with the balloon, and it will look like your head has popped right off! It’s a magic trick with a huge impact!
Unbreakable? Envelope Magic
You put a single sheet of paper into an envelope and cut the whole envelope with scissors.
When you take out the paper… amazingly, the paper isn’t cut! It seems mysterious, but it’s actually a simple magic trick you can do with everyday items like an envelope and scissors, and the secret is quite simple.
The trick lies in the envelope.
Cut out a rectangular hole in the center of the back of the envelope with scissors.
From the front it looks like a normal envelope, but there’s a hole about 4 centimeters wide on the back.
This way, when you insert the paper and start cutting, you can slip the scissor blades between the paper and the envelope, so only the envelope gets cut.
It’s a very easy trick, so give it a try!
Pom-pom Magic
It’s a magic trick where you pull the pom-poms attached to an illustration or a device one by one.
You think each pair of pom-poms is linked, but a different pom-pom moves than you expect.
The key is how the pom-poms are connected: instead of being linked straight, the strings are crossed, so all the pom-poms are interlinked.
With a device that makes a target pom-pom move, you can firmly lead the audience to believe in that linkage through the motion, then shift the action to a different pom-pom as a reveal.
Depending on how the back is tied, you can even make non-pom-pom parts move; ending with the head piece moving adds both surprise and humor.
