A Carnival Theme Party

• Make a Carnival Photo Booth -- Hang a large piece of polka dotted fabric on one wall and over at the top write, "Photo Booth". Have your guests wear clown noses or other clown accessories and take their pictures in front of the backdrop. These make great mementos to send in your thank you notes.

• Candy and Carnival Goodies -- Decorating with candy is a colorful way to make your carnival theme party feel authentic. Fill a large glass jar with jelly beans for both a decoration and a fun activity where the guests try to guess the number of beans in the jar. Use popcorn boxes filled with giant swirly lollipops , animal crackers cotton candy and other favors at your table as place setters. Set out a candy bar with bowls of different colored treats like those you might find at a real carnival.

Party Time Complete Party in a Box

Carnival Party Games and Activities

Burning Rings of Fire – Set up activity hoops (or other targets such as laundry baskets or buckets), and give each target a different point value depending on its level of difficulty. Have the children take turns each tossing 3 beanbag animals to try and get the highest score possible.

Balloon Squish Relay —Divide the children into two even teams. The object of this game is to have the children run a relay while having a balloon squished between their leg and a partner’s leg. If the balloon drops, they must stop and reset it. You can make this as easy or as challenging as you wish. A simple race would be to have the teams go from one end of the hall and back. You could make it more challenging by putting obstacles for them to step over, things to pick up along the way, or even having them go up and down the steps. Now that requires teamwork!

Multi-Block Relay Race – Wrap about 4 to 6 boxes with fun wrapping paper (shoe box size and smaller). Put them in a stack. Have children line up and try to pick up the stack of boxes and race to a designated place and back to their team without dropping any boxes. If the boxes drop, they must stop and restack them. You can either time the children to see how fast they can each complete this race, divide the children into two teams for a traditional relay race (each team needs its own stack of boxes), or set up two teams facing each other and have the children take turns carrying the stack to the team on the other side for a game where everyone wins.

Clown Make-Up Area And Tattoo Parlor - Set up and area where the kids can either decorate their own face, or you can have an adult volunteer make up all your little clowns. Then have them move over to the photo booth for some fun snapshots!

Do you have any special memories of particular carnival party games? Chances are that with a little imagination they can be replicated in your home!

Carnival Theme Party Menu Ideas

After all of the activity of game time, your guests will probably be ready for some refreshments. For a carnival party theme, you can serve anything that you might find at a circus or carnival, such as:

• Corn dogs, burgers, french fries, and corn on the cob

• POPCORN!

• Soft Pretzels

• Peanut butter and jelly Sandwiches cut into animal shapes with cookie cutters

• Liven up your drinks by putting a few drops of food coloring into your ice tray for colored ice cubes.

• For dessert, you can make ice cream clowns by putting a single scoop on a plate (or a large cookie base). Then top with an ice cream cone hat. Decorate your clown with frosting and small candies.

Carnival Theme Party Favor Ideas

• Animal Crackers

• Clown Noses

• Giant Swirly Lollipops

• Bubble Wands and Bubble Stuff

• Jumbo Red Vines

If you enjoyed these carnival theme party ideas, you might also enjoy these parties:

Jungle Party

Zoo Party

Luau Party