A Party411.com Corporate Event Theme Party

Under the Big Top

Lions, tigers, bears, elephants, and clowns, OH MY! It’s a circus-no it’s not your office-it’s an Under the Big Top Party! Celebrate circus style for your next company picnic.

Circus Party Invitations

A circus party demands a fun and fabulous invitation.  An invitation that roars and maybe has clowns jumping out of it would be totally fun, however some people are afraid of clowns-so maybe not.  Here are some invitation ideas to try out. 

• A personalized caricature invitation with the whole gang and the Big Top with the company’s logo on it along with elephants, tigers, trapeze artists, and a clown or two.  Include, the date, time (Circus Time) and place (“Under XYZ’s Company/Organization Big Top”).

• Create an online interactive invitation with a huge circus and have it play some circus music and roaring lions.  These will truly ring in the circus! Then, email it to each employee.  This saves time and is great for larger companies.

• Purchase pre-made circus themed invitations and attach clown noses to each one.  Why not have them delivered by a clown to each of the employees?  They’d love it, I’m sure.

Welcome Area

A circus party requires a big huge tent in red and yellow, just like PT Barnum & Bailey Brother’s Circus. Trust the party girl on this one! Fill the place with brightly colored balloon archways archways and bouquets.  Welcome the guests with a cutout of the bossed dressed as a clown!  At the entrance have a sign that reads:

Welcome to XYZ Company/Organization’s Circus! Where we Dream Big!

Hire stilt walkers and balloon twisters to greet guests as they enter.  And maybe a few clowns too. The kids will love it!  You can always find employees willing to clown around.

BuyCostumes has some fun circus costumes and accessories. If you find the right person the sideshow barker could be loads of fun at the entrance to the Big Top.

Place clown cutouts at the entrance (with the face as the owner of the company!) for awesome photos with employees.  Use a digital camera and printer to make instant photos and give out photo-favors to everyone. 

Whatever you decide to do, make sure the welcome area celebrates employees and is filled with lots of circus FUN!

Circus Decorations

Make the party a true circus and divide the tent into three rings--one for food, one for games, one for circus activities.  And on the outside of the rings set the tables.  Line each area with balloon towers and use circus balloons like clowns or lions. 

Ring One

The food should be circus fare.  Call this area, “XYZ Company/Organization Circus Fare.” Think popcorn, hotdogs, hamburgers, cotton candy, sno-cones, Italian ice, gigantic pretzels, candy bars, and fried dough.  A fun idea is to rent a cotton candy, sno-cone and popcorn machine.  Make a candy bar out of plastic candy bins (available at candy supply stores) and scoops.  Fill the bins with M&M’s, Sweet Tarts, Hershey Kisses, Gummy Worms, Bubble Gum, and lots of other sweet treats.  Provide treat bags for everyone to fill up on circus candy.

Ring Two

Games, Games and more Games!  Yipeee! This area is great for the kiddos, so make it circus-riffic.  Name this area the “XYZ Company/Organization Circus Games Extravaganza.”  (By the way if you don’t have an in-house print shop Party411’s Creations for You can create all your signage. Just tell us what you need.)  Have a dunk tank, water balloon juggling contest, inflatable slides, bounce house, and a ton more games with cool prizes like light up pom poms and more.

Ring Three

 Where the circus activities begin!  Hire the following to make the experience sparkle with good times.

• Airbrush Tattoo Artist

• Caricature Artist

•  Face Painters

• Stilt Walkers

• Balloon Twisters

• Fortune Tellers

• Tarot Card Readers

If you are going for true excitement, have few trapeze artists scheduled to perform.

Tables Keep the tables simple, but definitely filled with circus flair. Place balloon bouquets at each table and put them in a big clown shoe or a clown horn.

Favors

Everyone loves chocolate!  Hand out personalized candy bars equipped with the company’s logo and a thank you from the president or CEO.  Or use the caricature you used for the invitation as a candy bar.  It’s a yummy option. 

Another fun idea is to give out face painting kits or tee shirts that say, “We had a Clown of Time” with the date and company’s logo on the back and a picture of a clown on the front.

Have fun!  The Party Girl!