Day at the Circus Kids' Birthday Party

For favors, a box of Barnum's animal crackers is an easy and enjoyable treat that's much healthier than a bag of candy. We dressed ours up with simple office supplies: Paper hangtags, reinforcement labels and ribbon.

Let kids nibble on circus-worthy bags of freshly popped popcorn or boxes of Cracker Jack. If none of your child’s friends have allergies, shell-on peanuts are another fun-to-eat and healthy snack. When serving a full meal, hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixings are a go-to choice for a big top-themed party. Decorate a cake with simple stripes, or if you’re feeling more intrepid, cupcakes can be frosted to look like clowns. Alternately, ice cream cones, candy apples or cotton candy would all make for interesting variations to the usual birthday cupcake.