So I did a quick search and unless I missed it there has not been a post regarding endings to your kid show in some time. The reason I bring this up is because I just ended my weekend with 3 kid shows and ended all three with The Assisstant. I am thinking of changing the end of my show and was just wondering what some of you used/ thought good endings my be. I do not have a chair suspension so won't be ending the show with that anytime soon. Also this is meant for in the average house so no snowstorm either.
Thanks!
Magic Joe
http://www.amazingmagicjoe.com

I usally end it with my duck pan. making the kids magic candy.

Joe,
I used the word “finale” when searching in the Little Darlings section and got 10 results. This should keep you busy for a while:

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/searc......=7410268

Candy and treats are always a big hit but ever since a magician friend was sued by a spectators mom I stopped doing it. The child either choked or had a food allergy. It is better that you make arrangements with the host that you will magically produce the candy etc. that SHE buys to give out. Just my 2 cents worth.

I always end my kids show with a Chair Suspension.

Dan.

Which one was it?

If it is a birthday party I end by calling up the birthday child, making them a special balloon, and singing a silly song while I do it. But for other shows I end on my talking dog. Hard to follow that.

Of course, to each his own, but for me it's ending my show with a 3 trick routine. First there is a production of a rabbit puppet, from a production box, and then the rabbit wringer, and lastly the production of a real bunny from a circus wagon.

Impossible to follow this with anything else. The kids are dying to pet the bunny.

If it's a show for younger children (pre-K), I end with the coloring book. This is partly because it's a fun routine in which they all participate (but none of them on stage), and partly because if I pull that thing out any earlier in the show I start losing the adults.

Back in the day, I would close with a Flying Carpet. I got sick of lugging it around so I dropped it from my act back in my late teens. I then decided to close every show with Snowstorm (yes...in living rooms) with permission from the client prior to doing it. If they said no to Snowstorm, then I would end with Gypsy Thread to music. I no longer perform Snowstorm now b/c it doesn't really fit my act anymore...on a rare occasion maybe...but rare if ever.

Depending on the show I'm doing, I'll end with Ken Scott's Magician Blendo routine or if I'm doing Balloon Art after my show, then my closer is the Doggie Bag b/c it's a nice segway from one skill to the next.

Daycare show: I close with a floating table routine, then whip off the tablecloth and show that it has the words "THE END" on it.

Birthday party: The chair suspension with the birthday child

Stage-show: used to be snowstorm, but now I close with the gypsy-balloon, and the monologue is especialy well-received at Give-Kids-The-World.

The reason I finish with the vent (for non-birthday shows)is that the focus is on me as a performer at the end - no distractions with rabbits, illusions, flash, etc. I have done the show; the focus should be on me at the end. (That is not vanity; substitute yourself for me).

For birthday parties I end with a balloon routine. Again nothing magical. I sing a silly song and lead the birthday cheers. Again the focus is on me, and on the birthday child. That is where the focus should be.

The ending of your show is not so much a climax as a conclusion. That is why my ending is never big and spectacular.

I'd stop asking what others are doing and choose amongst your own material and do what you feel is the best option for a closer.
If you're not sure, just be patient... something will "become" your closer automatically after many shows.

The last thing you want to start doing is spending money on other people's version of what they think a closer should be.

...at the moment, my end of show is a "That's All Folks" silk from Tim at Wonder Imagery! The birthday kid sticks his head thru, and voila! Great photo op for Mum or Dad! I see Tim has a similar "Happy Birthday" silk now... that may be a future purchase.

http://www.timsonefelt.com/sonefelt_prod......y-blendo

I probably wouldn't bother with the blendo, cos it's not my thing... but I'd probably use the other silks for something else.

Snowstorm for me! If that's not possible, torn and restored newspaper or rocky the raccoon. As you can see I don't have a rabbit yet.

I had been closing with a "magic candy" production (see Bowers above), but have recently been ending with the Incredible Suit Jacket Escape to great response.

I usually close with Peanut Butter & Jelly. I get them so wound up with it that they are on the verge of attacking me to prove that they did switch. It's a riot. It's the routine on David Kaye's site.

It is interesting to see what others choose as closers for their show. Since our individual performance style is unique to each of us, there are endless possibilites for closers.

The chair suspension is quite popular and one I have seen many magicians use....some successfully, and some not so much.

At the end of the day there is no right or wrong answer here. Like Frank said, you gotta find what works for you.

Ultimately, it is your audience that will eventually determine your entire act. They will let you know what does and does not work.

~Nanci

I always close with my snowstorm routine. The kids are having such a good time, that the parents could care less about the paper.

I close with a live rabbit production, the birthday child will wave a wand and the kids will wish for a rabbit; I let the kids know that it has never worked before and I have never produced a rabbit, and maybe the birthday child waving the wand can make it happen.

After two failed attempts the rabbit appears and the birthday child is given a wild cheer; then we do it again and another rabbit appears and the birthday child gets to pet one as the others share petting the remaining rabbit