Birthday Idea for 3 to 5 Year-Olds: Let's Go to the Circus

Are you out of birthday party ideas? Is your birthday budget small? I am the mother of eight children and almost (1 on the way) 14 grandchildren. Our budget has always been quite low so I have to be creative. Here is an idea that you might use for your next birthday party:

For kids 3 to 5:

It is circus time. The theme of the party will be let's go to the circus. The kids will play four games: Pin the Nose on the Clown, The Ring Toss Game, How Far Can You Fly Your Airplane, Who Can Pop the Balloon First, and Spin the Animal Game.

Balloons

Paper airplanes

Two pieces of Poster Board

Markers

Red Construction paper

Black Construction paper

String

Five Paper plates with the centers cut out

An empty 2-liter soda bottle

A brass fastener

Tape

A paper punch

Markers

Directions for Pin the Nose on the Clown Game:

The first game is similar to pin the tail on the donkey. It is called pin the nose on the clown. On a piece of poster board draw a clown's face with a circle in the center where the nose is suppose to go. Cut out enough red circles so that each child will have one. Cut a piece of tape large enough so you can fold it and have the sticky part on both sides.

Place a piece of the folded tape on each of the red circles.

Cut out paper masks for each child. Punch a hole on the left side and the right side of the mask. Make sure the holes are even across. Cut a piece of string about an inch longer than you will need to fit the mask around a child's head. Put the end of the string through the front side of the mask. When it gets to the backside of the mask, tie it. Draw the other end of the string across the back of the mask; around the edge and place that end through the hole on the front and again when it gets to the back tie it.

Place the clown board on the wall at child's height. The game then proceeds just like pin the tail on the donkey. The child puts on the mask so he cannot see the clown. You give him a red circle (taped side facing forward) and point him in the direction of the clown. The child then tries to put the nose on the clown face.

Directions for the Ring Toss Game:

Fill the two-liter soda bottle about half way up with water. Tighten the lid down tight so that the water cannot spill out. (The water weighs down the bottle so that it does not fall over.) Have the child stand about 2 feet away from the coke bottle. Give him the rings, one at a time, and have him try to get the rings around the bottle.

Directions for How Far Can You Fly Your Airplane Game:

Make a paper airplane for each child. Be sure and weigh down the nose (I use a paper clip.) so that the plane will fly straight. Put each child's name on a plane. Have the children line up across a wall. Tell them to throw their planes when you count to three. The child that tosses their plane the farthest wins the game.

Directions for Who Can Pop the Balloon First:

Give each child a balloon. Instruct them to sit on the balloon. Then, using only their bottoms they should pounce on the balloon until one of them bursts his/her balloon.

Directions for the Spin an Animal Game:

Cut out a large circle from a piece of poster board. Take a black marker and divide the circle into six separate areas. The circle should look like a wheel. In each of the six spaces on the wheel, you will either draw or paste a picture of a different circus animal. There should be a space for a monkey, an elephant, a tiger, a lion, a snake and a puppy dog. Cut out a spinner arrow from the left over poster board. You can color the spinner red if you like. Put the brass fastener through the square end of the arrow and then through the center of the wheel. Fold out the arms of the brass fastener on the back of the wheel. Have each child take a turn spinning the wheel. Whatever animal the spinner lands on; that is the animal the child will pretend to be.

You can make decorations based on the carnival theme. Cut out circus animals, clowns and balloons from construction paper and glue them onto a large white paper tablecloth.

I made up little gift bags for all the kids. I went to a local dollar store, picked up a bag of small plastic animals; small bottles of bubbles; and some party whistles, and placed them in a bag for each child to take home.

You can decorate the cake with the carnival theme or you can try this: Bake a cake and take a biscuit cutter. Use the biscuit cutter to cut out flat circles; one for each child. Frost the outside rim of the cake circle with white icing and put some sprinkles all around the circle on the icing. Place a large scoop of vanilla ice cream on the top of the cake circle. Make a face on the ice cream with chocolate chips for the eyes and mouth and a cherry for the nose. Place a sugar cone inverted on top of the ice cream for the clown hat.

I put on this party for my grandson last year. Everyone loved it.