The assignment
Celeste’s note for a kids’ party: Seat them. Keep it short. Let the birthday child be the hero. Each trick gives the audience a job: check the band, count to three, and then do the arithmetic together. Kids who have a job do not grab. She is a fictional character and has never been to a birthday party, though she assures us she would be excellent at musical chairs.
Read the room
Seat the children on the floor in a shallow arc in front of you, not around you. The pencil vanish needs kids seated in front of you and slightly to your left. A circle of kids will find the secret in about four seconds.
Do the set early, before the cake. After the cake, nobody is sitting anywhere.
Keep the rubber bands away from faces. Use a large coin for the pencil vanish, and keep it in your own hands, then your pocket. For the closer, hand the penny and dime directly to the birthday child once the effect is done; they are the right size for pockets, not for floors with toddlers.
If something goes wrong
Kids will tell you immediately, so agree with them. If someone spots the pencil early, turn it into the second joke: “Fine, you watch the pencil, I’ll do it with the coin.” For the penny-and-dime closer, if a young volunteer muddles the arithmetic, let the room help: shout “who can multiply by three?” and use the energy. If the total comes out wrong, blame the dime for being uncooperative and offer to try again with a different child as assistant. Hand the rubber bands out at the end as souvenirs, so nobody needs to inspect your pockets.