Are you digging the carnival themed birthday party but don’t want to spend a small fortune on decor? Wanting to throw a party that will be a hit with tots and the adults?

My second child’s first birthday was done in the carnival theme and it was a hit. I can’t wait to show you how to pull off your own carnival themed birthday party for cheap!

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I’ve been friends with the owner of Bobee Party Supplies for a while. She was kind enough to send me two of these adorable banners to use for Abrams’s birthday party.

You can find more party supplies from her website Bobeeinc.com.

Getting Thrifty

I went to the dollar store and found four little bows to use at each end of the banners. They added a more finished look to the edges. I also found two of the gold balloons at Walmart for a buck apiece. The bows and the balloons only cost me four bucks!

Pro-Tip: Save money by keeping your party supplies to use for future parties.

Making A Big Visual Impact For Cheap

Another thing I purchased was regular balloons. I wanted to fill them with helium but that went a little above budget. We ended up tying some of them to the chandelier and letting the others loose around the house.

We kept to our themed carnival colors of red, blue, and yellow. The balloons added a nice pop of color while simultaneously entertaining the little ones.

To make the carnival tent, we also picked up some cheap red and white streamers from Walmart. We hung them around our chandelier in a striped pattern. That gave our party a really fun vibe.

Let’s Talk About The Food

Carnival Themed Birthday Party - Food Ideas

Let me tell ya, the food was simple yet delicious. You don’t have to be a great cook to impress your guests.

My go-to dishes when throwing parties are veggie trays, fruit trays, and punch. Just make sure you cut up some of the grapes longwise for the little ones. I’ve read too many horror stories of children choking on regular-sized grapes at parties.

I used these (Amazon aff link) versatile silicone collapsable bento boxes for my fruit and veggie trays. They come with lids, hold a lot of food, and have a spoon/fork combo attached.

Asher always used them as lunch boxes for moms day out. We love using them especially since they’re non-toxic. I washed off some of Asher’s toy zoo animals that we already had lying around his room to add a little charm.

Pro-Tip: Look for ways to utilize what you already have for decorations. One time I used Asher’s toy trucks as balloon weights for his truck-themed birthday party.

One of my favorite party dishes to make is my cheeseball recipe I got from a co-worker years back. It’s always a hit for work functions, parties, etc.

Because I love you guys, I’m going to share it with you! 🙂

Pineapple Nutty Cheeseball Recipe:

This is a very easy, make-ahead recipe you can do for any party. Here is everything you will need:

2 8oz packs of Philadelphia cream cheese
Two tables-spoons of finely chopped green pepper (reserve the rest)
One table-spoon of finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon of seasoning salt
Small package of sliced almonds (honey roasted is best)
One small can of crushed pineapple (drain and use about a handful)
Box or two of your favorite crackers

Finely dice a slice of onion and a two to three slices of your green bell pepper. Add your softened cream cheese, seasoning salt, and the drained crushed pineapple to a mixing bowl. Mix well then scoop into a round circle into a serving plate. Cover and put in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

Before you get ready to serve add the rest of the green bell pepper slices to the bowl. Top with your almonds and add some crackers.

Tip: You can make a sweat/savory marinade with the left over pineapple chunks and onion.

That’s it, super easy folks!

Carnival Themed Birthday Party - CheeseBall Recipe

For A “Punch” of color

Like I mentioned earlier, punch is one of my staples when throwing a party. To continue with the carnival/cotton candy theme I went with my old rainbow punch recipe.

I used rainbow Sorbet ice cream, Hawaiian punch and Ginger-Ale. (you can also use 7up).

About 10 minutes before the party starts, go ahead and sit out all of your food including the cake. Then prepare your punch.

Smokies Are Life

For the meat all I did was throw a couple packages of little smokies in a crock pot and added a bottle of Head Country bbq sauce. I had it on low for an hour or two and it came out delicious.

This was my first time making little bbq smokies for a party. I can’t believe I’d never tried it before, it took almost 0 effort to make!

It’s All About The Cake

We have a local grocery store that custom made these cakes for us for around 20 bucks. They didn’t have any carnival themed birthday cakes so I asked if they could make me one.

I whipped out a few example pics from Pinterest and they did exactly what I had in mind. Don’t be afraid to ask if you want your cake to look a certain way. The main cake was topped with bath toys so I got to reuse those!

Unfortunately, Abram wasn’t too thrilled about the results. We also made the intelligent decision to have his party around nap-time… Oh well, lesson learned.

Carnival Themed Birthday Party - Cake and Cotton candy

Last Minute Details

I received this (aff link) Travel Clothesline for cloth diapers from Diaper Dawgs to try out. Instead of hanging diapers, I put together little bags of cotton candy and printed off some pictures of Abram’s first year.

These photos were literally printed off 25 minutes before the party! We have a Walgreens right by us and you can do it super fast and cheap from their app.

We also picked up some cool carnival lollipops from the dollar store and set them out as part of the decor. The lollipops and cotton candy doubled as decoration and party favors which saved us even more money.