Welcome to Owen’s Backyard Big Top Circus First Birthday Party made by the one and only Mommy – Christy! ;) Bursting with red & white circus stripes, crafted elements like a fabulous wool pom pom garland, & simple (oh so cute) ideas like animal cracker cupcake toppers, this party will have you longing for a trip to the big top too!

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Homemade birthday bunting, wool pom pom garland & circus lion photo prop
• Circus themed story time with Grandma and a juggler as entertainment!
• Red & white striped “circus tent” dessert table cloth
• Homemade red and yellow layer cake + cupcakes topped with animal crackers
• Muslin favor bags printed with cool vintage circus playing card designs

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Christy…

My husband and I wanted to plan a party to celebrate the precious first year we had together with our boy. We decided on a vintage big top theme. I love that it is colorful, fun and the kids can use their imaginations.

I think it is only appropriate, as you read this post, for you to be humming classic circus tunes. During the party we had a playlist of some favorite “circus” songs, including Entry of the Gladiators, a few songs from Dumbo and Animal Crackers in my Soup (not exactly a classic circus song, but animal crackers are circus-ish, and what kid doesn’t love that song?!)

It was really fun to see everything come together the day of the party. Most of the decorations were homemade, the 1st birthday picture collage, bunting, wool pom pom garland, striped tablecloth and the lion photo prop. Owen had a blast playing with his friends, listening to Grandma read the Circus Ship, watching the juggler, gobbling up his cake and celebrating at a circus with friends and family. When he is older he will always be able to look back at the pictures and know what a special day it was.

Owen’s party favors for his friends: A cotton baggie with a vintage circus playing card print, a few circus animal coloring sheets, colorful crayons and a lollipop. It really was an easy favor to make and turns out to be a fun bag of goodies. The kids were thrilled as they pulled all the treasures out. It gives them a bag to keep things in, a coloring activity to do, a fun way to learn about colors, animals and letters and a sweet treat to enjoy. For a tutorial you can check out my blog here. I made bunting out of the deck of cards and hung it over the favor table for a cute finishing touch.

His birthday gift from mommy and daddy was a quilt I made out of the leftover fabric from his party decorations. Quilted squares on the front and bunting flags on the back. A special way for him to have something to keep from his 1st birthday. After the party was over and the guests had gone my husband kissed me and said, “it was a perfect party for our sweet boy”. We left the party a little more rosy cheeked and feeling like we had spent the day at the circus.