Your Method?

I said hands because it is what I prefer feels more primal and connected. But I’ll use both based on the sim. Just means (in my game) they aren’t as connected or need tools ...the magic isn’t as accessible without it.

depends on the spellcaster. I feel like the more chaotic magic is best done by hands and the more practical/dueling magic is done by wands

Mostly Hand Magic by Once Upon a Time, I'd prefer to do magic more by hand. When I wrote my story I always envisioned my Characters doing magic by hand or subtle eye Glow to cast a spell.
Basically all the styles of Regina/The Evil Queen, Rumplestiltskin, Cora and Zelena and how they handle Magic.
I really hope conjuring a fire ball is animated the similar to how they do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrgWXVTGFu8

My characters do own wands, but I believe wands are tools at best, and should only be used for emergencies and Grand Spell casting. Powerful spells that would take 100% of your sim's energy to cast, that if they were to cast it by hand it they would pass out from exhaustion or it could kill them. Spells Like Weather spells, Summoning a heavy Thunder Storm, meteors. Moving the Heavens, Blocking out the sun. Creating Portals to other lands, Time Travel. Cases like those would be times I would use a wand. Or events like, Anarchy has taken over, and people are openly hunting Supernaturals and My Sorcerer and Werewolf have to fend for themselves, The Purge is happening, then we break out the wands.

So since none of that is possible I won't be using wands as much.
I'll probably just collect and Put the wands on display somewhere but not use them unless Wands have different power boosts.

I've never watched Charmed... but I'm not really into wand wielding witches or even wizards in other stories, movies, tv shows, history or books so I doubt I'll use them beyond just seeing what it looks like.

Staff. Always staff.

https://middle-earth.xenite.org/files/2011/09/gandalf-shire-01.jpg

I think I will try a wand first, but I will definitely use both. Too bad we can't have a staff. I really liked that about the wizards in sims medieval. But I am happy that we choose between 2 options in sims 4.

Both but only because it'd be dumb not to use the variety on offer, I vastly prefer hands. Wands are only gonna be for sims I think would require a magical 'crutch' (I know that isn't how they work mechanically though) or who prefer magic to be a more formulaic, structured, rigid experience.

Both, of course. It will depend on the sim.

Devastated we can't have a staff :( Gandalf is one of my favs too

I will probably try both and it will depend on the sim, but I think I prefer wandless magic. It's what I'm more familiar with and just feels right to me. I do wish we had staffs too though.