YCS Guide to: Carnival themed Party

Alexis, CEO Jr. ,

How to throw a killer Carnival Party

            Summer is the time for fun outdoor activities and what is more fun than going to a carnival or fair? A carnival party can be fun for children, but it can also be fun for adults too. Here are my tips for throwing a fun and successful carnival themed party.

Games

Now depending on how much you want to spend will determine what kind of games you will have at your party. If you want to go all out you can search for game rentals like a dunk tank or a fast pitch. You will be able to search this information very easily and find one in your area. For example http://www.dunktankrentals.net/ does Philadelphia and some of New Jersey.

If you want to go the more homemade route a good place to search is Pinterest to start the inspiration. You can easily throw together a ring toss with some recycled bottles and you can blow up some balloons and tape them to a poster for the balloon popping game. Another game that is easy to make at home is the fish bowl game. You can buy some cheap fish bowls at Wal-Mart or Target and all you need are plastic fish and some ping pong balls. You can have candy be the prize since you will not be giving out live fish. Unless you really want to of course!

Food

One of my favorite parts about going to a carnival is the food. Burgers and hot dogs are pretty standard, but you could rent a snow cone machine, a cotton candy machine, or a popcorn machine. If you don’t want to spend the money here are three things you can serve and it won’t cost you much.

The first is a recipe I got from Sandra Lee years ago and it is a little more special than just serving plain popcorn. Obviously you would be increasing the recipe depending on how many people will be at your party.

Caramel Corn: Serves 4

Ingredients 2 packages microwave popcorn (not butter flavored) 4 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons water 3/4 cup sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon Directions Prepare popcorn in microwave according to package directions. Pour popcorn into 1 or 2 large bowls. (You will need plenty of room to toss with hot sugar mixture.) Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add water, sugar and cinnamon, increase the heat, and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Be careful; the sugar mixture is extremely hot! Pour half of mixture over the popcorn. Carefully stir or toss to combine. Add remaining sugar mixture and combine. Serve. Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sandra-lee/caramel-corn-recipe.html?oc=linkback

 

Another great food to serve is corn on the cob. You can make it special by serving your own seasonings to put on top like garlic salt, parmesan cheese, paprika, and anything else you can think of!

The third idea is an ice cream bar. This is always super fun for the kids. You can put together chocolate syrup, caramel, sprinkles, crushed Oreos, gummy worms, and any candy you can think of. Be aware that this can be quite messy so it is best to do this over a disposable table cloth.

Drinks

Serving juice boxes and water bottles for kids is always a great idea because it is easy for them to carry around with them and there will be less spilling. If you want more of an adult drink here is one of my favorite Sangria recipes from Food Network.

White Sangria: Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 Bottle Pinot Grigio, or other dry fruity white wine 1/4 cup white rum 24 ounces lemon lime soda 1 lime, thinly sliced into disks about 1/4 of an inch thick 1 lemon, thinly sliced into disks about 1/4 of an inch thick Optional garnishes 1 pint fresh cherries (Bing are best) 1 pint fresh strawberries if small left whole if large cut into quarters Directions Fill a large pitcher half way with some ice. Add the lemon and lime slices, white wine, rum and lemon lime soda. Stir and then pour into a glass and garnish with strawberries and fresh cherries. Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/white-sangria-recipe2.html?oc=linkback

Decorations

Whenever I think of a Carnival I think of blue, red, white, and yellow. Tie these colors into your napkins, cups, and table cloths. You don’t have to put together anything too fancy for a theme like this so it is good for the people who are not as creative. Sometimes the games are enough decorations. A nice touch would be buying those red and white popcorn bags. You can use them to put your popcorn and party favors in. Another fun idea would be to make your own posters for each game you will have. Get some sharpies, glue, and glitter and you can go to town!

The last thing you will need for your party is great music. Put together an awesome playlist, or find one of your favorite Pandora stations so you do not have to worry about picking songs all day.

I hope you enjoyed some of my ideas and of course let me know what you think in the comments!

Your Chic is Showing,

Alexis