Natalie’s Carnival Party by Jill Means
NOTE: I created this post in conjunction with my favorite party blog, onecharmingparty. They will be featuring our party on their site along with exclusive DIY printables from this party! Our post will give you more details of how we did it.
When I asked my daughter Natalie what kind of party she wanted for her seventh birthday, she said, “a carnival!” I knew what she was picturing in her mind… games, prizes, a ferris wheel. So I started with how to create that atmosphere and vision with my budget. We had to scrap the ferris wheel.
I wanted the game booths to have some structure. I had seen some cute stands built out of wood, but I knew it would be expensive and time consuming. We came up with the idea of a “frame” that would give the look of actual booths, but for a fraction of the time and cost.
How we did it: We used pvc pipe to build an arch using elbow connectors. The structure was held up by driving a few pieces of rebar into the ground and sliding the pvc over the top. We spray painted the pvc a gloss red. All of the materials can be found at a home improvement store like Lowes. We added a simple striped valance and red side curtains and it became a perfect, kid-size booth.
Not all of the games had a booth, but we built enough that when placed around the yard, provided that carnival look. Activities included a bean bag toss, ping pong throw, balloon dart board, duck pond, bottle ring toss, shooting gallery and face painting. At each game you earned tickets that could be collected to buy prizes… more on that later.
How we did it: The bottle ring toss was simple empty glass coke bottles bought at the grocery store and mason jar lid rings from Walmart. The balloon dart board was created by taking a 2′x4′ section of peg board from Lowes, we spray painted it white, then we added balloons by simply tying the balloon and pulling the knot through the holes. The board was held up by two extra pieces of rebar. For the duck pond we took weighted ducks bought online at Oriental Trading Company and pushed metal tacks into their heads so we could use a magnet fishing pole. Different point/ticket values were written in permanent marker on the bottom of the ducks. For the bean bag toss, we used a ladder with different point values attached each step. The ping pong game was created by using the plastic protector shell that apples come in at Costco. Just open the shell up and placed on a level surface, we added stars to a few of the sections for added skill level.
The shooting gallery was created by using duck targets printed on double thick cards from Brightside Prints, placing them in placecard holders and shooting with a Nerf-style gun. You could also attach the targets to plastic cups if you don’t have placecard holders or photo clips.
Our next post will feature the prize booth, the food, and all the other details of Natalie’s carnival party! The custom carnival party invitations and signs are available at Brightside Prints.
Kimberly Poore
This was so elegantly done, it does not look like a cheesy birthday party, I hope to see the prize booth, the food, and all the other details of Natalie’s carnival party!
Kandis
How fun! I am doing the same theme. For the Pvc frame you did, what measure of pipe did you use? 1/2 or 3/4?
Thanks
Jill
3/4″ pipe I think. Whatever is the most standard.
Ginger
I love your carnival party! Doing the same theme for my son’s birthday. I was just wondering about the ht and width of the frame structure, as well as the fabric size? (if you don’t mind) Thanks so much!
Jill
I think the height is 6 feet and the width too (we cut them the same so we wouldn’t have to remember which were the sides and which were the tops). The kids were pretty young so even with the curtain hanging they could still see. I’ll have to check on the fabric.
Ginger
Thanks so much! Hoping to be able to replicate this! =)
C
Awesome job! How many activity stations did you have?
Loved your booths!
Jill
We had 7 activities and a prize booth. Activities: bean bag throw, duck shooting, fishing, dart throw, ping pong game, bottle ring toss, face painting. I was going to have a photo booth, but then I decided to just take candid shots of the kids having fun.
C
Thank you! I appreciate your sharing ideas. I am attempting a carnival party for a soon to be for year old and have two weeks to pull it off. judging by the smiles on kids faces in yr photos it looks like your hard work paid off.