Joey's Carnival Party 1yr - At the Restaurant

We chose to do a carnival theme for our son's 1st birthday celebration. 

INVITATIONS:The invites were festive with different color polka dots throughout.  There was a layout of 12 pictures, to represent each month of Joey throughout his first year. Quit being a clown the carnival's in town! Come celebrate my 1st birthday with me."

LOCATION:  We rented out a local restaurant that was already decorated with carnival like color (reds yellows & blues).  It was the perfect size with the capacity to hold up to 125 people (our guestlist was 105). 

DECORATIONS:  Upon entering the restaurant guests arrived at a golden arch with a sign reading "Welcome to baby Joey's carnival" on it.  There were tons of balloons in primary colors spread throughout.  In the front lounge area we placed the ball pit roller coaster ride (by Step 2) and bounce house. On the left side of the restaurant were 11 booths that we used to set up all the carnival games.  On the right side of the restaurant was the main dining area where parents could enjoy lunch.  We also played carnival/circus music in the background to set the tone.  We had a popcorn stand and cotton candy (you can order cotton candy in bulk from rainbow cotton candy).

FAVORS:  AT the start of the party all 26 children were given a favor bag with a poem on it reading: "It's a carnival of fun to celebrate I'm one.  So laugh play and eat & fill your bag with prizes & treats. Thank you for celebrating my first birthday with me! Joey."  For each game they played the children earned tickets according to how many points they scored.  At the end they redeemed their tickets at the "ticket redemption booth" and this was used as their favor bag to take home.  The bags were initially filled with crayons a carnival activity book to keep them busy during lunch candy and bubbles. After gametime the kids filled their favor bags to the brim with prizes they won from the games.  For the parents I saved 100 of Joey's baby food jars.  I filled them with chocolate kisses and had labels made that readFilled with KISSES and love, thanks! On the lids of the jars were avery circle labels (1/2 inch size) with a picture of Joey on them. It was a cute picture of his head wearing a hat that went with the whole carnival theme. These giveaways were a big hit!!! They turned out just adorable and I was glad I was able to make use out of those jars!  For the babies instead of kisses I filled them with Gerber stars so they could have a healthy snack too. 

GAMES: The games were made using all of Joey's baby gear.  I barely spent any money making these games and I received so many compliments on how creative they were! 

BOTTLE BOWLING-6 baby bottles and a ball; 

BABBA SMASH-stacked baby bottles in towers and kids had to knock them down with a ball; 

TEETHING RING TOSS-threw teething rings onto a munchkin bottle drying rack. It had 4 teirs so the farthest row was the most points; 

HUNGRY BABY-blew up a picture of the baby glued it onto cardboard and cut his mouth out.  You had to throw beanbags into his mouth. 

PENNY TOSS-tossed pennies into baby food jars (used 36 baby jars)

PICK A DUCK-placed 9 ducks in baby bathtub.  You got tickets depending on what color was on the bottom of the duck (i.e. red=2 tickets)

BOTTLE SPRAY-placed a light wiffle ball on the top of a baby bottle and using a water gun the kids had to spray it off.  For the prize booth I used cardboard trays and decorated them. You can get these free from SAM's Club or Costco.  The trays already had 6 squares divided in them so I arranged the prizes and labeled the sections accordingly (i.e. 5 tickets 10 tickets).  

ENTERTAINMENT: A clown came and did face painting and balloon creatures for all the children.

CAKE:  We had a carnival themed cake with trains and clowns on it.  It was the kind that looks like a cake but it's really cupcakes underneath.  I loved not having to cut anything.

We really enjoyed throwing this party.  We got so many compliments on how much fun it was.  People especially liked the creative personal touches we used.    "