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A circus party is great to hold outdoors in the summer and will work well for toddlers to school-aged kids. It is also perfect for large groups of kids or if you have to invite your child’s whole class — after all it’s the circus! You definitely will want to get some help, however, if you have more than fifteen kids attending.
This party can become expensive if you hire a clown and/or a bouncy house. Still, the clown can take up the majority of activities and entertainment, so the additional costs will just be food and goody bags. If you conduct the games and activities on your own, it will significantly reduce the cost of the party, as will reducing the number of guests. You can tailor it to suit any budget.
Check out Birthday in a Box for thematic goodies, like plates, favors, and this awesome pinata.
For the Invitation:
Make a circus ticket that will guarantee the invited guest loads of fun under the birthday kid’s big tent! Alternatively, you can make a clown mask with paper plates. Inside of the mask, provide all of the party details, and mail it in a large envelope.
Also check out these create-and-print circus invitations.
For the Decorations:
Ask the guests to dress as clowns in baggy clothes. At the party, you can have face painting and provide wigs, red noses, etc., to finish off the guests’ clown attire. Make sure to take pictures, and perhaps send them out in the thank you notes.
Inflate lots of helium balloons in either an array of colors or your kid’s two or three favorites. Purchase a few Mylar circus animal balloons as well, such as a lion, elephant, etc.
Make your own big top entrance to the party by hanging a brightly colored sheet over the front door.
Hang a trapeze over the party table, and put a stuffed monkey or elephant on the trapeze.
Make big circus posters and hang them all over the party room to complement the theme.
If you are holding the party outdoors, make different game stations out of large appliance boxes that the kids can visit to play games. Decorate the stations with balloons, streamers, and a sign designating the game.
Provide kids with a popcorn box. You can fill it with popcorn for them to eat and enjoy, or give them an empty box to collect their prizes in.
Play circus-type music.
Your party table can be coordinated to the circus theme or done in bright primary colors. Tying balloons to each of the chairs would also be festive. For a centerpiece, place little stuffed circus animal with balloons tied to it in the middle of the table.
For the Crafts:
Have the kids make their own clown masks at the party using paper plates, string, and a variety of art supplies. You could have them make clown collars to wear as well.
If the children do not come dressed as clowns, provide baggy thrift shop clothes for them to wear.
For the Games/Activities:
You can have a whole host of easy games: bean bag toss, ring toss, horse shoes, hula hoop contest, water balloon toss, and a relay race.
If you have game booths, play Penny Platters (where the guests toss pennies onto plates) and Lollipop Look (this is especially good for small children who can pick a lollipop and designate a small prize depending on what color is at the bottom of the stick), and have a water shooting gallery (use tin cans that you have covered with bright construction paper, and have the kids shoot at them with water guns to knock them over).
This is the perfect party to hire an entertainer for, preferably a clown. Make sure the clown can do some face painting and/or balloon animals. Kids love both of these activities!
A big inflatable bouncy house for the kids to jump in would also be great at this party. Order one that goes along with the circus theme.
Designate an area for the big circus, and have the kids take turns being the ringmaster. The kids can also do all sorts of stunts like hula hooping, cartwheels, stepping through tire obstacles, jumping over sticks and rocks, etc.
Play Pin the Nose on the Clown.
Break a clown piñata!
For the Menu:
Serve corndogs, potato salad, fruit slices with dip, popcorn, peanuts (be careful of allergies, of course), animal crackers, and cotton candy.
You can also serve little sandwiches, cheeses, and fruits all cut out in circus animal shapes. The kids will love this. With older kids, you could make mini pizzas and have the kids top them with clown faces.
For a fun dessert besides cake, make clown ice cream cones. Place a scoop of ice cream on a sugar cone, turn it upside down, and place it in a cupcake holder. Decorate the ice cream with candies, and then freeze the cones before serving.
For the Goody Bags:
The kids can take home their popcorn boxes full of prizes. Also let them keep their wigs, red noses, etc. Provide little stuffed circus animals with a small box of animal crackers. Popcorn balls would also be a fun take-home treat in bright colors!
If you want to do a traditional goody bag, fill a brown lunch sack with silly putty, Pez clown dispensers, Cracker Jack, silly string, bubble gum, fuzzy pencils, circus animal erasers, etc. Make sure to decorate the brown lunch bag; you can even make it look like a circus animal.
