Happy Monday everyone!  I had a fabulous weekend and I hope you all did too.  Before I tell you about it, let me first announce the winner of the pair of tickets to Arden Theater’s production of Freud’s Last Session…drumroll…Karen M!  See you at The Scene for snacks, drinks & the show on Friday night!  For anyone else who is interested in joining us, you can purchase tickets for $30 each here.

Ok, now for the Greatest Show on Earth!  Seriously.  It was the greatest.

We hosted a circus theme birthday party on Saturday night and it was a blast!  It was everything I hoped and dreamed that a circus themed party could be…a little bit of vintage…a sideshow…creative costumes & styling.  Fire eating.  Yes, I said fire eating.

THE ENTERTAINMENT

Let me just cut to the chase with some pictures.  Don’t try this at home!  This man is a professional fire eater.

There was also a real live strongman but unfortunately I didn’t capture pictures of him doing his thing which included tearing a phone book in half, bending a horseshoe and other metal objects.  Crazy stuff that you’d probably only see at the circus.  Or at my house on Saturday night.  We managed to transform our sunroom into a theater and cram about 50 people in for the show.

THE COSTUMES

I encouraged guests to dress according to the circus theme and did they ever deliver!  I suppose we may have been a little Halloween deprived due to the storm.

Ryan was a lion tamer.

And so was our friend Leigh.  I was the bearded lady.

There were many clown variations including an entire family of rodeo clowns.

Followed by an entire family of circus gypsies.

Best costume went to the half man/half woman.

I had some bearded lady competition.

There were so many fun costumes and props.  I didn’t get to snap pictures of them all.  At some point I had to put the camera down and just enjoy everyone’s company.  Oh and there were lots of lions too.

THE DIY

I am guessing that if you’re still reading, you are thinking that a circus theme sounds like fun, right?  Yep, it is and it can be fairly easy to put together.  I planned a color scheme of red and blue with hints of white and pink.  No matter the theme pick a color scheme up front so the event has a consistent delivery.  Just like choosing colors when styling a room.

I wanted this circus to have a vintage look so I sourced an old poster, clown cornhole game, reproduction popcorn containers and more.  I also pulled out some mismatched vintage furniture from my inventory and used fabric remnants and linens within the color scheme.  You don’t have to buy all matching and new tablecloths when styling a party.  Always shop your stash first.  Again, just like styling a room – always shop your home.

You may have guessed that there was popcorn at the circus along with peanuts and animal crackers.  I also designed a few flower arrangements in the popcorn containers.  Half of the flowers came from my garden and the other half were purchased at the wholesaler.

When picking your color scheme, consider what the venue already offers.  Our dining room palette worked perfectly with the circus reds and blues.  I added a bunting that I had already made.

The circus theme is definitely all ages.  We had the aforementioned sideshow for the adults.  There was a pony corral for the young kids.  Ahem, rocking horses not really ponies.  Plus a pinata, hula hoops and some other games.  The fire eater also made balloon animals.

All in all, I have to say that this was a pretty great party.  Two days later and I am still smiling ear to ear!  I had so much fun celebrating my soon to be status as the big 3-0.  True story.  At the end of the month I’ll be 30 and I couldn’t be more excited.

Oh an I’m sure you are wondering where Wilson was for the festivities.  He was slinking around…