When doing families in restaurants or other venues, I like putting a lot of comedy in as that's my style.

What are your favorite FUNNY family tricks?

On stage: Supreme's commedy clock surprise
Close up: sponge rabbits or a close up version of hippity hop rabbits.

Jonas Karlsson
Vibono Magic
Sweden

I kind of like the Don Alan Comedy Egg Can Trick. This can be dressed up with lots of comedy props such as an egg beater, parasol, Faucet on head...the list can go on and on as far as your imagination can take it.

Use a good natured dad with a son or daughter helping.

I like to do my comedy linking rings routines, either close-up, parlor or stage. It works in every occasion.

Ludmer,

What comedy routine do you use with the linking rings? Is it a routine that you made up?

My favorite here is the coloring book. I actually start with a Gag Bag that has a mini wand in the zipper pocket. I tell them that I was not always a grown white-haired magician. I started as a short, fat, bald-headed, ugly magician about two feet tall. And this was my first wand. From there I go into my coloring book routine.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

As for Dan's question about the linking rings, I take everything from one-liners to bits from various routines to make my own routine. I hear Whit Hayden has a good one and I like Aldo Colombini's Three Ring Circus. Using a marketed routine will give you a good routine to build on.

I find that my good old trusty spongeballs can get great laughs from a comical situation. There is plenty of room to be both funny as well as magical. You only have to use your imagination to come up with the lines and the humorous situations. so much potential in those little round monsters.

I also like Mike Closes Ooh Ahh bird. It gets a good laugh at the end.

Kids love to see their dad in the spotlight and acting silly. If the kids laugh the parents laugh...that is my rule of thumb.

Baffling Bra is always good in family restaurants!

Now that's funny!

Try it you'll like it.

As Donald Trump would say, "You're fired!"

Anything with goofy props or miscalling animals. I find that kids like to be smarter than the magician. I have found that having a picture of a dog or another animal and calling it a cat or something like that evokes alot of screaming and giggling to which the parents also laugh. I like my needle through balloon routine, and cards across routine (the cards going across are the least important part of the trick for people who are going to ask about card tricks for kids), I love the comedy egg can, vanishing bandana is a winner. As far as restaurants go, sponge balls and my chop cup routine has alot of comedy due to my lil friend melvin who keeps showing up

Sponge balls
ring flite
silk routine
rope routine

"Hello, your name is" plays great for a family show. Has funny props and lots of laughs. I added more props and extended the routine for even more laughs. Goes over great.

~Dan

My "Tricky Bottles" and chick pan routine normally get a ton of laughs. Hopefully, they will both be printed in a Kids Magic booket in the near future. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Anything with gag props, really. Comedy wands, broken scissors, etc.