Ian's 1st Birthday Carnival Good morning! Woke up this morning bright and early, and decided to take a shot at blogging about Ian's first birthday party. We had this party in December last year, but after the party was done and dusted, the last thing I wanted to do was to even talk about it! Well, the thought of going through thousands of pictures was such a turn off. And truthfully, I procrastinated because I was slightly gutted by the party... because... it was meant to be an outdoor party and... yes... you guessed it.... it rained. *double sigh* Anyway, fast forward to a month later, after lots and lots of shopping therapy, I can now turn around and give myself a pat on the back for a job well done (despite the rain), and thank my lucky stars that the rain decided to only drizzle instead of pouring cats and dogs. This post is dedicated to the DIY ideas and decorations I made for Ian's party. (I'll write a separate post for the actual party.) I hope I inspire you to start DIY-ing your party. Vendor credits and web links at the end of the post! The dessert table. My fellow loyal readers would know that I have been planning this circus party for years. It was meant to be Aiden's 4th birthday party, but what I didn't realise was that by 4 years old, he was wise enough to choose (and demand) his own birthday theme! So the circus props were just sitting in my party room, just begging to be used. Then Ian came along, so I decided to throw a circus carnival for his first birthday! I wanted to try something new for the dessert setup. Saw the cute red luggage bags at Kaison and it inspired me to try a somewhat more rustic style for the table. A neighbour was planning a similar rustic wedding setup so she ordered the crates and graciously allowed me to borrow them! *great neighbours* So here goes! Enjoy the pictures! DIY-ed this frame. Sew pleats on a red material then hot glued it to the back of the Ikea Nytja frame in blue. Made the paper fan and hot glued them to cover the "curtain" pull back. Printables "circus", (cupcake) topper and poster from a free printable available on the web (link below) The frame also acts like a photo frame - great for those Kodak moments. I had up to four people trying to cram themselves into the frame - super fun! And it is way cheaper than ordering those pre-ordered Instagram boards, don't you think? Next up, the dessert table! Browsing through my circus ideas on Pinterest, I found some pretty great dessert tables under a tent like structure. Since my patio already has a pelmet framing the glass window, I used red and white striped paper (from Ikea) to cover the glass. Then cut U shapes out of red and white paper to make the tent flaps. Made the tutu by sewing pleats from soft net. Stapled white ribbon all around to cover the sewn pleats. Since the soft net was not thick, I had to find a similar colour (in this case red) material to line the back so that you cannot see the table legs. Since the striped paper was not wide enough, we had to cover the window using three long strips. We did such a good job, that it actually looked seamless; like one big piece! The layout. Ian's cake made with love. Chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache filling. Placed the cake on top of the bigger red luggage bag for added height. Clown head cupcake toppers and clown candle from a local baking shop in town. Wooden letters from Typo. For the left side of the table, I made cupcakes in red/white striped cups and presented them in the cute ferris wheel cupcake stand. Other cupcakes were placed on the tent-like cupcake stand. Candy canes since it was Christmas season. Jelly beans in the red/white striped cups. Rock candy from Party City.Personalized candy bar too from the matching printable set. Loving this cute ferris wheel cupcake stand from Groupon. Ticket dispenser from Hobby Lobby. I placed the ticket dispenser on top of the cupcake stand on standby for use during the carnival games. It has a slit on the top and dispenses the roll of tickets contained within it. Note to self - next time buy more jelly beans to fill the striped cups to the brim! And bake more macarons please! *chuckle* For the right side of the table, I packed Choco Teddies into a cello bag and topped it with a personalized printable. These are the packets you see in the red luggage bag. Then I printed a circus inspired design and shaped them into cones, filled them with popcorn and tadaaaa... popcorn cones! Personalized jelly and water too! Circus tent tumbler at the top of the crate from Oriental Trading. Pre-packed teddy cookies and popcorn cones. Bought the acrylic holder a longggg time ago, it was sitting around unused because I didn't know what to use it for. Finally it became my popcorn cone holder! Filled my apothecary jars with jelly, marshmallow, Garrett popcorn, pretzels and homemade macarons. Adorned the jars with strips of tickets to match the theme A close up of the cake. It was actually a triple celebration! Since Ian and I share the same birth date, I took the opportunity to bake a cake of my own too. December is also our anniversary month... a good long 9 years with Hubby. (Wonder whether I should throw a 10th year anniversary party this year... *grin*) I made white cake with cream cheese filling... nyum! Striped paper straw from Shop at Gie's and pennant banner printable link provided below. Paper plates, tissues, napkins and paper cups all from the circus party range from Party City. Ordered this way back and handcarried them back home. Ahh the things I do for my sons' parties. Okay, enough shots of the candy buffet. Next, I wanted the party to have carnival games. If you are planning to replicate the same, make sure you have enough help. You will need help for supervising each game booth, distribution of tickets, and manning the prizes counter. For this party, thankfully I had my sibling, sister in-laws and neighbours who were oh-so-kind to give a helping hand. I hung three pieces of cloth from the pelmet of my living hall window, to demarcate the area for each game - Tin Can Toss, Ring Toss and Ball Toss Bonanza. I used a tree in the garden to hang the Pin The Nose on the Clown game and the clown shaped pinata. I printed instructions for each of the game for easy reference. For each game, everyone will get a maximum of three tickets to a minimum of one, depending on how they fare. So even if the ball you toss fails to go into any buckets, you still get one ticket so everyone is a winner! The layout in the garden. I stuck to the colour palette of red, blue and yellow throughout the party. Circus tent from Lazada. Ikea sells a similar tent too! Can you see all the hanging origamis from the tree? Darling Hubby made each and everyone of those, then meticulously hung each of them from our trees! My neighbours worked till past 1am, hanging these balloons in our garden. Some of them were hung so high up, I don't know how they managed to reach those heights! The games area. Blue cones from Daiso. Loving the huge clown face! First up, Pin The Nose on the Clown. I printed red circle "nose" stickers and hand cut them (one by one) for this game. Tin can toss! Sent an urgent message to my neighbours urging them to save their condensed milk tins for this purpose. Printable link below - I just printed it and stuck it to the tin. Stress balls (you know, the rubber squeezable ones) were used to knock the tins down. Simple and cheap fun! Ball toss bonanza. I made use of multi coloured pails and ping pong balls for this game. Ring Toss game from Party City. I also had a Carnival Prizes Booth at the end of the games table. Kids could then exchange the tickets they won for a prize of their choice. I made sure I had enough prizes so that every child would go home with something. It was so much fun watching the kids trying their best to win tickets to go for the four top grand prizes! The carnival prizes booth. I used crates to give height to the booth. Then crammed as much prizes as I could with the limited space I had! *grin* Carnival paper frame from Party City. Stuck it to an Ikea frame and placed it on every table. Printed the poster in black and white as a colouring activity for the smaller kids. It was a win-win situation, parents could eat in peace while the kids coloured! The crayons were from Tesco, I simple packed them into cello bags and topped them with a matching printable. What circus carnival party would be complete without popcorn??!! Popcorn from Kiddy Bounce. A bouncing castle just by my gate for the kids to jump around and release their pent up energy. Bouncing castle also from Kiddy Bounce. Last but certainly not least, we had a clown at our party. Seen here holding the clown pinata. Stay tuned for my next post of the actual party... and how we dived into Plan B when it rained. *cries* Thanks for reading everyone! Vendor credits and links: Printables from Printabelle (they're free!) Popcorn cone printable Tin can toss printable Tent cupcake stand, paper plates, tissue paper, cups and paper frames from Party City. Tent tumblers from Oriental Trading. Ticket dispenser from Hobby Lobby Ferris wheel cupcake holder from Groupon Red luggage bags from Kaison Wooden letters from Typo Striped paper straws from Shop at Gie's Mini bunting printable for the cakes from Allsorts (it's free!) Pin the nose on the clown and Ring toss game from Party City. Popcorn and bouncing castle from Kiddy Bounce
This weekend, I am throwing a "joint" DIY Carnival Party for two of my boys. I think the kids are going to be excited about all the prizes that they are going to be able to win. Today, I am sharing a "sneak peak" at some of the easy and inexpensive carnival prizes I have purchased and made for the party. All of the prizes will be displayed in front of a fun "prize booth" backdrop that I created from a dollar store tri-fold and red duct tape. It was a simple DIY project, but I think it will have a big impact. A good backdrop really sets the stage and adds a bit of "polish". One of the prizes I am really excited about are the pom pom poppers I made from pool noodles, balloons and duct tape. I was able to make a bunch (inexpensively), and I am sure the kids will have a lot of fun with them. You can find the full tutorial for pom pom poppers here. Of course, I also have a bunch of dollar store goodies. My boys had fun picking out their favorite little treats. One of the more unique prizes that will be available to be won are these LEGO crayons that I crafted from old, broken crayons. I love how bright and colorful they are, and my boys love LEGO! You can find the full tutorial for recycling crayons here. Another way to get a lot of prizes without breaking the bank is to buy in bulk and divide up the contents. I bought a large box of sidewalk chalk, and I bagged it up in groups of two. Now I have a bunch of fun prizes for the kids to win. It's also fun to try new ways to present prizes. I created a fun "prize punch" (from dollar store supplies) for hockey cards. You can find the full tutorial for this carnival prize punch here. I have been making these prize punches for years, and they are always a highlight of my boys' parties. Finally, a party isn't a party without some sweet treats, and these little containers of candy make perfect prizes. I purchased big bags of candy, and then I packaged them in little condiment containers. Cute, right? With these little containers, a few bags of candy can be turned into a large number of treats. I can't wait for all our little party guests to win some of these carnival prizes. I wonder which prizes will be the biggest hits. Do you have a favorite? ♥ Gina (aka East Coast Mommy) PS (Here is the link to all the other DIY carnival party details.)
Step right up and unleash the magic of carnival fun with the best carnival party ideas! We’ve rounded up our 28 top carnival party ideas for inspiration.
Step Right Up and GRAB A PRIZE! This Carnival Birthday Party prize sign is so much fun!! Pair it with my coordinating thank you tag printables for an adorable party favor in minutes. Be sure to check out all of my other matching Carnival Party printables to transform your backyard into a birthday carnival spectacular! This is such a fun party theme for a kids birthday party! **This listing is for DIGITAL PRINTABLE FILES for DIY printing. No physical products will be sent/mailed to you.** ____________________________________________________ INSTANT DOWNLOAD Carnival Party thank you printable pack includes: 1. "Grab A Prize" sign (Sign artwork is 29.5 x 12.3 inches. It is sized to be printed as a standard 20x30 inch poster) 2. "Thanks for coming to my Birthday Carnival" thank you favor tags *with editable name areas* (6 tags fit on standard 8.5x11 inch page) _____________________________________ The files are available for instant download. Once payment is confirmed, you will receive an email with your download link to the email address you have on file with Etsy. _____________________________________________ EDITING YOUR PDF: The thank you favor tags are a PDF file that contain editable fields. Open the PDF in Adobe Reader and fill out the personalized name sections. After making all edits, click "save" and print!! :-) **PLEASE NOTE: You must open the PDF files in Adobe Reader and make all edits in Adobe Reader. If you do not have Adobe Reader on your computer already you can download it for free at www.get.adobe.com/reader. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: * This PDF is editable in Adobe Reader, which is free to download. (www.get.adobe.com/reader). * Adobe Reader does not allow the formatting of fonts. This means that you cannot change the color, size or style of the text from the preset settings. * Backgrounds, images and fixed text cannot be changed. * Restrictions on the number of characters per editable field may apply. ___________________________________________ Check out all of the other coordinating party printables in this Carnival Birthday Party theme: Matching Backdrop can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1281953969/carnival-birthday-party-backdrop Matching Table Decor and Concessions signage can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1281878885/carnival-birthday-party-decor-printable Matching "Carnival Tattoos" printable sign can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1267958202/carnival-birthday-party-printable-sign Matching Personalized Bottle Labels, Cupcake Toppers, Food Table Tent Signs: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1268006710/carnival-birthday-party-printables Matching Invitation can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1267944202/carnival-birthday-party-invitation ___________________________________________ FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. Please do NOT recreate or sell printed versions for a third party. Instant download digital items are NON-REFUNDABLE due to the nature of the item.
How to Avoid Running Out of TOP PRIZES at Your Next Carnival...Updated 5/23/2023Can you imagine planning a carnival and finding that all your game prizes are gone during the first hour of a 3 hour carnival? Well, that is exactly what happened to an elemen…
If your little one is celebrating their birthday during the summer, then why not celebrate with a carnival theme party? There’s nothing better than a fun carnival! Carnivals are full of delicious food, fun games, and bright colors! It makes the perfect birthday theme, especially if you’re going to have an outdoor party! With a
This Carnival Birthday Party post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures, here. Step right up! Come one, come all! It's Easton's Backyard Carnival Birthday Party! We had so much fun celebrating Easton's 7th birthday. The day was filled with friends, family, games, sweet treats, prizes and lots of clowning around! I created a
This weekend, I am throwing a "joint" DIY Carnival Party for two of my boys. I think the kids are going to be excited about all the prizes that they are going to be able to win. Today, I am sharing a "sneak peak" at some of the easy and inexpensive carnival prizes I have purchased and made for the party. All of the prizes will be displayed in front of a fun "prize booth" backdrop that I created from a dollar store tri-fold and red duct tape. It was a simple DIY project, but I think it will have a big impact. A good backdrop really sets the stage and adds a bit of "polish". One of the prizes I am really excited about are the pom pom poppers I made from pool noodles, balloons and duct tape. I was able to make a bunch (inexpensively), and I am sure the kids will have a lot of fun with them. You can find the full tutorial for pom pom poppers here. Of course, I also have a bunch of dollar store goodies. My boys had fun picking out their favorite little treats. One of the more unique prizes that will be available to be won are these LEGO crayons that I crafted from old, broken crayons. I love how bright and colorful they are, and my boys love LEGO! You can find the full tutorial for recycling crayons here. Another way to get a lot of prizes without breaking the bank is to buy in bulk and divide up the contents. I bought a large box of sidewalk chalk, and I bagged it up in groups of two. Now I have a bunch of fun prizes for the kids to win. It's also fun to try new ways to present prizes. I created a fun "prize punch" (from dollar store supplies) for hockey cards. You can find the full tutorial for this carnival prize punch here. I have been making these prize punches for years, and they are always a highlight of my boys' parties. Finally, a party isn't a party without some sweet treats, and these little containers of candy make perfect prizes. I purchased big bags of candy, and then I packaged them in little condiment containers. Cute, right? With these little containers, a few bags of candy can be turned into a large number of treats. I can't wait for all our little party guests to win some of these carnival prizes. I wonder which prizes will be the biggest hits. Do you have a favorite? ♥ Gina (aka East Coast Mommy) PS (Here is the link to all the other DIY carnival party details.)
Don't Make THIS Common Prize Mistake At Your Next Carnival...Many carnival planners, due to inexperience, accidentally make a mistake that ends up making the prizes less exciting for kids... and maybe costing extra money in the long run. With more than a …
Today's super fun party feature comes to us from Rochelle of Chelle's Lolly Buffets in Perth. A Carnival party for her little ones Seth & ...
Last weekend I hosted a Carnival party for my boys, and we had a ton of easy games that all the kids loved. Today I am sharing all the awesome carnival games and activities I put together for our little party guests. As the guests arrived, they made a couple of guesses at our guessing booth. The person that guessed the correct number of candies was given the jar full of goodies to take home. Our carnival prize punch was a big hit with the guests. They threw small rubber balls at the foam core boards until they were able to break through the tissue paper. When the child succeeded, he/she was able to reach inside the cup and claim his/her prize. You can find the full step-by-step tutorial for the carnival prize punch here. Every guests was also given access to our giant tattoo board. I cut out dollar store tattoos and taped them to a piece of foam core. Then, guests were able to easily select a tattoo for me to apply. Fun, right? The party also had a basic face painting station. I bought some inexpensive face paint, and drew out a few simple designs. I am not an artist so I kept things pretty basic, but it was still fun. The straw draw was requested by my middle son, and it was a huge hit with the party guests. I cut up bits of paper, and then I left some blank and marked some with an "X". Then, I rolled up the bits of paper and inserted them inside one-inch pieces of paper straws. The party guests chose straws, and the ones that found "X"s exchanged them for prizes. Carnival party games don't get much easier than knock down. All you need to do is: stack cups, throw a ball, and knock them down. I found colorful bowls at Walmart for $1 each, and I knew they would be perfect for a bean bag toss. The kids loved trying to get points and get higher scores than their friends. Every child loves the simplicity of a ball toss game, and this one was inexpensively made from an old box. You can find the full tutorial for our ball toss here. Our final game was a basic ring toss that I made from a recycled paper towel roll. I wrapped the paper towel roll in red and white duct tape, and then I hot glued it to piece of canvas. I made rings from several pipe cleaners wrapped together. All of our carnival games were easy and inexpensive... but they were also awesome and lots of fun! You can download all the red and white carnival signs that I designed here. Which carnival games would your kids enjoy? ♥ Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy) PS (Here is the link to all the other DIY carnival party details.) Follow East Coast Mommy on Facebook for more easy and inexpensive ideas for family fun.
