| Everybody loves to clown around sometimes—what better time than a birthday. This party can be geared for very young as well as older children. | ||
|
|
||
|
Easy |
||
| Buy party invitations with a clown or circus type motif. There are many kinds available and they’re easy to find. | ||
|
Moderate |
||
| Use your
computer! If you have some kind of publishing software you can make a
side or tent fold card of your own. Incorporate a picture from the
clip-art gallery (clowns, balloons, etc.) on the front. An alternative, which you can use without publishing software, is to make a circus flyer. Use a variety of fonts, sizes and colors for a fun look. If you can, incorporate some pictures—a clown face is easy to draw. Some sample text for your invitations might be: |
||
|
Come Clown
Around For Kim’s Birthday! Date: Time: Place: RSVP: (Optional) We may get messy so please bring a smock.
|
||
|
Sample flyer: |
||
|
|
||
|
Now Appearing in the Center Ring! |
||
|
Kim the Birthday Boy {Girl} |
||
|
Food Clowns Fun |
||
| Appearing on............................................{Date} | ||
| At..............................................................{Place} | ||
| Showtime..................................................{Time} | ||
| R.S.V.P....................................................{Phone #} | ||
|
Go All Out |
||
| Make clown hat invitations out of brightly colored construction paper. Your child can help with this—it’s fun. For each invitation fold an 8½” x 11” piece of colored paper in half. Draw (or trace from a template you’ve made in advance) a typical clown hat (cone shape with ball on top). Cut out the hat then staple together at the top. Write the text on the inside (see samples above). | ||
 Decorations |
||
|
Easy |
||
| Balloons are key! Have several “bouquets” of mixed colors placed around the room. Add streamers in a variety of colors; if you like you can set the streamers up “big top” style, draped from edges where walls meet ceiling to a center point on the ceiling. To complete the atmosphere use bright colors for the table(s) and paper goods. | ||
|
Moderate |
||
| In addition to the above, fill some small jars (baby food jars are great) or clear plastic cups with colorful jellybeans. Cover the top with a small square of fabric secured by a rubber band, and then tie with a pretty ribbon. Spread them around the room to look pretty. HINT--Have enough so that there’s one for each child and you’ve got a great favor too! | ||
|
Go All Out |
||
| In addition
to all of the above, make some circus posters (e.g. The Fire-eater, Pogo
the Clown, The Flying Rendas) or posters with different clown faces
(e.g. happy, sad, hobo, etc.) You can also make some trapezes out of ribbon and paper towel tubes. Make one for each child. Cover one end of each tube with some tape, so things don’t fall out, then fill with a variety of small treats. When filled, tape the other end too. Wrap each tube by rolling it up in some pretty wrapping paper that overhangs each end of the tube by 3” or so. Tie each end with pretty ribbon, leaving the ribbon long enough to hang the “trapezes” around the room. HINT-give one to each child as a parting gift; it’s a great goody bag AND it’s a twofer. |
||
 Entertainment/Crafts and Activities |
||
| Remember to
keep the length of the party and the age of the guests in mind when
planning out your activities. Pick and choose, your child may prefer
some ideas to others. HINT: Always have an extra game or two on hand (they can be ones that don’t need much preparation). You can always eliminate an activity, but there is nothing worse than having a house full of youngsters with nothing left to do! |
||
|
Easy |
||
|
Hire a professional clown to come and entertain. They usually do a routine of tricks and then either make balloon animals or do face painting. You should try to have face painting whether or not the clown does it. You can hire an additional person (perhaps one of your teen babysitters), or even do it yourself. Trust me it’s not that difficult—just keep it simple. The kids really love this. As an “on arrival” activity each child can be painted with his or her own clown face. Some white face make-up, some red on the nose and cheeks and some black outlining around the eyes and mouth, and before you know it you’ll have a room full of “Bozos” (no pun intended, I think). For the 1 or 2 kids that may refuse to have their faces painted, you can offer a simple flower or happy face on the cheek, or just let them pass entirely. Remember the object is fun, so let them enjoy as they please. If the party is going to be outside another great activity is to rent a “moon walk.” The kids love to bounce around, they burn up excess energy (always good for mom) and it’s no work! An easy craft, one that could be done upon arrival, is to make clown hats. Buy some solid color party hats (red, green, yellow, blue). Have a table ready with markers, stickers, glue, feathers, pompoms, etc. Each child can decorate the hat, as they like. As they are done, take a picture of each one wearing their creation. Then you can send it along with the thank you note. The parents will love it. A game of “Feed the Clown” is easy and fun for everyone. Draw a large colorful clown on posterboard or foamboard with a large cut out opening for a mouth. Hang the clown at an easy height for the kids (unless they’re older and you want it to be a real challenge). Have the kids line-up and take turns tossing tennis balls (or wads of tin foil, or nerf balls, or koosh balls—you get the idea) into the clown’s mouth. At the end everyone should get some prizes (treats, stickers). If you have a bicycle horn it would be fun to honk it whenever someone gets a ball into the mouth. Another game that’s very easy on mom, but tough and fun for the kids, is the “monkey peel.” Give each child ½ of a banana (peel on) that has been cut in half crosswise. HINT: if your group is large split it in two and have one group act as a cheering squad while the other plays. Each child must then peel the banana using only one hand. The other hand must be held behind the back. The one to get it peeled completely is the “monkey maniac.” You may give a prize to the winner or, as I prefer, to each of the players. |
||
|
Moderate |
||
|
The kids can have fun making clown masks. For each mask you will need a craft stick, a plain white paper plate, some markers, colored pompoms or cotton balls, some red or orange yarn, and glue. In advance of the party cut out eye openings (kid size remember) and attach a stick at the base of the plate where the chin will be. As the guests arrive they sit at the prepared table and decorate their facemasks. They may use the glue and yarn for hair. As each child completes his or her mask take a photograph. Later, the pictures can be sent along with the thank you notes.
Aside from playing
“pin the nose on the clown” (need I say more? You know what to do,
my only suggestion is to try using Velcro), the kids can have a blast
with a “draw a clown” relay. For the relay game hang two large
sheets of sturdy drawing paper side by side (leave a few inches of space
between them) on a wall at one end of the room. Be sure that the papers
are at a good height for the children to reach. On the floor in front of
each paper place a marker or crayon and the biggest pair of rubber
galoshes you can find. Yet another fun idea is to play a game of “under the big top.” Have the children sit in a large circle on the floor. Give each child a pad and pencil. In the center of the circle, on a towel or other mat, place a number of different clown related items such as a ball, unshelled peanuts, some popcorn in a plastic sandwich bag, a clown nose, a pair of funny sunglasses, a big bow tie and a water pistol. Use your imagination and what you have on hand. Remember, the more items the more difficult the game. Tell the children to look carefully at all the items, give them 20-30 seconds (more if very young), then cover them up with the “big top” (i.e. another towel or blanket). Give them 60 seconds (more or less) to write down as many of the items as they can remember, then remove the cover and let them see how they did. If you like, you can declare the child who remembered the most as “winner” and give some treat or prize. If you have time you may continue to play as follows. The kids shut their eyes (watch out for peeking!) and you remove one item and put it out of sight. Change the positions of the remaining items then have the kids open their eyes and try to guess which one is missing. This can go on as long as it holds their interest. |
||
|
Go all out |
||
| Have your
guests “walk the high wire,” and without a net! Prior to the party
take a 4-5ft. long 2x4 and (using a staple gun or packing tape) cover it
with felt or some other material that will prevent splinters. An old
vinyl tablecloth would work well. For the party also have on hand an
umbrella (or walking stick, or yardstick) and a blindfold. When ready to play, place the 2x4 in the center of the room (or outside in a nice open, flat area of the yard). Have the kids line up at one end, then each child takes a turn walking the “tightrope.” If a foot touches the floor the child is out and returns to the end of the line. On the second round, each child must walk across while holding the umbrella horizontally with both hands. On the third round let them try it blindfolded! The laugh meter is high on this one, with no risk of injury. At the end everyone may get some kind of prize or treat (see the items noted under Goody Bags.) |
||
 Food |
||
| Personally, I like to keep the food as simple and easy for mom as possible (i.e., pizza or, if you’re really ambitious chicken nuggets and fries). This is particularly so when the kids are on the younger side. They don’t eat much and don’t like much. The exception to this is of course THE CAKE. Spending some extra time (or money) on a unique and special cake makes a great impression on the kids and is well worth the effort. Remember, depending on the time of the party you won’t need to serve a lunch or dinner, just some snacks and the cake, and maybe some ice cream. Whatever your inclination, here are some ideas you can use as a jumping off point. Have fun and let your imagination run wild! | ||
|
Easy/Moderate |
||
|
In keeping with the circus- like theme set out snacks such as popcorn, in small individual bags or paper cups (this cuts down on the germs spread by continual dipping into a communal bowl), peanuts (check that there are no allergies), and soft pretzels (the frozen kind that you heat in the microwave are pretty good). If you’re serving lunch and want an alternative to pizza, hot dogs and fries are fun. You can have the hot dogs boiled and ready in a pot on the stove, or grill outside if you like. Buy frozen shoestring fries and heat them in the oven. Place squeeze bottles of ketchup and mustard on the table. When ready to serve, load up a tray with hot dogs that have been placed in buns and fill a basket or bowl with fries. You may either walk around the table and serve, or set yourself up “vendor” style with the kids lining up for food. |
||
|
Go All Out |
||
| Try serving individual “pizza clowns.” Buy the individual round pizzas such as those at the Grand Union or the A & P. Before baking, add to each 2 slices of pepperoni for eyes, 1 slice of a small tomato for a nose, some red pepper strips for a mouth and some chopped parsley for hair. [If you’re really brave, and have the time and space, you can let the kids make their own!] | ||
 The Cake |
||
|
Easy |
||
| Serve clown cones. Using a nice round scoop, place a scoop of ice cream on a plate and top with a sugar cone hat. Press in some raisins for eyes and jellybeans for noses. With a pressurized can of whipped cream (such as Redi-whip) make a collar around the ice cream and a pompom on the hat. That’s it. | ||
|
Moderate |
||
| How about
serving some “brownie clownies”? Using your favorite brownie mix (or
recipe) bake the brownies in muffin tins that have been lined with paper
cupcake liners. Fill each cup about one half to two thirds full.
HINT: do not use the
foil type liners, they don’t work as well. When the brownies are cooled remove the papers and frost the top of each with a smooth layer of white frosting (store bought is fine or make your own). To make the faces use chocolate covered raisins for the eyes, M & M’s for the noses, and red licorice laces for the mouths. These are only suggestions of course, go ahead and use any candy you like to create the faces. Serve each clown “face” as is or with a “body” scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yummy and fun, who could ask for more? |
||
|
Go All Out |
||
| Well, just
in case there’s someone who could ask for more, how about a clown
cake? Bake or buy a 9”-10” round cake. Buy two bags of sweetened
shredded coconut. Empty one bag into a large Ziploc bag with some red
food coloring and shake it up until the coconut is all reddish in color.
This will be the clown’s hair. Frost the cake with a base coat of white frosting (a fondant would work particularly well, but any frosting will do.) Then, with either a pastry tube and your own colored frosting (made by mixing white with food coloring) or with the pre-filled tubes you can buy at the market (available in many colors) pipe on the clown’s face. Some blue eyes surrounded by black ovals, a big red nose, an orange mouth outlined in black and you’re in business. Be creative and make whatever type clown appeals to you. Place the “hair” around the top of the cake “Bozo” fashion. If 1 bag is not enough you can use some from the other bag. Color the remaining coconut a different color and use as a collar at the bottom of the cake. This will be a great looking cake, but if you want even more drama then add a hat. Cut a cone shaped hat out of another cake (a store bought pound cake would be fine), frost in a bright yellow or green and dot with M & M’s or jelly beans. Top the hat with a coconut pompom. Wow, now that’s a cake! |
||
 Goody Bags |
||
| Almost any colorful bag will do, or even a brown lunch bag tied with bright ribbon and a balloon. I love the “trapeze” treat holder (See the description above under decorations). In addition to the usual fillers, some items you might include in your goody bags are Pez clown dispensers, Silly Putty, jellybeans, boxes of Cracker Jacks or animal crackers, sugarless bubble gum or multi-color lollipops. | ||
| Partying Words | ||
|
Although I’m not high on Piñata’s (I’ve never been to a party where the kids were able to break it), one might be fun if your party is outside. Exercise caution to make sure that no one gets hurt and have your Swiss army knife ready to loosen it up if need be. Have fun with the kids. If you’re into it you might even dress the part yourself. The kids love when grown-ups act silly and out of character (except, of course, for some daughters over age 10—“Mom, how embarrassing!”) |
||
