Go Big or Go Home they say…we definitely went big but it was not at our home! (LOL) It was birthday month for Tucker…we had just bought a new house and were in the process of moving but thankfully my amazing sister-in-law and brother-in-law let us bring the circus to their back yard!
Invitation by my festive, friend Meredith with (@MaryBPaperie on Instagram)
Another year, another vintage inspired birthday party. One of the nicknames I started calling Tucker was Tucker-ino that could go for a baseball player or circus performer. Since we had already done the baseball theme for his first birthday I thought a circus/carnival theme would be perfect!
Now, if you have read the about page on this website you would know that I was a Marketing Director for Chick-fil-A. That is important because most people don’t have circus tent decor just laying around the house. Luckily, The Ringling Bros. Circus had visited our restaurant for a fun family night the year prior so I was able to reuse the decor from that event!
Circus Concessions brought to you by CROMER’S “Guaranteed Worst in Town” and the cracker/cookie and candy aisles at my local grocery store.
I knew I wanted to have circus concessions complete with themed snacks as part of the spread. I scored some popcorn from a local favorite at Soda City market along with individually packaged cotton candy from CROMER’S for the kids to take home. (I was hoping to have my favorite confectionery friend Nicole bring her cotton candy machine, but unfortunately for me she had a previously scheduled event.) There were also Barnum’s animal crackers, cupcakes, mustache cookie pops and circus peanuts. We love party snacks especially when there are leftovers to enjoy after all the sweet friends have gone home!
Kids table featuring Circus animals in party hats and red clown noses!
Setting up the table scape is always fun. I like to use a basic fabric tablecloth (Sam’s Club or Amazon have good ones) and then add pops of color on top with solid or patterned plastics tablecloths cut into squares and placed in a diamond pattern. It makes for easy cleanup when the party is over. For decoration I added the clown noses, plastic animals from Michale’s Craft store with DIY paper party hats, paper plates and cutlery. Each child also had a mustache cookie pop at their seat so they could look like the strong man or Ring Master!
Pro Tip: If you don’t have mini size tables You can rent from a local party rental company or make friends with your child’s preschool director and borrow tables and chairs from one of the classrooms over the weekend! This was a game changer and the kids love it being “just their size”.
Ball Toss!
Tucker testing out the ring toss game!
The duck pond game turned kiddie pool party was the highlight of the festivities!
Now for the activities or party games…I reused a few of my Chick-fil-A games I had made and then added so new ones for the birthday party. We had a ball toss I made by taking old cans and wrapping them in scrapbooking paper I scored at Hobby Lobby. Ring Toss from Old Dr. Pepper bottles and a crate, and the highlight was the impromptu pool party in the duck pond that a non first time parent would have seen coming from a mile away…first kid you live you learn!
I am definitely more of a cookie baker than a cake baker but I can fancy up a boxed cake mix with the best of them. Used some circus cupcake liners and added matching sprinkles on top and the kids loved them. The mustache cookie pops turned out so cute and i loved the red and white striped sticks…I love an edible decoration!
Make a wish birthday boy!
Cookie Pop mustaches fun for photos and a sweet treat to eat!
The cutest circus crew and carnival goers in front of the fabulous Chick-fil-A, Pinterest inspired backdrop.
My Chick-fil-A Circus backdrop came in clutch! It’s so nice getting to repurpose decorations from other events. I made the frame out of some PVC pipes and connectors. The tent top I used foam board and Kraft paper to make the decorative discs and attached them with velcro. For the curtains I hung red and white striped fabric that you tie up or hang straight down. It was great to have as a backdrop behind the table and was easy to move around the yard for photo ops with the kids!
We had a great time and I think my family (specifically Keith) finally realized I was going to be extra with all the parties moving forward…I love the planning, crafting, baking, and decorating but thing I really love most is seeing the kids having fun celebrating!
Keith made an excellent cotton candy man! Two Please!