What started out to be an “Animal Crackers” theme – we were going to have our daughter’s 11th Birthday party at the movie theater to watch a movie by that name which was supposed to be out that month (another story, another time) – ended up being a sort of modern circus theme. By the way, we ended up having the birthday party at a gymnastics center instead of the movie theater, and I realized that I really didn’t need all the decorations and such, but, again, the theme quest to me is way more fun than the reason for it. Unlike the pirate scavenger hunt, it took me weeks and probably way more money than I should have spent. We do what we have to do, right???!
So – here’s what I came up with (special thanks to Pinterest!)
The main (mane) attraction was the lion. It was one of the first things I found for the party. Found it at Home Goods (love that store!)
The stand is a party bucket from WalMart with a pennant from Party City attached.
Here’s a gift bag I found at Home Goods while I was there – didn’t use it other than as a color scheme.
The invitation was from Walmart.
I loved the animal crackers and balloon!
The balloon was from Party City (I couldn’t believe how well the colors matched the color scheme!), animal crackers from Fred Meyer. Notice the bear – it does a little song and dance – found it in the party aisle at Wal Mart and couldn’t resist! Look at the flower bouquet – I saw that on Pinterest and knew I had to do it! I already had the Popcorn container (probably from a garage sale) and went to a local florist for white hydrangea.
As for other snacks – well, I did mostly sugar that day…
To break it down…. circus peanuts and orange slice candies were from Tuesday Morning, the pinwheel cookies I found at Trader Joe’s, and Grocery Outlet had the Belgium waffle cookies. I think the peppermint sticks were from Dollar Tree. I honestly can’t remember where the other candies came from : ).
But I can tell you where the cake pops came from! Oh, my goodness were they good!!!
Cake pops were special ordered from Schatzi’s Bake Haus https://www.pinterest.com/schatzisbakehaus/ and the lollipop stand I ordered from Oriental Trading Company. The cute little ticket stand in front I found on clearance at Michael’s.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned the treat bags yet. They were full of goodies to send home with the kiddos….
The seal was part of a collection ordered from Oriental Trading Company, along with the tattoos. I found the carnival lollipops at Dollar Tree and the crazy straws at Wal Mart. I think the bubbles were from Party City along with the white treat boxes. I had to include Circus animal cookies! Found them in a box of 20 at Wal Mart.
We had a lot of fun in the selfie station!
I brought a suitcase filled with props I bought at Party City, including a clown wig, oversize sunglasses, a bowtie, and of course clown noses. There was also a set of “selfie” props and a backdrop. The big backdrop was from Oriental Trading Company.
What’s better than a circus theme????