"Circus Carnival"

Decorations
Use crepe paper to form a Big Top over table. If you're outside, consider under a tree and use a sheet tied to branches to cover like a Big Top, or you could always use a canopy. Have lots of balloons (tape them on the ceiling if you're indoors). Crepe paper streamers and a banner that says "Welcome to the Big Top". For a table decoration, use small old-fashioned popcorn boxes. Fill heavy-duty Ziploc bags with a couple ounces of water and insert these into a popcorn box. Sit the box upright on the table and attach a bouquet of balloons to each box. Make trapezes out of paper towel holders and streamers. Make circus posters.

Food
Popcorn mixed with animal crackers, punch, cake and ice cream. Make P'nut Butter and Jelly-phant sandwiches cut out with an elephant cookie cutter, iced with cream cheese and strawberry mixture. Serve celery and carrot sticks with raisins in small cups for elephant food.

Cake
Make a 3-ring circus cake. Use four round cake pan cakes (two single and one double). For the base to set them on use cardboard box. Decorate the box with paper. Place cakes on top. Decorate to look like a circus. Lollipops make great balloons. Use animal cookies and make other animals out of snack cakes and decorate.

Games and Activities
Mouse Holes:
Things You Need: a cardboard box and three balls (small golf or ping pong). Cut off the flaps on box and on one side cut three holes at the cut edge to resemble "mouse holes". Make the holes three different sizes, making sure that the ball goes through the smallest.
Game: To play, roll the balls, one at a time, and try to get it through the mouse holes.
Hungry Elephant:
Things You Need: stiff paper or cardboard, cut in the shape of elephant ears (both ears on one piece), paper rolled into a cone shape, 10 peanuts, string or wire. Attach the cone mid-way down the ears with glue or tape, to create his trunk. Draw eyes and decorate the elephant. Attach string to top. Hang on a chair, fence or wall.
Game: To play, toss one peanut at a time into the elephant's trunk.
Bucket Toss:
Things You Need: 4 buckets, 4 balls. Set up the buckets in a straight line with the spacing of half of a foot between.
Game: To play, toss one ball at a time into each bucket. Begin with the closest and try to end with the farthest.
Lollipop Game:
Things You Need: a styrofoam circle and one lollipop per child. Place a mark on the end of each lollipop, to represent different prizes. Stick the lollipops into the styrofoam.
Game: To play, each child pulls a lollipop from the circle and receives the prize that matches the colour on the end of the stick.
Lion Tamer:
Game: This is similar to musical chairs, so you need a chair for each child minus one. To play, the "Lion Tamer" walks around the group and names different circus animals. Each child should be given the name of one animal. After all of the "animals" are walking, the "Lion Tamer" calls out "The circus is over" and all try to sit down. The one left standing is the new "Lion Tamer".
Coin Toss:
Game: Take coffee cups or other cups that will not tip over or break. Attach a prize to each with a rubber band. The kids can then toss a coin into the cup. They receive the prize on the cup that they get their coin into.