There But Not There
This is the first time I have organized a party for my kids without me being physically there! Imagine the stress with so many uncertainties.
The pandemic has thrown many things to the proverbial wind, including the entire family’s birthday celebrations from April (Dana’s), to May (David and mine) followed by Buddy’s in June. Since this would be Buddy’s last birthday before starting primary school, I was determined to make it special for him even if it meant a virtual one.
A Pandemic Party Problem
Due to the tight Covid-19 safe distancing measures, we had to adhere to strict government regulations to ensure the safety of the teachers and preschoolers. These measures included:
- The magician cannot be at the party venue, not even for the setup. The magic show had to be performed entirely offsite then ‘beamed’ LIVE into the party venue.
- Parents (i.e. the party hosts), cannot be inside the party venue for the birthday celebration.
- The angle of the cameras must be done right. The class of active preschoolers must be able to see the magician’s tricks clearly AND the magician must see the kids’ response clearly in order for the interactions to be spontaneous.
Mindful of these challenges, I struck gold when I chanced upon Francis The Magician on SPH’s Thumbs Up 拇指家族 (@thumbsuplittlejunior)‘s FB.
The Consummate Professional
During the Circuit Breaker period, Francis was engaged by SPH to perform short magic segments on Thumbs Up 拇指家族’s FB. The kids and I were impressed by his level of magic, which is a combination of street magic and party magic. You can catch some snippets on Francis’ FB.
Right from the onset, Francis thought of creative ways to make the party happen and assured us that he will look into every detail to make it a blast. He made arrangements for a ‘tech dry run’ with Buddy’s preschool teachers through video call, to work out the physical setup of the cameras and laptops so that the party will run seamlessly without any hiccups.
Francis wanted to inject an element of surprise to make the party even more memorable so he passed us a ‘mystery box’ for Buddy to bring to the party while reassuring this set of anxious parents that everything will be ‘a-ok’.
‘A-Class’ Virtual Magic Party
So the big day arrived. Both the hubby and I took leave to watch the party from home. We sent the eager birthday boy to preschool then dashed home to log in using the Zoom meeting code. We could see the sheer anticipation on the kids’ faces!
After ensuring that every kid could see and hear him clearly, the magic show started! Francis, with his chiseled look, looking smart in his bespoke attire and eloquent English accent, reminded us of the suave and slick David Copperfield. For the next 30 minutes, Francis enthralled the kids, trick after trick, each more unbelievable than the last, all delivered artfully in his unique blend of party and street magic style. The magic show ended with a final act where Buddy was told to unveil the content in the mystery box which turned out to be something that Francis had in his hands just seconds ago and now it appeared within the wrapped box! It was a brilliant curtain call that even surprised us parents! Francis then led the kids to sing a rousing birthday song before cutting the cake. Buddy was beaming from ear to ear!
What amazed us was Francis’ ability to interact with the kids despite being physically apart (Kudos to the power of tech and the magician’s ability to connect!). The audience never took our eyes off him. He was so engaging that all of us sat transfixed. Needless to say, we were very impressed. He has brought party magic to a whole new level. Check out Francis’ FB to have a glimpse of his magic powress!
Making Real Magic
When we picked Buddy up from preschool, he was raving non-stop about the magic show as he was so pleased with his party. As parents trying to give our kids some normalcy in this pandemic, we are deeply satisfied and appreciative for what Francis has done – he entertained, enthralled and enthused a room of preschoolers, all without being there physically….now THAT is ‘real magic’; where professionalism and talent came together to make magic happen for the birthday boy. We simply cannot recommend Francis The Magician enough. Thank you for the magic!
Contact Francis The Magician
Website: http://www.francisang.sg/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/francisangyh/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrancisAngYH
Mobile: +65 9023 4024
My twin boy and girl birthday fall in September. I want to win this Zoom Magic Party for them because due to Covid-19, we dare not go out often and they have not many venues to play around. We even forbid them to play at the playground downstairs. We have actually planned to celebrate their birthday at their pre-school this year. This Zoom Magic Party is awesome because they can still have some fun with their classmates while still observing social safety distancing measures in the pre-school. Kids are typically active and this is as much as we parents can do for them without risking them getting the virus.
February! zoom session allows us to have relatives and friends in overseas joining us in the party☺ and it totally provides a different kind of experience not only during this pandemic and in normal times as well. It allows children whose parents have work commitment and is not able to bring the kids to the party venue to attend as well🙂
My younger boy’s birthday on the coming October and he will be turning 3 this year. Hope to win this new experience of zoom experience so that my family can celebrate together with him on this special day.
My elder girl Sept 12 yrs old this year having PSLE and I doubt I can give her anything blast but a zoom magic party would able to give her a surprise as she prefer to stay home for a quite safety small celebration with this zoom party I am sure she can invite all her P6 friends and relatives kids to join with all ages round to have fun! My younger girl in Oct and both would able to have a great magical day at home if I could win this for them!