Magic Kits For 10 Year Olds: The Ultimate Buyers Guide

Finding magic kits for 10 year olds is a difficult job!

This isn’t because there isn’t enough choice, it’s actually the opposite.

There’s WAY too much choice!

Amazon alone has over pages and pages of different magic ideas, gifts and all kinds of fun stuff for kids, and the problem is, they all look the same! How are you meant to know which is the best when there’s so much choice?

Today I will be focusing on THREE of these magic kits for kids aged 10+, and explaining what you should be considering before you buy them.

Before we start…

Why magic?

In my (biased) opinion, magic is one of the best hobbies to get your child going with at a young age for a few reasons.

Firstly, it can be a real confidence booster for otherwise shy kids. I know when I started doing magic I wasn’t a big fan of getting out there and interacting with other kids, but eventually I got bored with just doing magic for the mirror so I had no other choice to.

I quickly realized that magic is a great way to socialize and break the ice. Who doesn’t love magic?

Secondly, it can really help a child with their communication skills.

9/10 magic tricks are going to require the magician to talk to his audience; ask them things, tell jokes, and just generally interact well with them.

The more magic you do, the better you get at communicating well with your audience. And guess what? That skillset transfers over into your day-to-day life too!

Finally, it’s just so much fun! Magic is a great hobby because not only is it awesome to watch, it is really fun to learn and perform. It’s a win-win!

There’s nothing like the feeling of completely fooling someone and taking their breath away, and it’s a feeling that any child can get with just a little practice and the help of one of the following magic sets.

So if your child is wondering how to learn magic tricks, don’t hesitate, go for it!

Let’s get into it!

The kits I’ll be looking at today:

• The Penn and Teller Fool Everyone Magic Kit
• Jumbo Magic Tricks Set for Kids
• Jim Stott’s ‘Ultimate Magic Kit’

Pick 3: The Penn and Teller Fool Everyone Magic Kit

Best Place to Buy: Amazon

Difficulty: Easy (10+)

WOW Factor: 10 (Just because it’s PENN AND TELLER)

Quality: 7

Availability: 7

Overall: 7.5/10

Penn and Teller are two of the most recognizable faces in magic, and for good reason. These two guys have been entertaining audiences around the world for over 40 years!

What better way to learn magic than with their official magic kit?

This set comes teaches over 200 classic magic tricks that are tried and tested favorites (handpicked by Penn and Teller themselves). All of the tricks are easy to do, but you’ll be surprised at just how fooling some of them can be!

What’s included?

Here’s a picture of all the props you’ll be getting. As you can see, you’ll get your hands on a ‘paper-into-money’ machine, sponge balls, the cups and balls, a magic wand, and much more. Of course, there is a whole book provided that explains exactly how to use these.

You’ll also receive a DVD that you can check if you’re having trouble with any of the written explanation. This DVD does feature Penn and Teller too.

You also get an instructional booklet with 125 card tricks you can learn using an ordinary deck of cards, which is a nice bonus.

Who is this kit for?

The Penn and Teller site reckons the age range for this trick is around 8+, and I’d agree with them there. Although some individual tricks could prove difficult for 8 year olds, the majority can be figured out and done with very little complication.

Of course, don’t be put off just because this kit is aimed at children! Some of these tricks use similar techniques to professional magicians, just in a simpler format. You can definitely fool adults with these tricks too!

Pros:

• Penn and Teller…what else do I need to say?
• Over 200 possible tricks, enough to keep your child entertained for weeks
• High quality props
• Lots of instruction
• Good reviews on Amazon- 4.3 stars out of 5.

Cons:

• Not all the tricks are equal. Some are more fooling than others…
• Deck of cards not provided (although you can pick them up cheap from Amazon, or chances are you might even have some around the house)

Would I recommend this magic set?

Absolutely!

Although it is placed number three on this list, it is still a safe bet and comes with some awesome tricks that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age.

Plus, if your child is already a Penn and Teller fan, that’s a great added bonus.

If you’ve been reading this thinking ‘who on earth are these Penn and Teller guys?’ here’s a fun little video of them performing a trick using one of the props from this magic kit. (Disclaimer: you probably won’t be able to do it like they can…)

The only issue with this kit is that it’s so popular it keeps going in and out of stock. If it’s in stock right now and you’re considering buying it, just bear in mind that if you aren’t careful it may get all bought up! Read my full review of this kit here.

==> Check Price <==

Pick 2: Jumbo Magic Tricks Set for Kids

Best Place to Buy: Amazon

Difficulty: Easy (7+)

WOW Factor: 8

Quality: 8

Availability: 8

Overall: 8/10

While this kit might not have the faces of two famous magicians printed onto the box, I actually think it is a better investment (although only marginally; there really isn’t much between them).

Why’s that?

With this kit, you get just a bit more bang for your buck. What I mean by this is you get more actual props included.

But the Penn and Teller kit TEACHES you 200 tricks! That’s more than 28, surely?

Well, while it may be true that you can LEARN 200 tricks using the Penn and Teller kit, you actually only get around a dozen physical props to do them with.

I know that when I was a kid, I didn’t really care about the sets that gave me 4 props but promised to show me how to do 200 tricks from them; to me as a child that was still only 4 tricks.

In contrast, magic sets like the Jumbo Magic Kit would have been an awesome gift with around 30 physical props to do the magic with and a simple step by step instructional DVD too.

What’s included?

Of these 28 tricks, there are some classics of magic such as the cups and balls, the floating match, the appearing handkerchief, and even some fluffy white rabbits! (No, not real ones.)

You also get an instructional DVD to walk you through any issues you might be having.

Who is this kit for?

The tricks are aimed at younger audiences than the Penn and Teller kit in my opinion. If you’re looking for some tricks that will fool adults and kids alike, you’d be better of with the more limited (but more fooling) range of tricks available from the previous kit. Or check out the No.1 pick for some seriously impressive magic.

But if you’re buying for a younger child and the main aim is for them to have fun and enjoy the gift, I would recommend this set.

Pros:

• More props and equipment
• Loads of fun tricks that are easy to do
• Even better reviews on Amazon- an average of 4.6 out of 5 (up by .3 from the previous kit)
• 30-day return policy

Cons:

• Again, some of the tricks are quite obvious whilst others are more fooling.
• The tricks are supposedly high quality but there’s no escaping the fact that they COULD get broken

Overall, a very fun kit that whilst not being quite as much of a ‘fooler’ provides you with more magic!

==> Check price <==

Pick 1: Jim Stott’s Ultimate Magic Kit

Best Place to Buy: Amazon

Difficulty: Easy (10+)

WOW Factor: 10

Quality: 9

Availability: 8

Overall: 9/10

This is definitely the most ‘serious’ magic kit of the lot. Although the tricks are still easy to do, there is a definite step up in level from the previous sets in regards to how ‘fooling’ the magic is.

In fact, the chances are that the tricks included in this set will fool the heck out of everyone (including you) if done right!

What you SHOULDN’T expect: lots of fun props that are easy to do and easy to figure out.

What you SHOULD expect: A selection of quality tricks that are aimed at beginners who really want to take their magic to the next level.

That’s why I recommend buying this set for older children.

What’s included?

In this set, you get 7 physical props.

1. A Levitation System; with this prop you’ll be able to make a card or even dollar bill float in the air. This is a really cool looking trick that, if done right, can blow people away.

2: Magic Card Box: change one card into another or even make them disappear in this simple box. In my opinion, this is the weakest trick of this set, but still a decent piece of kit.

3: The Three Rope Mystery. Rope magic is a really fun side of magic that surprisingly few magicians venture into. You shouldn’t underestimate how cool this trick is!

4: Sponge balls: an awesome set of sponge balls are a great addition to this set. I recently wrote a tutorial on a magic sponge ball trick that you can learn in advance to get a feel for what is possible with these props. Click on ‘magic tutorials’ on the top menu to get started!

5: Vanishing device. This is another prop that professional magicians use on a daily basis (not an exaggeration). It looks too simple to work at first glance, but it has been a part of every professional’s kit for decades for good reason. A common use of this device is making a handkerchief disappear from inside your hand!

6: Pen through Dollar. You learn how to push a pen through the middle of a dollar, and then remove it with the dollar intact. Great for tricking schoolmates!

7: A Svengali Deck. This is a trick deck of cards that enables you to pull of apparent miracles with a deck of cards! These decks can cost you ten bucks alone, but are thrown in with the kit. Great value!

PLUS: an instructional booklet that teaches 350 different tricks you can do using the above props.

Who’s it for?

As I mentioned before, younger children will care generally care more about the AMOUNT of magic they get rather than the quality, but as your child gets older they may become bored with the easy and often obvious tricks from the previous sets.

So, as I mentioned, if you’re buying for a younger child (say, under 10) go for one of the previous two kits. But if you want to get a slightly older child who wants to learn some REAL magic, this is the kit for you.

Pros:

• Great selection of tricks
• Tricks that are actually used by professional magicians
• Jim Stott seems like a super nice guy!
• Affordable price

Cons:

• Not quite as many actual props

As you can tell, this is definitely my No.1 pick of the bunch, but if it isn’t for you that’s fine too! You can read my full review of it here.

==> Check price <==

All of the above selections contain more than enough magic to get your child started on an awesome hobby. You really can’t go wrong with these.

If I had to be more specific, I would recommend:

• Jim Stott’s ‘Ultimate Magic Kit’ for kids 10+ who want to get some more ‘fooling magic tricks’
• Jumbo Magic Tricks Set for Kids for younger children (7-8) who just want to have some fun with cool magic tricks
• The Penn and Teller Fool Everyone Magic Kit for kids who are in between the two above categories (8-10) and want some a mix of ‘fooling’ and fun magic!

Do you agree? Have you got any stories you want to share about your first magic kits? Please do let me know by leaving a comment in the comment section below. If you have any other questions, feedback or general comments please do go ahead and leave them too!

If you found this post useful, don’t forget to share it (using the icons on the left) to other people who might also be wondering what the best magic kits for 10 year olds are!