Circus Games for Birthdays

Balance Games

• Create a tight rope-walking game for your party guests. For younger guests, lay a rope on the ground and have them walk across the rope. Award small prizes to children who make it across the rope without stepping off. For older children, lay down bricks or two-by-four boards. They must walk across the bricks or boards without falling off to earn a prize. Make the game more challenging by having the children wear blindfolds or balance beanbags on their head.

Tossing Games

• Make different size rings using duct tape and rope. Scatter different size plush animals on a table and mark a line about 10 feet away. Have the players line up at the line and try to toss the rings on the animals. If they ring an animal, they win it. Another idea is to hang hula-hoops at different heights and distances from a clothesline or trees. Write ̶0;small̶1; on hoops closer to the players and ̶0;large̶1; on the hoops farthest away. Write ̶0;medium̶1; on the hoops in between. Players must try to toss footballs through the hoops to win corresponding prizes.

Balloon Games

• Write down the name of prizes on small slips of paper and put the slips of paper inside inflated balloons. Insert a few blank slips of paper into some of the balloons. Each player can pop one balloon. If a player pops a balloon with a blank slip, she wins no prize. For another idea, use thumbtacks to attach the inflated balloons to a cork board. Allow the children to throw darts at the balloons to pop them. They get two throws and win the corresponding prize on the slip of paper.

Party Games

• Put a spin on classic party games with a circus theme. For example, play a game of ̶0;Pin the Red Nose on the Clown̶1; or ̶0;Hot Clown̶1; instead of ̶0;Hot Potato.̶1; Create a circus prize walk by printing pictures of circus items such as cotton candy, an elephant, lion tamer, corn dog, clown, rubber duck and hotdog. Place the pictures on the ground in a circle and play circus-themed music. Have players walk around the circle and have them stand on one picture when the music stops. Call out a circus item and the player standing on that item wins a prize.