Invitations

   Circus Tickets – Make your invitations on your computer to look like circus tickets. This is a very cheap and easy way to make invitations.

Decorations

     A Circus is typically filled with many different primary colors, so make your party area colorful. Here are a few decorating ideas:

• Balloons, Balloons and more Balloons!
• Streamers
• Circus Tent – Make the top of your party area look like you are in a real circus tent by hanging disposable table clothes from the ceiling. I would suggest having each table cloth different colors to make it more colorful.
• Cotton Candy Booth – Set up a table to look like cotton candy or snack booth.
• Prize Booth - Set up a table to hold different prizes. Some good prizes would be inflatable animals or balls, balloons, balloon animals, water guns, glow necklaces, candy, stickers, colors, etc. ( orientaltrading.com sells a lot of ideal Birthday Party Favors for this theme ) These then can be favors for the end of the party or you can let your guests choose a prize after they complete a challenge (game). You can also let your guests earn tickets after each game, to buy their prizes.

Entertainment

     There are so many possibilities for entertainment at a circus party, here are some ideas:

• Hire a clown for your party or nominate someone to dress up as one.
• Face painting – Simple face painting can be fairly easy. Find someone that is willing to help out and put them in charge of this activity.
• Balloon Animals – Balloon animals can be a little tricky and might take a little practice if you have never done it before. If this is your first time, give yourself a week or two before the party to get some practice.
• Tightrope – You can create a tightrope with a 2X4 and a couple blocks of wood. This is a great project for dad to work on. Just make sure you only raise the tight rope up a little bit off the ground, so no one gets hurt. Then when it is all done you can paint it.
• Hula Hoops – Set out a few hula hoops for the kids to play with. (jump ropes are good too)
• Clown Hats – Set up a table for the kids to decorate their own party hats. Have the base of the hats already to go along with a bunch of different decorations. Have a wide variety of supplies, to encourage the kids to get as wild as their imaginations will take them. Get some ideas for homemade party hats.

Food

      Here are some ideas for food that you might see at a circus:

• Popcorn
• Hot Dogs
• Juice or Sprite
• Soft Pretzels
• Nachos
• Animal Crackers

Games

Build a Clown – Have the birthday kid lay down on a large piece of paper and trace them. Then let all the kids help color the outline to create a clown. The picture should be big enough for 4 to 5 kids to work on it at once. If you have a lot of kids make two or more clown outlines. You could also trace each kid, so everyone could decorate themselves to be a clown.

Clown Race – For this game you will need two sets of clown clothes, clown accessories and make up. Look around your house for the clothes. The clothes don't need to be a perfect, just having clothes that are too big for the kids will look silly enough. Then divide your guests into two teams, the first person to go will have to get dressed up as fast as they can, let their teammates add a little clown make up and send them off. They will then have to run the other side of the room, run around a cone, come back and take off the clothes as fast as they can. Then the next person will have to do the same thing. See what team can get through all their players the fastest. If one team has doesn't have as many players, nominate someone to go twice.

Water Gun Battle – To prepare for this game you will need to set a bunch of empty cans on a railing outside. Then your guests can take turns seeing how many cans they can knock off using a water gun, while standing around five feet from the cans. Time each kid seeing who can get the job done the fastest.

Bobbing for Apples - Fill a large bowl with water and apples. Then have your guests take turns seeing who can get the most apples in one minute by only using their mouth.

Pie Toss – Fill a bunch of tin pie pans up with whip cream and let the kids take turns throwing them at an adult or older sibling. Have them take 5 big steps backwards from the adult if they are 5 years old, 4 steps if they are 4, and so on.

Tightrope Walk – Make a “tight rope” out of wood and challenge your guests to walk across the rope. You can make a pretend lake below them, filled with alligators. After they walk across the board normal, challenge them to walk across the rope holding a beach ball above their head. As a player falls off the tightrope they are out of the game and the remaining players compete. Have the challenges keep getting harder until you have one player left.

The Cake

         There are so many different ways you could make a circus cake. I know I don't have a lot of talent when it come to making a cake, so I keep it simple, by buying small figurines for the decorations. For all of you that are more talented check out some of these cakes others have made.

                       Good Luck!