Big Top Party -3yr- Corndogs, Popcorn & Peanuts

For my daughter's 3rd birthday, we had a circus themed party. It worked out perfectly because the circus was in town the week of her birthday, so we went a few days before the party. After taking pictures of her at the circus, I was able to enlarge & print those and use them as part of our decorations.  

INVITATIONS: I created a flyer on my computer in red, yellow & blue ink with clown & balloon clip art: Wilson Entertainment Proudly Presents Laini's Birthday Circus: The Greatest Show on Earth! Fun For All: Food Games Prizes Balloons Face Painting  Appearing One Day Only: Saturday Feb. 24 Show Time: 11:00 "Under the Big Top:(Location)Don't Clown Around: RSVP to the Ringmaster (our phone number) Admission: Free with enclosed ticket! This is one party you don't want to miss! Come & watch the Amazing Laini as she turns another year older consumes heaping amounts of junk food and blows out the death defying birthday candle! The invitations also included a very realistic ticket to the circus that I created using the following website: www.says-it.com/concertticket. Everyone loved the tickets. Some of the kids even brought them for "admission" to the party! I also included some red yellow & blue confetti in each envelope to make the invitations even more festive!

DECORATIONS: My husband was able to borrow a white tent from work that we set up at the entrance to the party. We tied red yellow & blue balloons to each corner of the tent and added a JoJo's Circus birthday banner. I had a teenage friend greet the children there when they arrived. They handed her their ticket then received their party hats that I decorated. I found solid red and blue hats (from the bakery we ordered our cake at) and hot glued red and yellow pom poms around the bottom. I also added one large pompom to the top of each. I then used black scrapbook letter stickers to spell each child's name on his/her hat. They turned out really cute.

The tables were decorated with JoJo's circus tablecloths. I made signs with posterboard and markers for concessions (listing all of our food) face painting (with drawings of their choices) and games (listing all the games). I also hung pictures of my daughter (on scrapbook pages) from her visit to the circus.

FOOD: For lunch we had corndogs popcorn (in popcorn bags from Oriental Trading..I found them cheaper at Target after the party) roasted peanuts (in little tin buckets on each table with empty buckets for shells) a fruit tray with dip cheese cubes nachos with cheese soft drinks for adults and juice boxes for the kids. 

I had a local bakery make a beautiful and delicious cake that looked like a circus tent. I took them a picture of the circus big top pinata from the JoJo's circus birthday section of birthdayexpress.com and they made the cake look just like it. We added "Happy Birthday Laini" in yellow icing to the doorway and put a set of three tall candles (2 stars one #3)on the top to resemble flags on top of a circus tent. The adults ate the cake while the children enjoyed clown face cupcakes. My mom & I baked cupcakes in polka dot cupcake liners then placed each cupcake on top of another opened polka dot cupcake liner (to resemble a collar). The faces were frosted white and then I added a red gum drop nose 2 star cereal eyes ("Little Einstein" cereal has colored stars) a runt wrapped with a piece of red twizzler for a mouth and cotton candy hair. Lying above the cupcakes were ice cream cones decorated with white frosting & mini m & m's and a gumdrop on top. These were the clown's hats. They turned out really cute!

GOODY BAGS: I used brightly colored gift bags (found at Michaels) with a JoJo sticker on each for the goody bags. Inside each one was: another JoJo sticker a clown ring small bag of cotton candy (Party City) snack size bag of animal crackers circus themed activity book crayons and a birthday party rubber duckie (from Oriental Trading). The cutest addition was a stuffed elephant that I found on clearance at Target. The children also got red clown noses (Party City) when they played the "Pin the Nose on the Clown" game. 

GAMES/ACTIVITIES: When the children arrived at the tent there was a table set up for face painting. They could choose from the following games: bowling ring toss beanbag toss and feed the elephant. A friend drew an adorable elephant on gray poster board. I added him to a box covered with gray paper then cut out his mouth. The children "fed" him peanuts. Another friend dressed as a clown and helped the children paly "pin the nose on the clown." They won a red clown nose (from OT)at this game.

At the other games they received a ticket to "redeem" at the end of the party for their "prize" (their goody bag). My clown friend also made balloon animals for each child. Another area was set up with a DVD player which played a JoJo's Circus DVD I borrowed from the library. In this area there was a small table with crayons an JoJo's Circus coloring pages & a maze that I printed from the Disney website. I also found a cute circus matching game (Michaels) and had circus books to look at. Another game was to throw a stuffed tiger through a hula hoop or pretend to be a tiger jumping through a hoop. (*I had the hula hoop & tiger but we were having so much fun I forgot to get them out for the party.) My husband painted a 6 foot 2 x 4 with bright red paint to use in "walking the tightrope." We ordered a circus music cd from Barnes & Noble to play throughout the party.

Right before cake time my friend who dressed like a clown led the children in a parade. I made "shakers" for each child using plastic Easter eggs by putting rice inside sealing them with scotch tape and adding a circus sticker (found at School Box)to each. I also found some little plastic clarinets on clearance at Hobby Lobby. The children really enjoyed marching around with their instruments behind the clown as she led them around the clubhouse and then back to the table for cake. After cake we went outside and played with a colorful parachute by bouncing a ball and capturing the kids underneath. They also played on the playground and enjoyed watching my daughter open her gifts.

It was a wonderful party! I can't wait to find some more great ideas on birthdaypartyideas for when she turns 4! "