How to throw a BIG Top Circus Party
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Recently we were able to celebrate my Grandma’s 95th birthday party. We were able to turn a simple room into a Big Top atmosphere with a complete 5 Ring Circus. My uncle welcomed us all with the classic line “Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and girls of all ages…. Welcome to the BIG Celebration!” He directed our attention to each of the areas of our party room! We had 5 focus areas. All bases were covered and the party was a smashing success! Here are some of the highlights and some tips to help you plan for your BIG Top Five Ring Circus Party.
How to throw a BIG Top Five Ring Circus Party
With any party, there are 5 areas where you need to focus. Thanks to Oriental Trading, we’ve got all the decorations, ideas and even a printable to help make your Big Top Five Ring Circus Party a success! We all enjoyed celebrating my Grandma’s party while we spent time together making memories.
Children’s Area
No matter how old the guest of honor is, there will probably be children at your party! Grandma turned 95. That means she has kids, grandkids and great grandkids that were excited to come and celebrate her birthday. But when kids attend a party where most of the guests are over 50, it’s good to be prepared.
We prepared a special place just for the kids! A colorful rugs, a few toys, snacks, games and a craft table guaranteed some really happy little campers!
Food for Everyone!
Providing food is a crucial part of any party, but it doesn’t have to be a complex ordeal. We did a pot luck style luncheon with lots of Circus themed foods. Buckets of popcorn, party favors on the table with circus gum drops and plenty of suckers rounded out the food options.
Tip: We bought this fun Big Top sucker stand. It was big enough to be a great table display centerpiece, but then lays down flat for storage. This was definitely a big hit for the kids and adults as well!
Create the Environment
A room is simply a room until you turn it into something special! There are some definite things that turned our simple room into a Big Top Atmosphere. Be watching tomorrow for how to create a fun centerpiece for your tables.
We ordered some great table decorations to help us create our environment. The red tablecloths, candy spread on the tables and the Big Tops for each table gave us just the right amount of ‘atmosphere’ on each table.
Photo Booth
One of the most awkward parts of many parties is trying to get great group photos. People often tend to get tense and don’t want to smile when it’s time take those family pictures. But there is an easy solution. We set up a simple Big Top Photo Booth area at the party in an effort to bring out the smiles. And guess what? It worked!
Tip: Provide small frames and photo props to help make people forget about the canned smiles. The only thing I would suggest is to make sure you order contrasting props that will stand out against your photo backdrop. Notice how much better the white note cards and gold frame stand out instead of the black frame. We were able to get some of the family members to smile and relax as they played around with the frames and props.
Tip: Keep the small conversation bubble props and dry erase markers from getting misplaced by taping a styrofoam cup to a chair. Pop out the bottom of the cup so there will be a definite home place
Games of Chance
One of the fun highlights of a Circus is the opportunity to try your luck at the arcade. For our Big Top party, my Mom put together several guessing games. She filled each jar with circus themed snacks. One jar was full of peanuts, another she filled with the orange circus peanuts, one with animal crackers and the final jar was filled with red and white peppermints.
Each guest was encouraged to write down their guesses on a piece of paper in front of the jars. At the end of the party, the guest who had the closest number got to WIN the jar and take it home as the prize!
Tip: Make sure you write down the correct answer in a concealed location! You definitely don’t want to lose the answer!
Print your Sign for the Counting Jars
Our party was such a success that we’re already planning the next big family party! Have you had a Circus Themed Party? I’d love to hear your favorite tip for a successful party!
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Sharon, great synopsis of a fun party for all ages. I loved that ya’ll had such wonderful decorations, and a 5-ring circus was the best! You threw a great party.