Magic gifts for beginner magicians: a buyer’s guide
How to pick a gift for a new magician: a kit with lessons, an easy trick or two, and a classic book to grow with.
By The Online Magic Store
· 2 min read
In this story 7 sections
For someone just starting magic, give a gift that teaches as well as amazes. A boxed kit with video lessons, an easy trick or two, and a classic book give a beginner a clear path. Every product detail below comes from the product’s own description.
What makes a good gift for a beginner magician?
Our suggestion: look for three things.
- Teaching included. Video lessons or a clear book, so they’re not left guessing.
- Little skill needed. Something they can show people within a day or two, which keeps them practising.
- Room to grow. A path from easy tricks to real technique.
Which magic kit should a beginner start with?
How to Be a Magician Kit by Ellusionist is a box of 9 secret props and 47 tricks, taught on video by Peter McKinnon, Chris Ramsay and Adam Wilber. Its description says it “starts super easy and moves up as you get better,” and that 38 of the tricks are easy ones you can do anytime, anywhere. It’s for anyone 10 or older, and no experience is needed. Among the tricks: biting a coin in half and blowing it back together, and pulling a silk from a hole in your hand.
What about a beginner who likes mind reading?
How to Control Minds Kit by Peter Turner is a selection of mentalism effects that its description calls “easy, yet powerful,” designed with beginners and working magicians in mind. No prior experience is needed. It includes Peter Turner’s “Midas Touch,” where a spectator feels touched from six feet away, and “Hand Stick,” where a spectator feels their hand is stuck to a table. Its description stresses the techniques are for entertainment only.
Which easy tricks make good stocking stuffers?
- Sandwich Change (Gimmick Included) from SansMinds. The description calls it “completely easy to learn and perform,” with the change happening in the spectator’s own hand and very little sleight of hand needed.
- Catch from Vanishing Inc. A gimmick for vanishing and reproducing small coins, including borrowed ones. Its description says it’s easy to do, and it comes with a 35-minute video tutorial on which handling to use where.
What book should a beginner read?
Royal Road to Card Magic (eBook) by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue. Its description calls it “probably the single most often recommended book on card magic for beginners,” and explains that each chapter teaches the tools first, then tricks you can do with them. It covers the overhand shuffle, the glide, the double lift, the Hindu shuffle and much more, in a 307-page PDF.
For a free start, browse our free ebooks collection.
How do you help them get started?
Our suggestion: pair the gift with a deck from our playing cards collection, and point them to a few free lessons:
- How to practise magic
- How to do the key card trick, a self-working classic
- How to do the overhand shuffle
Shopping for a younger child? See Magic gifts for kids under 10. You’ll find more kits in our starter kits collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good magic gift for a beginner?
A kit with video lessons, such as How to Be a Magician Kit, which has 47 tricks for ages 10 and up and needs no experience.
Is there a beginner gift for someone who likes mentalism?
How to Control Minds Kit by Peter Turner is a set of mentalism effects designed with beginners in mind, with no prior experience needed.
What is a good small magic gift for a beginner?
An easy trick, such as Sandwich Change, which needs very little sleight of hand, or Catch, a coin vanish gimmick with a video tutorial.
What book should a beginner magician read?
Royal Road to Card Magic by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue, a course that teaches card techniques chapter by chapter alongside tricks that use them.
