We love parties! Literally any excuse to throw one. We love having friends and family over and entertaining. So much that I decided to share with all our subscribers, a party series of DIY, EZ themed party fun. Whether it's for a Birthday Party, a themed movie night/day, a themed playdate or a holiday. Let's kick off with our DIY your Own Circus/Dumbo themed party!!
It's summer and there are so many movies coming out on Blu Ray. We are huge Tim Burton and Disney fans here. And we were even more excited that the live action Dumbo movie was out on Blu Ray. We wanted to incorporate a movie night into our Circus themed party. We started off with music, and yard games. Simple carnival style games and out door toys like hula hoops, parachutes, bubbles and sidewalk chalk. We did add on a Circus themed tent jumper for added fun, since we had ALOT of kids over. But if you were doing something smaller for just a themed movie night, you can do with out. 
We used simple fitted red plastic table cloths on our banquet tables, and for a simple centerpiece I used a mason jar, a printed "Admit One" ticket, some bakers twine and a metallic pipe cleaner. I used a simple bouquet of yellow flowers. It was simple, sweet and good for summer. This all cost around $3.50 per centerpiece. We gave out little Circus Tent party favors after the movie was over. And we filled them with clown noses, carnival food erasers, carnival candy, bubbles, Play Dough and bounce balls. Some of theboxegs had Dumbo stickers in them!!
Next up, Candy Bar!! I love to make Candy Bars. And for this Circus filled party/movie night I knew we needed lots of fun snacks and treats! I used Pop Corn tubs from the dollar store and filled them with bags of pop corn. I used a wide variety of glass and plastic containers I have collected the past few years. We had homemade chocolate bark I made, red M & M's, sour strawberry gummy candies, some vintage treats like peanut marshmallows, mini marshmallow ice cream cones, saltwater taffy and root beer barrels. We also had cotton candy bags, Circus Animal cookies and animal crackers bags. We accented the candy bar with a plush Dumbo, circus tent sipper cups, a Little Golden Book of Dumbo and peanut baggies to take home ALL the treats!!
What is party or fun themed event without a FUN photo opportunity? We had a kid sized circus tent and a circus tent backdrop for photos. What is nice about both, they are reusable! The circus tent is now used as a reading nook. A home for Dumbo, and all his friends. 
And now for the cake!!! If you know me, you know that I do have a talent for baking, cake decorating and candy making. BUT when you are the one doing EVERYTHING.... I have learned we can't do it all. SO, I ordered a tiered cake from Sams Club. I had them frost the bottom tier white and the top tier yellow and add the greeting sentiment. I added the circus stripes, piping border on the top and bottom after. On top of the cake I added a Dumbo Pop Funko, which we washed and put bacon the box and is a keepsake after. And added the birth year candle. EZ Peasey! Whole cake cost $54.00!! Including the candle, Dumbo Pop Funko and extra icing. And 30 cupcakes were $14.99 at Sams! We had a simple BBQ and homemade sides. 
And now for the MOVIE! We have an outdoor projector and screen we can watch movies on, It also hangs on the same frame that our photo backdrop was on. So it has multi uses. You can host your movie night outdoors or in! We started out night outdoors, got too cold so we moved indoors. My daughter's friends LOVED watching a movie all together. And they loved the New Dumbo!! If you have not seen it, and love the classic story and Tim Burton, you are in for a REAL Treat!! 
I hope you liked our DIY Circus Party, and I hope you join us on our next DIY Party Article next time!
