Caleb's Carnival Party

Caleb's birthday is just a few days before Halloween, which is great because it means we have a good excuse to have some smashing Halloween themed parties!

Well, this year, on Caleb's 7th birthday, we threw a party that was an Old Fashioned Halloween Carnival theme. (We'll save the spookier themes for when he is a bit older.) Caleb had the perfect costume to go along with the theme - the ringmaster at the circus. He was so cute, and so excited about his party.

Cute little monsters in their costumes!

Instead of playing traditional party games, we had carnival games. Each of the older boys and cousins got to man a booth. We gave each guest a cute retro prize bag and fistful of tickets, and they got to go play! They actually LOVED the idea that they could have as many tickets as they wanted for FREE, and they had a great time trying their hand at each game, over and over again.

Nate manned the lollipop matching game. Pull out two lollipops with the same colored sticks and you got to keep them. Very POPular with the little goblins.

Dylan ran the Spin to Win game. Spin odd and you get a candy, even wins a prize. I found this colorful old carnival wheel at a garage sale a while back. It was actually the inspiration for this whole old fashioned carnival theme.

My niece, Christyne, ran the fishing booth. We made it easily with some fun blue striped fabric hung around the playset. Luke and Caleb were in charge of making the cute little fish to hang on it.

Kids always love a fishing game at a carnival!

My niece, Andreya, manned the Plinko booth, another favorite of the kiddos.

Derek ran the In the Hole game that I actually found at a garage sale last week for a buck, and Alex ran the Bean Bag Toss using the corn hole board that my parents made us last Christmas - just added a pumpkin.

The older kids did a great job helping with the carnival! They were really animated and were great with the little guys! Plus I let them use the tickets they collected to visit the other booths.

Some of the old fashioned prizes the kids could win. Don't you love my peppermint patty spiders made using different punches?

I loved these graphic goodie bags!

I think our guests had a great time, judging by their smiling, fanged faces.

But the star of the carnival was the authentic gypsy fortune teller - Madame Zo-La! She would gaze into her crystal ball and give each carnival-goer a vision of their future.

She was really terrific, and the kids had a great time gazing into their futures! Thanks, Mom, I mean, Madame Zo-La!

Of course, the carnival also had a snack bar

With traditional carnival foods: Hot Dogs, Cotton Candy, Popcorn Balls, and Peanuts - each only one ticket! The kids loved being able to "buy" their food with their tickets.

Kids love carnival food!

I love this picture of Alex, the mad scientist!

Finally, we had to close down the carnival and have some cupcakes!

Make a wish, Caleb!

It was a great party! The carnival was such a fun theme, and the weather was PERFECT! We all had so much fun with this one, especially ringmaster Caleb!

Madame Zo-La sees greatness in your future! Happy Birthday, sweet boy!