This vibrant CIRCUS + CARNIVAL THEMED FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Dana Donley.
I have a special place in my heart for any party that has a circus or carnival theme and this one is no exception. Every detail is just adorable!
A few of the things that I like best about this lovely celebration are:
The clown head, elephant, ring master, and popcorn box cake pops
The birthday boy’s vintage style circus theme romper
The self-serve drink station with mason jars stacked on cake plates beside a beautiful glass beverage dispenser filled with lemons and lemonade
The chalkboard displaying a picture diagram of the birthday boy’s first year
and MORE!
Here’s what Dana said about planning the party- “We held my son’s first birthday party at our home. I did a lot of it on my own but also had my friend Heather Guthrie from At the Heels Wedding and Events do a lot. All table dressings came from Grand Rentals in Mooresville, NC. Beckham’s wonderful cake was done by my best friend Jamie Pursley. Cake pops were done also by a great friend Jaime Gatton. I also ordered gift bags from Oriental Express. Plates are from Target and banner. All the photo booth props from Party City. The great photos are by Gambol Photography and Taylored to You Photography. Megan and Pam did such an amazing job at capturing Beckham’s day.”
Party Planning and Styling- Heather Guthrie of At the Heels Wedding and Events and Dana Donley
Table Linens- Grand Rentals in Mooresville, NC
Cake- Jamie Pursley
Cake Pops- Jaime Gatton
Photography- Gambol Photography and Taylored to You Photography
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Apothecary Jars Jute Twine Tin Pails Decorative Paper Shred Whirly Pops Striped Mini Gable Boxes Tissue Pom Poms Mason Jar Drinking Glasses
This fabulous CIRCUS THEMED FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Karyn Amado of Sweet & Clever.
I have a soft spot for circus themed parties, so there are so many things that I love about this one! So many cute carnival party ideas! A few of my favorite elements are:
The circus tent shaped cake
The mini paper fans used as clown collars on the clown cupcake toppers
The ferris wheel candy holder
and MORE!
Here’s what Karyn said about planning the party- “This dessert table was created for my friend’s grandson, Dominic for his 1st birthday party. The circus theme was a challenge but I ended up having fun crafting and doing lots of DIYs like the ferris wheel, merry-go-round and the clown head cupcake holder. It was a labor of love. The printables were created and designed by my ever supportive hubby. Sweet treats on the dessert table included vegan chocolate cupcakes, cake pops and cake created by Dominic’s aunt.”
Party Styling, Cupcakes, Cake Pops – Karyn of Sweet and Clever
Cake- Krizia’s Custom Cakes and Cupcakes
Printables, Invitation and Photography- James Amado Live Oak Photography and Design
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Circus Themed Party Supplies Lollipop / Treat Sticks Clown Cupcake Toppers Red Striped Flag Picks / Toppers Ribbon Cupcake Liners
I’m so excited to feature my CIRCUS TRAIN BIG TOP CARNIVAL BIRTHDAY PARTY with you today! This party is one of my favorite parties from my book!
The moment I found a lovely carousel outside of City Hall in St. George, Utah my mind just couldn’t stop dreaming of all the fun things this Circus Train Birthday Party could include. I set the stage with three circus train cars, which I made out of baby cribs. I transformed the regular white cribs into a real life circus train by adding painted wooden scroll pieces and paper bunting for decoration, and fanned flowers to serve as wheels! I then connected the train cars using red and blue crepe paper. Each train car provided the perfect space to display much of the party food, treats and decor.
The beautiful photos were taken by Valerie Hart Photography.
All of the party items/decor used in this party are available in the Kara’s Party Shop.
{Full product list can be found at the bottom of this post}
Circus Tent Sugar Cookies—All Things Exquisite
Cake & Cupcakes— Dippidee
Clown Cake Pops—Autumn Lynn’s Chocolate Sin’s Online Shop
As the children moved through the various party activities, they collected tickets. Once they had enough tickets they were able to pick a prize off the prize wall. I made the prize wall using a wooden free-standing chalkboard that I covered in fabric and topped with a “prizes” sign. To make the prizes I filled clear cello bags with plastic balls, games, noise makers and yoyo’s. The bags were then sealed with striped wrapping paper and blue crepe paper streamers and pasted to the wall.
The guests also played the infamous carnival game “Ring Toss” using rope rings and some old “Pop Shop” glass bottles that I found at an antique shop.
The middle circus train car held a large faux cake that I made out of hat boxes and tickets. Next to the cake were cute three-ring circus train boxes and ceramic circus letters. I placed fun cups shaped like circus tents at the front of the table, and next to them, put a darling cupcake tower made with a kit from my shop. The cupcake tower was accented with fun silver cording, yellow pom ribbon, blue crepe paper, and a cute mini bunting banner. It was finished with a clown nose at the top! The circus clown cupcakes couldn’t have been cuter sitting there amongst ceramic circus figurines. The circus tent-shaped sugar cookies were a hit, as were the “peanut” cups filled with orange candy circus peanuts. Peeking out from the back of the train car was a darling vintage “Tiddlywinks” clown game and a “Circus Parade” book.
A drink station was situated in an old galvanized bucket. I used two long wooden dowels to hang the “Drinks” banner I made using an ornate circus font for the lettering. Inside the bucket were old fashioned-style soda bottles. There were also water bottles labeled “Circus Water”.
Paper tickets are so versatile and cute that I couldn’t resist using them a lot throughout this party! The first train car featured vintage suitcases covered in white tickets. The focal point of the middle train car was the ticket “cake” I made. On the food train car, I used them as napkin rings to secure forks to red and yellow polka dot napkins. Plus, I wrapped tickets around the ketchup and mustard bottles. As guests arrived at the party, they were greeted with a happy ceramic clown on top of stacked ticket rolls. I made a fun wreath out of clown noses and tickets to place on the table next to the clown. Guests also walked past a bright ticket booth. I made the booth with a wooden puppet stand, painted and decorated to match the circus theme and colors. To add to the ambiance, I strung a red, white, and yellow felt “celebrate” banner between the ticket booth and the “Welcome to the Carnival” sign.
The third circus train car held the majority of the food. I love the miniature electric hot dog warmer that I used to heat the hot dogs! I also had a matching popcorn machine full of the buttery yummy stuff on the opposite side of the table. In the center of the train car was a white metal tub with rubber duckies inside. There were also several sizes of apothecary jars that I filled with suckers, miniature rainbow candies, and red gumballs. I ordered the darling clown cake pops from an online Etsy Shop and they couldn’t have been cuter in the stacked silver milk bottles! I made “lion tamer whips” out of chocolate licorice and placed them in a clear shallow glass bowl. I also filled cute carnival treat boxes with cupcakes for the guests, just in case they didn’t get enough sweets!
The focal point of the first circus train car was the darling Balancing Elephant Cake. The other fun circus items surrounding the cake included: toy animals that I “dressed up” with paint and ribbon; a miniature metal Ferris Wheel dispenser with bowls full of toys and treats; a sweet vintage Humpty Dumpty Lumps penny candy tin; a rotating wooden container filled with colored paper straws, candy mustaches, bright party blow outs, and candy peanuts; strongman dumbbells made with striped straws and round suckers; animal crackers and more!
I arranged Mason jar glasses on a small beverage table. Behind the glasses was a fun lollipop display. I made the display using an old Coca-Cola crate, some Styrofoam, and various fun and colorful lollipops and jawbreaker pops. I strung a delicate bunting flag banner {made with tickets and silver pipe cleaner} between two glittery batons nestled in the back of the crate. There were also two glass apothecary jars on the table, filled with yummy cookies.
All of the party guests had a chance to have their picture taken at a festive carnival-themed photo booth! I made the booth using pvc pipe, hot glue, and colorful polka dot fabric. I strung a homemade, fabric “happy birthday” banner across the back of the booth. To the side of the booth was a gumball machine and balloons tied to a yellow ducky balloon weight. I found a vintage suitcase online and filled it with photo booth props like silly glasses, hats, noses, bow ties, gloves, a xylophone, and even a rubber chicken! I think that it looked just like a traveling circus clown’s suitcase would have.
I’m loving this CIRCUS THEMED BABY SHOWER submitted by Jennifer Stolfi! The ferris wheel cupcake holder in the middle of the table is my favorite!
Jennifer said this about planning the party- “This was a Circus Themed Baby Shower that I threw for my sister, Katie. She’s having a baby girl named Claire. A couple years ago I fell in love with and purchased a wrought iron Ferris wheel and have been dying to have a circus party! The Ferris wheel became the inspiration and focal point for the shower. I have a slight obsessions with crafting and party planning so most everything at the party was made by me from almost all the desserts to all the decorations.
Decor:
I choose bright fun girly colors of yellow, orange, hot pink, light pink and turquoise for all the decor and desserts. A colorful ribbon banner hung from the dessert table and we placed tissue balls over an old painting to create a beautiful work of art behind the table. I made elephant and giraffe pictures to hand on either side of this. These were a gift to my sister to hang in the babies room. Balloons, streamers and sparkly circle garland hung over the main room to create a “big top” and were used as decorations throughout the party. Spray painted gold animals we scattered all over the party right down to the cake topper and jars filled with peanuts and flags were used as table centerpieces.
Food:
All of the food was circus themed from pulled pork and chicken salad sliders, chips and dip, mini corn dogs, fruit kabobs, pretzel bites dipped in cheese and tater tots.
The dessert table included Elephant sugar cookies, white powdered sugar donuts, cupcakes with cotton candy toppers, white chocolate covered popcorn, iced animal crackers, a gorgeous polka dot cake and an assortment of candy.
Favors:
The favors were pink scalloped boxes filled with frosted animal crackers.
Game:
Each guest drew and envelope from a basket that contained a picture of a baby. The lady who found the baby with “mama” or “dada”: picture on it won. The prizes were big clear bowls filled with all sorts of popcorn and chocolate lollipop lips and mustaches.
To top the day off, my husband surprised me by buying our dog the cutest lion costume. The circus was complete with wild animals to help celebrate!”
Vendors and Credits:
Cake- Christine’s Cakes & Pastries
Ferris Wheel Cupcake Holder, Ticket Rolls, Striped Paper Straws, Napkins, Ribbon, Paper Lanterns, Tissue Balls, Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks, Clear Cellophane Bags, Scalloped Popcorn Boxes- Kara’s Party Shop
Vendors and Credits:
Cake- Christine’s Cakes & Pastries
Ferris Wheel Cupcake Holder, Ticket Rolls, Striped Paper Straws, Napkins, Ribbon, Paper Lanterns, Tissue Balls, Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks, Clear Cellophane Bags, Scalloped Popcorn Boxes- Kara’s Party Shop
Oh my GOODness, I think my heart just stopped. This CARNIVAL THEMED WEDDING submitted by Leigh Anne Wilkes of Your Homebased Mom is absolutely amazing! WHAT a wedding this must have been! I would have died to go to this reception, let me tell you! So many wonderful ideas here….this would be such a fun birthday party or shower theme, too!
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