All this birthday party talk at my house reminded me that I had never posted party pictures from last year's double Circus Birthday extravaganza! My kids were turning 1 and 3, so we did a big to-do at the Community Center next to my house. So here you go...welcome to the Big Top! To carry out the circus theme, I draped the room in red & yellow panels (plastic table cloths on a roll) to resemble a circus tent. I filled the space with colorful balloons and bright striped linen tablecloths. For the topiary flower centerpieces, I was actually inspired by something I saw in a Disneyland attraction. I created flowers and leaves out of tissue paper, created a topiary form on a stick, and put them in recycled canisters wrapped in coordinating paper and ribbon. The popcorn centerpieces were filled with yellow paper shred and topped with foam-backed artwork on sticks. The custom pennant banner was handmade as well. The cupcake tower was the focal point of the room, draped with a mesh tent for drama.
As for activities, I made several "booths" with carnival style games for the kids (ring toss, ping pong ball toss, golf, bean bag toss) and handed out tickets to the winners. The kids could then swap their tickets for prizes at the prize table. I had a crew of teenagers to man the game and prize stations. I hand-painted a photo station with JoJo's Circus characters that the kids could stick their faces through for photos. I brought in a face-painter, photographer and a balloon artist for an extra exciting day! We served fresh popcorn and hot dogs, complete with a "Jerry's Dogs" inspired condiment bar. The kids took home favor bags filled with bubbles, Barnum's circus animal cookies, foam clown noses, and souvenir cups. The cupcakes were a hit, and I think I took home less than 10 cupcakes from my original 85. There was an elite group of Dads who even tried all 5 flavors of cupcake (you know who you are!) Everyone had a great time, and the kids didn't even go outside to the playground! Now that's a successful party. ;)
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