Creating Magic Moments: What Card Tricks and Santa Teach About Storytelling

This week, I started to teach my son the basics of card magic.

Card control, misdirection, all of it.

Now, this requires patience, practice, and belief in something you can't quite see yet.

For a 6-year-old, patience and practice are tough. But belief in something you can't quite see yet?

That's easy.

What’s Inside

THE INSIGHT

My family celebrates Christmas. With the holiday this week, I've been watching a ton of Christmas movies.

Between those movies and the card tricks I've been teaching my son, the connection between stories and magic kept hitting me.

And whether you tell it in your home or not, it proves something powerful about how stories shape children.

So, back to the card magic...

I had my son pick a card from the deck, look at it, then put it back in the middle.

After a brief shuffle, I pulled his card from the top of the pack.

His eyes lit up. His mouth opened. Then a huge smile spread across his face.

I kept going. I showed him a red card, then changed it right before his eyes into a black card.

Again, his eyes lit up.

He believed it was magic. Not because the trick was sophisticated.

It wasn’t… and I was a bit rusty, so it wasn’t my best work.

It didn’t matter. How I delivered it was everything.

The pause before the reveal. The conviction in my voice. The way I treated it like something impossible was happening right in front of him… and a bit of showmanship.

Magic isn't about the trick. It's about the delivery. The storytelling. The passion you show.

You don't show them magic. You actually create the magic moments.

And that's exactly how the story of Santa Claus works.

The story started centuries ago with Saint Nicholas, a bishop who lived in the city of Myra, now modern-day Turkey. Saint Nicholas was known for secret gift-giving to children in need.

Over time, that real person became a legend.

Then the legend became magic.

Flying reindeer. A workshop at the North Pole. A man who sees everything and knows if you've been naughty or nice.

None of it makes logical sense.

But watch your child's face light up when they talk about Santa. Watch how excited they get to decorate the Christmas tree and hang the stockings. Watch how they talk about leaving cookies by the fireplace with absolute certainty he'll come on Christmas eve.

That's not logic. That's belief.

And belief is the most powerful force in a child's world.

Parents don't just tell the story of Santa Claus. They create magic moments around it. They tell it with conviction. They reference it consistently. It's not always what you say… it's how you say it.

The story isn't told once and forgotten. It's woven into daily life for weeks, months, years even.

The story makes them feel special. Part of something magical and wonderful.

That shift, from a story they hear to a world they live in, happens through belief and conviction.

No lectures. No explanations. Just a story, told like it's real, that becomes real to them.

Look, you're most likely already doing this. You've proven you know how to create magic moments.

So what if you used that same power year-round?

Not to manipulate. But to teach courage when they're scared. Honesty when they're tempted to lie. Resilience when things get hard.

A small dragon who learns that even his small fire is enough. A bunny who takes one hop into the dark. A fox who chooses truth over lies.

These characters can become as real to your child as Santa Claus. Their lessons can shape identity just as powerfully.

You already know how to create magic. Now use it every night.

PARENT SKILL

What it is: Telling bedtime stories with the same conviction and belief you use when creating magic moments - so your child lives in the story, not just hears it.

Why it works: Kids don't respond to the words. They respond to your conviction. When you tell a story like it's real, they believe it. When you tell it like you're just reading, it stays on the page.

Try this:

Pro tip: Kids can tell when you're performing vs when you believe. Your conviction is contagious.

PICKS

CHALLENGE

Create one magic moment this week. Not a trick. Not a technique. Just show up with belief and conviction when you tell a bedtime story.

Notice what happens in your child's eyes.