The Canopy
This is an easy and great decoration for a circus party. I bought a hula hoop and 10 packages of plastic tablecloths at a dollar store. Using my hot glue gun, making sure to not touch the tip to the plastic tablecloth (oops!... plastic melts), I would string a little bit of the hot glue and close the sheeting over the hula hoop to form a casing, as you would if you were sewing. I made a casing that was approximately 3 inches deep so it would be easy to pull the sheeting and gather it together. I did this all the way around, alternating the colors of the tablecloth material. We used red and white, but you could use any color you wanted.
We were lucky in that the ceiling already had a hook in it, so I used clear fishing line to string up the hula hoop after each tablecloth and gathered them all together and made a big loop to hang in the hook. It was a drop ceiling with that boarding that looks like a cork board, so I was able to attach the other end of the canopy to the ceiling using push pins.
Word to the wise: I thought I could just go around from one panel to the next, but it created a huge gap at the end. You can see some of the gap from the picture above. Thankfully, the fuller part of the canopy was facing the door where people came in, so we left it the way it was, but if you want the panels to be more symmetrical, then attach one panel, then go to the opposite side and attach the panel 180 degrees from the first one. Do this all the way and then there will be little gaps between each panel, but it will look more symmetrical. I used a push pin at each end and one in the middle. Then, attaching balloons in the center makes it more festive and also hides the fishing line and hook on the ceiling.
The Banners
Below is a banner indicating our grandson's first year with the pictures of each month on the mantel. What a great idea my daughter-in-law had!
For the banner, you'll need 12 x 12 sheets of paper as the backing. In the picture above, you'll see that we used a red polka dot design. The diagram above shows how you cut the paper from the 12 x 12 sheets. This doesn't need to be card stock. It will be cheaper if you just get the plain paper for this and use the card stock for the middle.
I downloaded the "circus" font, which I was able to find very easily on the Internet. Then I got a pack of card stock, which is pretty inexpensive, and printed the letters on the middle of the page. Then, I made a template to cut each pennant just about a half-inch smaller than the backing. Use a glue stick to glue the card stock onto the complimentary backing sheet. Make sure that you keep the letters in the same spot on the card stock, so that they line up when cut.
For the top edge, I cut pieces of construction paper the length of the top and about 1 inch in width. Fold those strips of paper in half lengthwise and place on the top of the pennant, gluing with your glue stick. Finish with glitter glue in the center of the letter. I also glittered a line of glitter where the card stock met the background sheet. Very pretty effect.
I used a badge hole punch to punch on the top edges of the pennant through which to string the ribbon. Makes a very pretty banner and great for the circus theme.
The Cake
My daughter-in-law's friend made the cupcake cake. Isn't it great? Perfect for a circus theme birthday party. Everyone loved it.
Odds and Ends
So many wonderful things you can do for a circus party. Clown noses were a big hit. Napkins with ties and mustaches. And, the mustaches on a straw were especially FUN! We took pictures of everyone with their mustache. The food matched the event, too. Popcorn... apples with caramel sauce... Pigs in a blanket... So much fun. So, hope this helps you create your own circus theme party. Have fun!
