It’s a bit of a tradition in our family to have a Magic Party for each child’s 5th birthday…driven by the fact that my Dad is a hobby Magician!
He has an awesome Magician’s robe, does beautiful magic shows and grows a pretty authentic wizard beard, worthy of the name Sigurd the Wizard.
In prep for the big party this weekend…I was making Magic Boxes and Magic Wands as their loot bags all last week!
If you have a budding magician in your family…I present the DIY Dollar Store Magic Box Tutorial!
More pictures of the party will be posted this week!
This is the really nice Dollar Store box I found…in various colors: green, purple, blue and yellow. I bought 12 of them!
I started out painting the inside of each box black, but quickly learned how the paint would scrape off with the slightest play.
I then created a black Bristol board lining, cutting individual panels, taping them together with electrical tape and ensuring that they fit snugly inside the box. I made the special divider wall out of a (scored and) folded piece of Bristol board, the 2-ply piece strong enough to form a new wall. The bottom lining of the box is one Bristol Board square.
This first set became my template to measure the other 11 sets of pieces to line each box!
The remaining 4-panel pieces of lining for the walls of the boxes were each made of one piece of Bristol Board , scored (cut ever so lightly on the outside of the fold for a crisp corner) and the seams of the corners were covered with a line of electrical tape to keep the inside look consistent.
The 2-ply Bristol board divider was edged with electrical tape and secured to the bottom panel of the box lining with electrical tape. It is positioned at about 1/8th of the length of the box. All edges are covered with electrical tape so that the corners look consistent inside the box (even with the secret divider wall).
The bottom panel (with divider wall taped in place) is set into the box. The 4-panel lining is positioned against the inside walls of the box and secured in place with electrical tape at the top, covering the seams.
I purchased a white fake silk scarf from the dollar store and cut it into 12 pieces for a 9″ square silk to place in the hidden compartment.
Placing the white silk in the little compartment and holding the divider wall against the outer wall of the box, the lid is closed and tapped with a painted dowel Magic Wand: the box is opened and the box looks empty!
(Yes, there is a tiny piece of silk poking out in the picture…I’m sure that that’s there just to remind you how the trick works)
The DIY Magic Boxes were a little time consuming to make, but I did get faster at it as I went along! Sigurd the Wizard gave a Magic Box Tutorial to the kids once they picked out their box, so they all learned how to make their white silk disappear!
As they went off to play and eat cake…chocolate coins, a deck of playing cards and super glitter magic star stickers (to decorate their box) magically appeared before they left with their loot boxes, magic wands and plastic black top hats! They had just enough time to sword fight with the wands, but no one lost an eye so I guess it was ok.
It was a really fun party…but I’m kinda tired! I’m sure I’ll be posting more pictures of the party…later this week from my favorite photographers at the party!
Here’s Bridget’s Magic Party from a few years ago!
I needed to thank you for this very good read!! I certainly enjoyed every little bit of it. I’ve got you book marked to look at new things you post