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Ice Cream Cake

Popcorn (for any elephants who come to the party)

Bananas

Lemonade

DECORATIONS

Give each child two white paper plates, one for food and one for making a clown face. Provide crayons, and ask each child to draw a clown face on one of the paper plates. If possible, put the clown faces in the middle of the table for everyone to see. Later, make up each child to look like the clown on his or her plate.

Tape a balloon to each child's chair or the edge of the table where he or she will sit. Write the child's name on the balloon with a marker.

FAVORS, PRIZES, ITEMS FOR TREAT BAGS

Clown hats, whistles, bags of pretzels, popcorn, animal crackers

INSIDE GAMES AND ACTIVITIES, NONCOMPETITIVE

1. Have a clown come and help the children put on clown make-up. Be sure it's easy to wash off. The clown can be a friend in disguise.

2. Rehearse a circus show and perform it at the end of the party. Invite parents (ahead of time) to arrive at a certain time to see the show.

INSIDE GAMES, COMPETITIVE

1. Hot Banana. Play like Hot Potato

2. Candy Race. Who can push a piece of candy across the floor fastest with his or her nose?

3. Bull's-Eye Toss

4. Drop the Clothespins in the Bottle

OUTSIDE GAMES, NONCOMPETITIVE

1. Candy Hunt

2. Animal Cracker Hunt. Hide one box of animal crackers for each child. At the end, ask everyone to help find the boxes that are still hidden.

3. Circus Animal's Buff. Play like Blind Man's Buff but make only circus-animal sounds.

OUTSIDE GAMES, COMPETITIVE CIRCUS STUNTS

1. Who can stand on one leg the longest?

2. Who can do the most forward somersaults? Backwards?

3. Who can stand on his or her head the longest?

4. Who can toss a ball in the air the longest without dropping it?