A LETTER TO SANTA! by George Iglesias & Twister Magic – A Review

Here’s the Ad Copy for A Letter To Santa:

After six years of releasing with great success “A Trip to Cancun” and “A Trip to Circus”, now George brings us the new holiday version of this trick “A Letter to Santa”!

Perfect for either Virtual Zoom Shows and live performances too!

Effect:

The magician show some letters to Santa already made, with different gifts, the kid get to choose in between a beach ball, a teddy bear, a PlayStation, a magic box, a monopoly or a bicycle!

Then the letter is mixed with the others. The magician makes the letter vanish from the pack and travel to North Pole! Now he shows a big poster, when he open it we can see Santa Claus holding a letter and Rudolph and his red nose by his side.

Now the kid will get the chance to travel to the North Pole with his imagination. The Magician folds the poster and the kid put his hand inside to bring his letter back, but by mistake he then takes instead Rudolph’s nose out! The magician opens the poster… And guess what? Rudolph’s nose is missing on the drawing.

The Magician folds the poster again, once more the kid put his hand inside, but this time by mistake the takes Santa’s Hat! The magician opens the poster and Santa is missing his hat on the drawing.

Finally the magician himself put his hand inside and takes the letter out, but before doing that he get trapped with something, he pulls hard and Santa’s belt comes out! All kids start to laugh now, but the magician does not pay attention to them and shows the letter selected by the kid to be exactly the same selected before.

The kids now start to ask and beg the magician to open the poster and show them what’s inside, the magician denies to do it, but by mistake the poster unfolds to show Santa with his pants down!!!

A very funny and interactive routine, very easy to do.

Excellent quality. Very well-made props, poster plastified, it will last a lifetime of performances. All props made with high detail too.

Includes:
1 Special poster
12 Special Letters to Santa (2 Sets of 6 plastified cards each)
1 Santa’s belt
1 Santa’s hat
1 Clown’s nose (Goshman)
1 Instructional online video

My Thoughts:

The world needs A Letter To Santa right now. George Iglesias, the creator of Airplane Mode and A Trip To Circus, has created the ideal effect for little ones in need of humor and escape. I will start my review by saying I will definitely recommend this effect to all my friends performing for children. This is not a cheap effect, and it shows…

I am not going into detail about the performance. The ad copy does a good job of explaining all the workings. It plays exactly as written. I would recommend going to Murphy’s Magic site and watching the video and checking out the pictures if you need a little additional info.

What I like about A Letter To Santa is it can play strong live OR via Zoom. I think allowing kids to participate always adds a little something to the effect.. but.. that’s not always possible right now. So many effects lose their soul when played over Zoom, but not this one. I prefer live… but…

This effect is recommended for intermediate performers. I agree, although it is not a difficult effect to perform. It will play better when performed by someone with enough experience to script and perform a longer effect like this one. You won’t perform this well straight out the package. Work on your script and work on your handling. A very famous magician once said performing for children is like performing in a lion’s den.. dressed in a hamburger suit..

All the props are well suited and ideal for this effect. No, it’s not a real belt or a real adult hat.. but it’s just right for fitting inside the poster. You’re trying to make kids laugh… not outfit them, or yourself. The poster is first class. It is a plasticized poster designed to last for years. Even the sponge nose is a Goshman…

Santa is timeless. Although I do wish I’d gotten my hands on this item back about September.. I’m OK with the end of November. I suspect most performers will find themselves performing this half the year. Again, kids are willing to write a letter to Santa anytime.. particularly if there’s something slightly naughty involved.. although this is appropriate for all children.

I like the way George teaches his effects. His videos are always interesting and colorful, not to mention thorough but to-the-point. The instructional video for A Letter To Santa is online and runs about 20 minutes. Everything is typical Murphy’s quality.

If you perform for children.. this is intended for you. Eighty Five bucks isn’t cheap.. but if you are an intermediate performer you understand the power of a solid five to seven minutes… longer if you are a good conversationalist. The kids will love it.. and the parents will love you for making their lil’ darlings laugh. Everything you need is included. No DIY and no frustrations. George has you ready to perform!

$85.00l From Murphy’s Magic and their Associates…
https://www.murphysmagic.com/product.aspx?id=68293

Review by Rick Carruth for www.MagicRoadshow.com