Jillan's Blog

Step right up! Step right up!

We had an AMAZING day and now that I have sifted through MOST of the photos from the party I wanted to share them with those of you who were not able to join us under the big top. I had a hard time deciding which photos to use so I included a TON here. I also placed them in chronological order to give you a sense of how the party played out.

We rented the big red barn in Pflugerville and it turned out to be the perfect location for the carnival. It took 7 people about 4 hours to load in and set up the party. We created a midway by planning six booths with interactive games for the kids to participate in. At the door guests received a prize bucket filled with a hat, noisemaker, clown nose, and an envelope full of tickets. The envelope had this poem printed on the front to explain how to play each ticket and it informed parents of the party agenda:

Welcome to the Carnival! Just step right up for fun!
There are games to play and things to do so this is how its done:
Just match your colored tickets to each booth then win a prize
But you only have til 5 pm to get a face painting disguise!
Feel free to repeat your favorite games if you are discontent
Our workers will hand out candy when your tickets have been spent.
If playing makes you hungry the vendors have lots of treats
Fixings and napkins under the big top will compliment your eats
At 5:30 we will have a parade with shakers and dancing silly
To wish a Happy Birthday to our clowns Jacey and Lillie!

Mary and Frank (Lee's parents) were lifesavers when it came to keeping an eye on Lillie and Jacey while we ran last minute errands and set up on Sunday. We also could not have done it without the help of Jeanette, Kasey, Jennifer, and Jenny. We have awesome friends and family who are always willing to help us out with our hair brained schemes!

A very unglamorous set up

Calm before the storm

Tickets!

Mayhem on the Midway

Sideshow

Our 6 booths each had a designated color: red, yellow, blue, green, orange, or purple. The kids matched their colored tickets to the color of the booth to play and win a prize. Prizes included a carnival sticker sheet, ring pops, play-doh, silly straws, a carnival photo frame, tattoos, ice cream cone suckers, and fortune cookies. We "hired" older kids to run the booths and relied heavily on friends and family to help us run the party.

DUNKIN' DUCKIES

GYPSY JEN: Fortune teller extrodinare!

BEAN BAG BOP

GONE FISHIN'

TOT TOSS

PHOTO BOOTH

We hired a fantastic face painter so most of the kids got a very unique makeover on the midway! We set up our little bounce house for an added attraction and had strolling vendors (aka me, Lee, and Russ) loudly offering guests to "Come and get it!" We served Hot dogs, Popcorn, and Cotton candy. We set up our 10X20 canopy at the end of the midway where guests could find drinks, condiments, and sit down. We also set up a balloon and confetti drop for the kids to enjoy at the end of the Midway Parade. At about 5:30 we gathered all the kids at the far end of the midway and handed out noise makers and homemade multi-colored shakers. Lillie and Jacey rode in the wagon while all the party guests sang and played their instruments as we paraded down the midway. We gathered all the kids at the table under the big top then released the 5 lbs of confetti and bag full of balloons. They never saw it coming! I wish we had been able to capture the looks on their faces, but the balloons blocked most of the shots!

Parade down the midway

Balloon and confetti drop

Lillie and Jacey blew out the candles on their UHMAZING homemade cupcakes (my sister is a cake genius!) Afterward kids and parents were invited to play more games and eat more food! We certainly had MUCH more than we needed!

I sewed matching clown outfits for Lillie and Jacey to wear but Lillie refused to dress up as a "clown" so her costume is a "juggler!" I also threw together a couple of outfits for my sister and I. No themed party is complete without grown adults looking and acting foolish!

A family of clowns