Carnival parties are an excellent way to keep everyone happy, engaged and entertained. They’re appropriate for all ages, and you don’t have to put in a lot of work to plan a great one. Here are a few tips on how to plan the perfect carnival party.
Decide on the Scale and Complexity
A carnival can be as simple or elaborate as you want. It may be as simple as playing classic carnival music on a speaker and having someone dress up as the announcer/ringmaster while little kids fish for magnetic toys in the wading pool, play tic tac toe, bean toss and eat ice cream.
You could rent a tent to create shade while creating the classic atmosphere. You could put up posters to bring the theme to life. Note that you can incorporate other entertainment options into the carnival like having a magician, fortune teller or musician working in one tent; now the audience can sit in the shade while others run around. You could choose to save money and have friends and family fill in these roles instead.
Serve Classic Carnival Food
One of the benefits of carnival parties is how easy it is to secure food with the right theme. You could rent a cotton candy maker, funnel cake maker or snow cone machine, and everyone is happy. Corn dogs, pretzels, ice cream and popcorn can be purchased at the grocery store. You could make cheese fries or just hand out cookies. If you don’t like the deep fried and fatty options, serve fruit-juice based slushies and frozen fruit on a stick instead. Or break out the grill and serve burgers to everyone.
Have Loads of Games
One of the reasons carnival games took their form is because they’re easy to transport and don’t take much time to set up. As many people pass through, it is a simple process to reset the pins to be knocked down or place more balloons to be popped. You could rent carnival games from companies that supply them, and you can pick what you want available at the party.
A side benefit of carnival games is that you don’t have to go to the effort of creating goody bags. Let people win the candy or small stuffed animals they choose.
Include Everyone
One of the attractions of carnivals games is that you can truly include the whole family. One child knocks down pins in the mock bowling alley, and the younger sibling can try the next time. Adults, teenagers and school aged children can all try games of darts. Even toddlers can attempt to hit the target with the bean bag or throw a ball at the stack of bottles. Mom or Grandma can have her fortune read or watch the musician.
Carnival parties are an excellent family friendly event, scalable from just friends and family to hundreds of guests. You have a nearly infinite number of ways to set it up, and the price can range from the cost of food and a few props to a lavish affair.
