Details
When you walked up to the house this is what you saw:
Ignore our friend there:) The elephant “tusks” were just some random decorative pieces that somehow made it’s way into our home, and I finally found a good use for them! I thought it tied in with the circus theme perfectly! I also set up a small table and put an antique cash register that Frankie bought from an auction (don’t ask) and a roll of tickets for the ticket booth.
What you saw when you first walked in (and pretty much what you would see if you walked in right now…)
I wish I had a picture of this whole table but I only have bits of it. The two glass bowls were later filled with goldfish.
Here’s some pictures from the setting up process too. I found these swirl things in the fake flower section at Hobby Lobby. They’re Christmas decor, but I thought they looked so whimsical. I filled up two vases with jelly beans and stuck them in for a centerpiece. Cost= $8
Of course there were paper lanterns. I love them almost as much as I love mason jars.
The left side of the table had my vintage scale with caramel apples on top, cracker jack boxes, a tub of cotton candy, swirl lollipops, and cupcakes.
The right side had more cupcakes, and the ferris wheel display I found at hobby Lobby. I loved that thing…
I found this banner from Oriental Trading and it fit perfectly in our back window. I put another one in a doorway so people could actually take pictures behind it.
My dad and step mom having fun…
I wanted to have a photo booth also for the kids outside and have fun props on hand. I had the idea to use crushed maroon velvet one night when I was dreaming up ideas, and I’m so glad I used the velvet instead of a plain sheet. It made them look sort of vintage-y.
The props were next to the “booth.” My sister made all the signs using photo shop and they were printed on card stock.
The props were made using felt. Remember this post?
My family had a ton of fun with it before the guests arrived, it really was a hit. Seriously, this is way too easy and a lot of fun for any party!
Our deck was turned into the carnival. I had [poor] Frankie make me booths for the games. He used very big cardboard boxes, pvc pipes, and duct tape. I basically said, “go to Home Depot and buy duct tape and lots of pvc pipes” and my sweet husband just went with it. I had him make these.
Which I covered and turned them into these:
Which is where the games were set up
For this game, I just taped down plastic cups and bought ping pong balls for the kids to toss and try to make in the cups. Easy and fun!
The refreshment stand was equipped with root beer and cream soda in old fashioned bottles, lemonade, sweet tea, and apple cider. I used mason jars for glasses with striped straws that I found online somewhere by google-ing “old fashioned straws.
No carnival would be complete without a popcorn machine. I found the cute boxes at Hobby Lobby. I don’t know what I would do without that store…
We even had popcorn cupcakes. They were actually marshmallows on top. My sister made them.
Food included: corn dogs, turkey dogs, nitrate free beef hot dogs, popcorn, apple slices with caramel dip, dill pickles, soft pretzels, home made mac and cheese, and lots of sweets!
I’m sure there will be more posts coming up tomorrow with more details, so consider yourself warned:)
