Games and Activities

Hire a face painter (or volunteer who is creative with paint!) to paint little carnival animals on the guests’ faces when they first enter the party.

Give the kids an empty popcorn box and a string of tickets to use at the different activity booths.

Run your party activities from the cardboard boxes you made into carnival booths. Ask for parent volunteers to run the various booths and hand out prizes. The prizes can be little toys found at a dollar store, such as spinning tops, bouncy balls, plastic animals, candy, etc. Organize the following games at the booths using stuff from around your house:

• Fishing Game. Mock up a fishing pole with a paper clip on the end. Have the kids throw the line over the box. Have an adult put a prize on the paper clip and the kid reel it in.
• Hula Hoop Throw. Have the kids throw a ball through hula hoops to win a prize.
• Have a wading pool on hand with little rubber ducky toys floating in it. Little ones can pick up a rubber ducky, look for a number on the bottom, and receive a prize that correlates with the number.
• Balloon Darts. Blow up balloons and tape them to a cardboard box. Have kids throw darts to see how many they can break. Make sure to have additional balloons on hand as the others pop away.
• Guess the number of marbles in a jar.
• Water Balloon Toss. Have kids pair off and start to throw water balloons to one another. After each successful toss, have the kids take a step back and continue with the toss. The last team still throwing the water balloon wins.

• Balloon Pop. Write down the names of prizes on small pieces of paper and insert them into balloons. Blow up the balloons and have the kids try to pop them by stomping or sitting on them—blindfolded. Once they've popped, have the kids collect the prize written on the papers.
• Nosy the Clown. Paint a box to look like a clown face. Cut out a hole for the nose. Have the kids throw beanbags or tennis balls into the hole to win prizes.
• Spray Away. Set up ping-pong balls on golf tees. Provide water toys to the kids and see who can knock the most balls off of their tees with the water.
• Ping Pong Toss. Set up a large triangle of plastic clear tumblers on a low table. Cut out different colored circles and place them at the bottom of each tumbler. Assign different points to each color. Provide a set of ping-pong balls to your guests and see who can rack up the most points.

Who doesn’t mind getting a pie in the face? Adult volunteers or party guests! Check to see who would be game for this. Fill tin foil pie tins with whipped cream and top with a cherry. Have the guests try to throw a pie into the volunteer’s face.

Create a Fortune Teller Stand. Place a round fish bowl in an overturned dog dish. Fill the bowl with fortune cookies and read the kids’ fortunes throughout the party.

Under the big top, have a volunteer or hired clown entertain kids with a silly routine.