My little one turned one this past summer.. on the same day his bigger sister turned 7. Yes, two of my kiddos were born on the same day six years apart! Thankfully, my daughter usually has her birthday party at the beginning of the summer so she can invite her friends from school. 
I am not usually "that mom" but I had my son's first birthday planned the day after he was born. Ha! I'm kidding, it was not that early but it was at-least six months in advance. 
A few years ago I had a client that ordered circus birthday treats and I thought they were just the cutest so I was absolutely delighted when I came across the idea of a circus themed first birthday party. 

Every great party starts with a fun invitation and I thought these were adorable. You can find them from Everyjolly on Etsy. Besides being super cute, these were super easy to download and edit. Then I just sent them to my local FedEx Kinkos to be printed on cardstock paper. 

These centerpieces were easy peasy to put together. I purchased popcorn boxes online and stuffed them with yellow shredded paper from the dollar store. Since the party was in July, the store was stocked with patriotic party supplies so I really lucked out with the pinwheels and paper straws. The giant lollipops also came from the dollar store. I purchased glittery red and blue cardstock from my local hobby store and traced the number one on the back. Then,  I was able to cut the number out and glue it to the paper straw. I had also purchased balloons to put in each one but real life happened and I did not get around to it. 

The clown noses were super fun! Everyone had a great time clowning around. I wanted my little one to have a keepsake from his party so I had everyone write a little note in the book "If I Ran the Circus" by Dr. Seuss. I hope when he gets older he can read the notes and know how much he is loved! I made the signs in Google Drawings. Click here to edit your own copy. 
I also decorated that table with Cracker Jacks and confetti from the dollar store. Do you see the paper clown in the background? My daughter made that for her baby brother - how sweet! 

I am not a fan of party favors that just sit on a shelf. I remembered the Barnum's Animals animal cracker boxes from  my childhood with the circus train and rope handle. Unfortunately, Nabisco did away with that design and now uses a Jungle theme instead. Well then! I had to roll with it. I purchased these favor tags from Haley Madison Design on Etsy and had them printed on cardstock at my local FedEx Kinkos. I used a hole punch to create a hole to tie a ribbon and attach them to the boxes. 

I used a simple plastic blue table cover from the dollar store and then wrapped it in this circus stripe table skirt. For the backdrop I used two red velvet curtains and blue striped fabric from my local hobby store and attached them to my photo backdrop stand. 
The colorful ONE was fun to make! I purchased wood chip letter from my local hobby shop and used acrylic paint to paint them. The hobby shop also had those cute wooden characters so it was very simple to just glue them on using my hot glue gun. I cut out stars using my star paper cutter and yellow card stock then glued them to each letter. 
I purchased this fun circus tent cupcake stand online. I was a bit skeptical but it looked great in person and held up well. I was able to put it away for another party. 
The cake was vanilla with vanilla bean buttercream and the topper for the cupcake stand and the cake came from Bells N' Berries on Etsy. 
​For the cupcakes I just made simple chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and topped them with either buttercream and a frosted animal cookie, Cracker Jacks and caramel sauce, or mini marshmallows with a dusting of yellow pearl dust to look like popcorn. 
The cake pops were strawberry and topped with a chocolate elephant made from a candy mold I found at my local cake supply store. The little stand for the elephant was an upside down cup that I glued card stock mini pendants and red paper dots to. 

It was a simple and fun party and I think my little guy enjoyed it! 

Here are more inspiration pictures from circus themed treats I have made. 

Hi friends! 

As you may know, Pops by Jenn officially closed in 2016. It was such a delight to be a part of so many special occasions and I am so thankful that I was able to help make many memories a little bit sweeter. 

BUT! I am so excited to announce that I will be making a comeback. Now, I won't be taking orders but I will be updating this blog regularly with recipes, fun party ideas and other things I think are sweet. 

So I hope you will stick around and join me!