It's Circus party time!
"Bring on the clowns
there's a circus party in town"
The circus is coming to town and this is one party not to miss! This party is one of my favourites but be warned it can take some preparation and you may need an extra pair of hands. My suggestion is to hold the party outdoors and enlist willing parents to help with the activities.
* Supplies
*Invitations
*Costumes
*Decorations
*Games
*Activities
*Food
*Favors
*Other resources
*My favourite Circus Party Suppliers *
Party Box (UK site)
for carnival clown party supplies. You can also get circus party decorations, favors and dress up accessories. My favourite UK party shop.
Jokers Masquerade (UK site)
The best UK fancy dress costume site on the net (in my opinion!). Great choice and not expensive.
Magic Tricks (UK site)
Fancy yourself as a magician? This is the place to get a hatful of tricks and fun things which are perfect for a kids circus party.
Party Domain (UK site)
For kids clown costumes for boys and girls. Lots of face paints, wigs and other clown party accessories.
Buy Costumes (US site)
for circus party costumes not forgetting the ever important ringmaster. My favourite US costume store.
Birthday in a Box (US site)
for Clown party theme packs. Great for those in a hurry as you get invites, favors and decorations.
Shindigz (US site)
for truly awesome Circus party Kit n' Kaboodle packs. Also you must check out the cardboard stands, tents and ticket booths which would look fantastic if you need some large props.
Pinatas (US site)
for the biggest selection of clown piñatas.
Makesparties (US) for everything for clowns and superb favors. Look no further as there are silly hats, big glasses, table decorations and stacks of cheap circus party favors.
* Circus Party Invitations *
Your invitations could go something like this:
Are you ready for a clown'n good time? Well hurry, hurry, don't be late as Fred's (use birthday child's name) Circus is sure to be great.
Big Top location: Party address
The performance begins: Date + time
Bring you ticket and your costume and step right up to the best circus in town
RSVP to the Ring Master.
Big Top Create a big top using craft paper. Decorate in red and white stripes and write the party details on the other side.
Circus ticket Use your computer to make circus entrance tickets.
Clown face Decorate cheap paper cone hats to look like a clown's hat with a red pompom on top. Write the details on the side or on a piece of paper stuffed inside the hat
Circus poster Use your computer to design a circus poster with the party details on it
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* Circus Party Costumes *
Ask the kids to come dressed up in either circus or any sort of carnival costume. You could even just ask them to wear a funny hat and give prizes for the 'Funniest hat', 'Most unusual hat', 'Biggest hat' and so on, making sure that everyone gets a prize.
If you want to get a clown or circus costume, check out my favorite stores for value and choice:
Jokers Masquerade (UK store)
Buy Costumes (US store)
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* Circus Party Decorations *
Go for bright or primary colors such as red and white, yellow and purple, blue and green or why not all of them!
Make or purchase a circus poster and pin it to a chalk board and place it at the entrance to the party venue
Get dad or another person to dress up as a Ringmaster and greet the kids at the door
Create different activity areas and put up large signs saying what each activity is eg Popcorn Stand, Toss the hoops, Restroom, Ticket Booth. You can get some superb cardboard cut-outs like the ones below or make your own out of cardboard boxes, tables, canopies, sheets etc
On the back of each chair (if having a sit down meal), tie a balloon with a small toy inside and write the guests name on the balloon
Hang crepe paper streamers to create a kind of circus
String up LOTS of balloons
Hire a marquee hire and decorate it with balloons and streamers.
Marquee hire in your area
Make a cage or use a dog cage and fill with small stuffed animals and prizes
Put on some fun music
Use a speaker horn for getting the kids together for each activity or use a loud funny whistle
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* Circus party food *
Right, what do you eat at the circus or at a carnival? Think of all those fun foods that are often a treat and let today be the day when they can have them all! Yes…
Popcorn – rent a popcorn machine or make your own.
Rent cotton candy, snowcone and popcorn machines in your area
Cotton candy (candy floss to us Brits)
Hot dogs
Toffee apples
Ice cream cones. Have tubs of different flavours and lots of bowls of toppings so the kids can make their own sundaes
Juice in cartons and sodas
Clown cake: Bake one round and one small rectangular cake. Cut the rectangular cake like a "v" to make 3 triangles. Place one triangle above the round to form the hat and place the other two triangles below the round cake to make bow tie. Decorate with frosting to make a clown's face.
All-in-one basic cake recipe
More kid party food ideas
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* Circus Party activities and games *
To make it more fun and realistic, issue the kids with ticket coupons as they arrive at the party and these will be used for the games, stalls and food. For the activities, plan on what suits the size of your party area and the weather. Below are some suggestions and just pick what suits you:
Pony ride
Inflatable/Bouncy castle
Hire a clown or magician
Find party entertainers in your area
Ping pong throw See how many ping pong balls you can throw into a glass fish bowl
Feed the lions Make a large cardboard cut out of a lion’s head with a large open mouth. Cut a hole where the mouth would be and secure the head in an upright position. See how many bean bags you can toss into the lions mouth.
Balloon darts Try and pop the balloons with the darts
Tightrope walker Make a tightrope out of a thin plank of wood balanced on some bricks. Give each child a cup of water to balance on their head and see if they can walk the length of he tightrope
Panning for gold Fill a large plastic paddling pool with sand and small bits if fools gold and some water. Give the kids a sieve each and let them pan for treasure!
Good guess Fill a jar with sweets and see who make the closest guess to the number of sweets there are. Closest guess wins the lot!
Target practice If you have a child’s paint gun, get the kids to try and hit the bulls eye on a round shooting target.
Toss the hoops Make a hoop board out of some wood and bang some large nails into it. Using small rubber or plastic hoops, see who can hook the most.
Coconut shy
Face painting
Piñata Having a piñata is always a great success at kids parties. For some inspiring clown party piñatas, take a look at
Party Box (UK site)
Pinatas (US site)
More kid party games
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*Circus Party Favours and Prizes *
Use popcorn boxes as favor bags or upturned paper cone hats. Issue one to each child at the start of the party and write their names on it. No doubt they will be collecting prizes throughout the party so they can use these for storing their goodies. Alternatively they could win coupons which are exchanged for a favor bag at the end of the party. That way, everyone goes home with the same amount of things.
Favor ideas might include:
Twisty balloon kits
T-shirts with a circus logo
Caps
Magic tricks and jokes
Silly masks, goofy glasses, clown’s noses.
Badges
Small cuddly toys
Inflated balloons with a toy inside
Crazy foam
Colored hairspray
Any type of noise makers
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*Other Clown Party Resources *
Circus Crafts
Circus Coloring pictures
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Did you know?
Where or when the first circus act took place is unknown. However, the word Circus was first used by the Ancient Romans to describe their open air arenas, usually called the Circus Maximus, (Meaning the biggest Circus), where they held different kinds of events such as Chariot Racing, wrestling, feats of skill, animal training and unfortunately, where they also fed Christians to the lions. This type of circus became extinct when Rome fell. However, the ideas of entertainment and showmanship survived and wandering troupes of performers, including clowns, began presenting their acts at various kinds of fairs throughout the world.
More kids party theme ideas
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