There are so many great ways to create a fun and unforgettable vintage circus themed birthday party.
This party theme is perfect for a child’s birthday because it has so much potential: circus-themed games, food, show alleys, the ideas are endless!
Let’s explore some different ideas for popping your popcorn!
Circus party food
As soon as you say the word circus, a lot of food immediately comes to mind, like popcorn, sausage, pretzels, cotton candy, and peanuts.
You can always get creative with your food, opting to have a dessert buffet featuring your favorite treats such as ice cream, donuts, and popcorn cupcakes.
A separate stand for popcorn and cotton candy would be a fun idea, and another area for tasty circus foods like hot dogs, sloppy sausages, pretzels, corn dogs, and hot fries.
Sideshow Alley and games
There are so many fun games that you can set up for your circus show alley. Popular ideas are:
Coin Toss – Toss coins into shallow glasses or plates to win a prize.
Ring Toss: throw rings on cones.
Balloon darts – Maybe better for older kids.
Duck Pond – A paddling pool with hooked ducks on their heads and long sticks for kids to try to “catch.”
Spin the Wheel – a wheel with prizes or numbers for children to choose a prize.
Milk Bottles – Bottles filled with sand that need to be pulled off a stool.
Guess How Many: Fill a jar with candies like m & m’s and ask the children to guess how many are in the jar. Whoever guesses the correct number or the closest guess wins the jar as a prize.
Horseshoes: Throw horseshoes around the stake.
Other features of your sideshow alley would be:
Photo Booth – Complete with fun accessories, hats, and glasses for your guests to pose with each other.
Balloon Animals: A clown creating fun balloon animals would be an absolute hit.
Face Painting – A clown or circus ringmaster painting children’s faces as a lion, clown, monkey, butterfly, or whatever!
Pony rides – a wonderful feature for a fun-filled day.
Sack Races / Three Legged Race – A fun classic party game.
Circus Party Decorations
Your vintage circus party decor will consist of lots of red and white stripes, stars, old paper, vintage style posters, or painted backgrounds. Yellow, blue, and aqua are also great colors to add to the mix.
You could introduce some of the classic characters from the classic circus, such as the strong man, the bearded lady, the seal swinging a ball, swinging an elephant, a bear on a bicycle, Siamese twins, a lion on a platform, a cannon man and a clown car.
You could have centerpieces or elements for your party, such as a miniature carnival carousel, a cannon with stars flying and a man flying across the room, clowns in various poses dancing around the edges of the table or along the walls. .
Your vintage circus party can be as elaborate or creative as you like, the only limit, of course is your imagination!
