We can pinpoint the exact moment our lives changed forever. It was November 2018 and we were on a flight from Toronto to San Diego. We were browsing through the in-flight entertainment when a colourful image of "The Greatest Showman" popped up. Well, I think it's fair to say that since that fateful fight, we have watched the film and/or listened to the soundtrack THOUSANDS of times and can confidently attest that IT. NEVER. GETS. OLD. Thankfully, we've coverted close friends and family and have even planned out our England 2021 (pending Covid...) trip to see the live West End show, but that's for a later blog post...
When we were creating party boxes, we knew a circus theme was a must! For my daughters' 7th birthday, we were searching for a party idea that would be a mix of her wild and loud personality with all the glitter and pizzaz that she loves. A few sequinned costumes and face paint tests later and the Circus Glam Party idea was born! What is circus glam exactly? It's the theatrics of the show, meets everything wild and wonderful. It's basically an 'anything goes' spectacle where party guests can lean into anything and everything they want to be! The more bizarre the better! The weirder, the more fantastic! The brighter, the...well, you get the idea.
Needless to say, the kids loved it. Party guests who arrived as clowns had become ring masters before appetizers. We left a few trays of face paint out, which took characters into new directions...who knew blue cats were SO popular amongst the 7 (and 39 year olds!??!). We made sure to set up a photo wall to capture some of the cutest party pics we have shot to date.
Attire
The greatest thing about a glam circus party is that anything goes!!! Grab props, scarfs, hats, headbands, feathers and have fun!! Let your kids choose which circus character they want to be - and hey, if it's more than one, there's nothing better than combining multiple characters together. We even had a fire breathing, zebra, weight-lifter! Incase your guests are looking for some ideas and inspiration, here's a list of fun costumes/characters:
- ring master
- elephant/ lion trainer
- fire eater
- fortune teller
- trapeze artist
- strongest man/ woman
- tight rope walker
- circus animal - lion, tiger, elephant, horse, seal
Food
We served up all things sweet & salty and really leaned into carnival-inspired indulgences. Think peanuts, popcorn and cotton candy! We also filled glass jars with animal crackers, pretzels and party mix! To keep things easy, we made pulled pork on the slow cooker and bought pre-mixed coleslaw - #winning. But if we're being honest, the kids filled up on the snacks and sugar before we even served dinner, but I guess that is what a kid's birthday party is all about. We finished it off with some homemade cupcakes, topped with circus-inspired sprinkles (and some more cotton candy!).
Some other circus party food ideas include:
- hot dogs
- French fries
- hot pretzels
- corn dogs
- donuts
- chili
- nachos and cheese
- funnel cakes
- pizza
- hamburgers (with donut buns if you really want to lean into the carnival calories!)
- caramel corn
- candy apples
Decor
We shopped circus party decor at Caring Confetti for the best and cutest party supplies for our glam circus party! Our absolute favourite was the Hip Hip Hooray colourful party fans that made the perfect photo backdrop! What we love even more is that these fans can be used again and again. Simply pop them into a circle and hold open using a paper clip. When the party is over, you can undo the clip and fold them back up for safe storage, ready to be used for the next event! The circus party box came with everything we needed, including circus party plates, circus dog napkins, a pretty paper tablecloth and the brightest hanging decorations!
Activities
We had no idea when we (accidentally) left out the face paint that it would become such a big party hit!! Throw in a grandpa with a hidden face paint talent and a perfect party activity was born! The girls even persuaded their dads to have their faces painted and let's just say, they shouldn't quit their day jobs/school learning anytime soon ;). We also had the bouncy castle set-up for kids to run, roll and jump in. The most fun part ended up being a game where they would all jump inside the bouncy castle and someone would cut the power off, making the castle collapse on them. Hey - whatever makes them happy!!
Another fun and completely unplanned activity was when the moms decided to play octopus where the kids ran back and forth from either side of the backyard, trying not to be tagged. If they were, they became seaweed and tried to touch the remaining kids as they ran past. It definitely resulted in lots of giggles and some fun competition!
Some other fun ideas include:
- ring toss
- bean bag toss
- make your own candy apples/ decorate your own candy apples
- potato sack races
- The Greatest Showman sing-along and/or karaoke competition
- “fire” jumping through a hula hoop
- circus talent show
All and all, this was a GREAT party. We had so many laughs and will cherish all the photos and memories for years to come!
Have a circus inspired party you want to share? We would love to hear for you! Send us a message: info@caringconfetti.ca
