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backyard carnivalSep 29 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line It's a fun day for all and you can keep your cost down.
Cotton candy, games, prizes, lights, how can any child help but be enchanted and delighted by the carnival atmosphere? My eldest son still talks about his best birthday party ever. Twenty-four now, he was ten at the time. Although one should never assume, I think it’s safe to say that it will be a lasting memory for him. It shall always be a treasured memory for me as well because it’s always a source of joy to bring happiness to your children. Not only was this a fun party but also we had tons of fun coming up with carnival games and preparing them. The lighting is easy. Just string a bunch of Japanese lanterns from trees, awnings, a clothesline, anywhere you feel like stringing them. If you’re like me you’re probably looking at the overall cost of the event. Since a really cool gift from Mom and Dad is always a part of the party package you’ll want to cut cost wherever you can. If you don’t own a supply of Japanese lanterns you could hang Christmas lights, which we all have at least some of. This would probably be a better effect anyway. Whatever kind of lights you use, be sure not to leave any cords lying on the ground. Kids having fun won’t be paying attention. Prizes can be acquired in a number of ways. Party stores are a good source of these. Also Ames and Wal-mart type stores. Strips of candy items are neat. You can hang them in the game area. When a child wins they can point to the one they want and you can tear it off and present it to them. However these are things you must be on the lookout for all year long. Whenever I see a bargain I buy it then and put it away for party time. This is the best way. I f you wait till a party is coming up you will probably end up paying a lot for prizes. Some other prize ideas are: Bubbles (5/$1) at the right time of year Puzzle pens (I purchased 10/$1 at a clearance sale) Books (D&K type store 4/$1) We didn’t actually have cotton candy. If you would like to add this feature you can rent a machine for about $25. By the time you add the necessary supplies your party cost is headed straight up. Many stores now have bagged cotton candy available. Games are what will take up the most time. On the other hand they are fun to dream up. We kept ours simple, fun and winnable. Darts: I used a piece of plywood I happened to have. I blew up balloons and used thumbtacks to pin them to the board. I used a lot of balloons so even the little ones could hit one. The objective is obvious. Pop a balloon get a prize. Ring toss: You can buy a cheap version of this old favorite most anywhere. Cheaper yet you can make you own. Two sturdy sticks of a decent size can be pushed into the ground. Don’t do this until you’re ready to play so the kids aren’t tripping over the sticks. Also be sure to remove the sticks as soon as you’re done playing. Cut the centers out of some plastic lids. Covers from margarine containers, coffee cans, cool whip, etc. will work well. You can come up with various colors and sizes to make it more exciting. Ball throw: This one was my son’s favorite. You’ll need a large box. If you don’t have one around go to a local grocery store or fast food place. They’ll be happy to donate one to your cause. Cut the front of the box away from the rest of the box. Using fat markers or paint make a clown face that covers the front of the box. If you have the markers it’s a lot easier and less messy. Choose a soft ball about the size of a baseball. If you have kids I’m sure you have balls around. Next, cut out the eyes, nose and mouth making holes large enough to throw the ball through. You can either make a stand from the remaining cardboard or lean your board against a tree. Whichever way you choose you will want the clown board at a slight angle. This is why you cut it away from the rest of the box. If you leave it attached and the game will be too difficult. After all the goal here is a good time. On this one I awarded certain prizes according to which hole they got the ball in. Dime pitch: What’s a good carnival without a game of dime pitch? Okay I’ll fess up. We actually played penny pitch. For this I used a round wooden table that use to be a cable spool. It was a good height for the kids but any table will do. You could use a picnic table or one of those plastic outdoor tables. I had some milk glass candy dishes, Seaworld souvenir glasses, and various things like these that I had collected over the years and really didn’t mind parting with. Simply set the wares about the table. If you don’t have enough variety in sizes put something under some of the glasses to give them a little more height. I had ten pennies in a plastic cup. Of course you’ll want to use plastic so if someone drops it it’ll be no problem. Hand the first child the cup and let them pitch their ten pennies till they win one of the lovely items on the dime pitch table. If any items are glass let them pick those up as they leave. As you can see none of the games actually cost me anything except for the cost of the balloons for the darts game. This game was enjoyed as much by the adults who took it over when the kids had moved on to the next one. So you might want to play this one first so the big kids didn’t break all the balloons before the little ones get a turn. Cake: We all know what an important feature the cake is to a good party. Laugh if you will but I put a lot of effort into my birthday cakes even though I know they will only get eaten. After a few years of very time consuming cakes and costly materials I can tell you that you can have a beautiful, creative cake without putting out big amounts of time or money. For this party I recommend the carousel cake. It’s quite fitting to the theme. You can use one round pan large enough to hold two cake mixes or two smaller pans and ice the cakes together. Place the cake on the serving dish before you decorate. If you have a dish that turns it will be most helpful to use that. When cooled frost the sides and top of cake with white frosting. Place five red licorice sticks evenly around the outer edge of the cake. Bring the licorice together atop the center of the cake. Join these together with several different colored jelly rings. Put some dark colored icing into a small paper bag and snip off the very corner of the bag. Draw a vertical line on the side of your cake using the icing bag. Just push the icing into the cut corner, hold at an angle close to the cake surface and apply slight pressure. After drawing your line place an animal cracker on top of the line at some point. Leaving a space between each animal go around the entire cake placing lines and animals. Get the idea? Be sure to place the animals at different levels as you go around the cake. You’ll want it to look as though the animals are going up and down like they do on a carousel. Pick up some candy designs at the grocery store and use them to edge the top and bottom of your cake. This cake is sure to delight the partygoers of all ages. I think this party is suitable to a large age group Probably kindergarten through preteen years. There is a draw back. This is definitely an outdoor party. If you have children born in colder months this party won’t work well. If your party is going to be in weather that should be warm enough I hope you give this a try. I believe you will be pleased. More important you’re child will appreciate it for many years to come.  |
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