Birthday Party Theme: Circus Party

The circus is great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. The brightly colored tents, the animals, and the trapeze artists are especially exciting for small children. That's why a circus birthday party is sure to be a hit for any boy or girl.

Circus Party Invitations and Decorations

Invitations for a circus party could take many forms. You can find invitations featuring circus animals or clowns at your local discount or party supply store. You could also find designs online or included with your favorite printing software. Or, if you want to get really creative, you could make invitations by hand.

Circus posters or tickets make excellent invitations to a circus birthday party. For extra fun, you could dress the honoree up as a clown or trapeze artist and take his picture to add to the invitations. Get creative with the wording and layout for a more authentic circus feel.

Primary colors are perfect for a circus party. Lots of balloons in those colors are inexpensive yet realistic circus decorations. If your child has some large stuffed animals such as lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, or elephants, you could set them around the house.

Circus Party Food and Favors

Popcorn is a staple at the circus, and it makes a wonderful snack for a circus birthday party. If you happen to have a cotton candy machine, fresh cotton candy is good too. You could add some small fruits such as grapes or berries or larger fruit cut into slices for good measure.

Cake ideas for a circus party include clowns, tents, or animals. If you're making the cake yourself, you could use chocolate icing to resemble a dirt floor, and add toy circus animals as toppers. Cupcakes are also great at a circus party. You could bake them in ice cream cones for added fun.

There are lots of favors that would work for a circus party. Small stuffed circus animals are a fitting choice. Animal stickers are also a favorite. For homemade favors, you could buy a large box of animal crackers and fill small bags with them, tying them up with colorful ribbons.

Circus Party Games and Activities

Hiring a clown is a natural choice for a circus party, but that could eat into your party budget. A parent could dress up as a clown and entertain the children, or you could forgo the clown altogether and come up with other fun activities. There are lots of simple games you could provide for a circus party.

A beanbag toss game is easy to make with a large piece of cardboard. You could also create a "Pin the Nose on the Clown" game that kids will love. Putting small, inexpensive favors into balloons and blowing them up, then letting the kids pop balloons and keep the prizes they get, makes for an entertaining activity as well. And don't forget the face paint. Kids love getting their faces painted, even if you're not the world's greatest artist.

Circus parties can be as much fun as the circus itself. They're great for both boys and girls. And best of all, a circus party will be fun for a variety of ages.