How to Entertain Kids at a Circus Theme Birthday Party

If your child has a birthday coming and you're looking for a theme party that is easy to put together, then step right up and take a trip to the circus. Kids love the color and excitement of a circus, and the possibilities are endless when looking for creative entertainment. This theme works best with plenty of adults to help and with several activities going on simultaneously allowing kids to rotate from one to the other on their own like a carnival. Follow these steps to start planning so that you can entertain kids at a circus theme birthday party.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Tuxedo jacket with tails
• Construction paper
• Brown paper lunch bags
• Toys or candy for prizes
• Face paints
• Clown costume
• Empty appliance box
• Beanbags
• Balloons
• Sheet of plywood
• Darts
• Several empty 2 liter soda bottles
• Paper plates

1. Dress an adult in a ringmaster outfit to greet guests as they arrive at the door. Escort them to the Center Ring where they will find crayons or markers along with brown paper lunch bags. Have them color their own bags and then use them throughout the party to hold their prizes and favors as they collect them.
2. Cut animal paw prints out of construction paper and place on the ground in a large circle. Then, like Musical Chairs, have the kids walk around the circle while music plays. Make sure you have one less paw print than you have children. When the music stops, everyone finds a paw to stand on and the child who doesn't get to one is out. Remove a paw print and repeat the game until all but one child is left. As kids get eliminated, give them a small prize. Then have a larger prize for the winner.
3. Hire a face painter, or buy your own paints and get a book at your local library with face painting instructions and simple designs. Have this going on throughout the party so that kids can stop in and get their faces done in between activities rather than having them wait in a line. Depending on the number of kids, you may need more than one painter.
4. Dress an adult or teenager like a clown and fill their pockets with small toys and candy. Have them walk around the party and encourage guests to do a trick or tell them a joke. Whoever does gets a prize.
5. Paint an elephant on a large appliance box and cut a big hole where the mouth is. Make some beanbags that look like peanuts and have kids take turns feeding the elephant. Give them three bean bags at a time, and whoever gets all three bags in wins a big prize. Everyone else should still get some type of small consolation prize.
6. Blow up different color balloons and tack them onto a piece of plywood. Have the kids take turns throwing darts to try to pop the balloon. Fill baskets with toys and mark the baskets with signs that correspond to the various balloon colors. Let them choose a toy out of the basket that matches the color of the balloon they popped.
7. Make a ring toss game by putting a cup of sand into empty two liter soda bottles, and stand them on the ground. Make rings out of paper plates, and have the kids try to toss them to get one around a bottle. If your kids are a little older, eliminate the sand to make the game more challenging.

Tips & Warnings

• Kids love balloons so have some available they can take home with them, but don't hand them out during the party as they will be a distraction for them while trying to play games.
• Inflatable bounce houses provide hours of fun and are pretty easy to rent. Most companies will deliver, set up and tear down which means no work for you.

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