Step right up! For this circus themed dinner party we turned our dining room into a circus big top and the results were nothing short of spectacular. Gourmet carnival food, a DIY tulle tent ceiling, and sophisticated pink, red, and gold decor make these circus party ideas the most fun dinner party you'll ever throw.
Quick Look
- 🎪 Party: Circus Party Elevated Dinner Party
- 🎨 Colour Palette: Pink, Red, Gold
- 👥 Guests: 6-10
- 🌟 Difficulty: Intermediate
- 💡 Top Tip: The DIY tulle tent ceiling is the single most impactful element of the whole party and it transforms an ordinary dining room into a circus big top!
Why You'll Love This Party
- The DIY tulle ceiling tent is jaw-dropping but genuinely achievable in an afternoon.
- Carnival food gets a gourmet upgrade - hot dogs, funnel cake, and pretzels feel genuinely dinner-party worthy!
- The pink, red, and gold colour palette is bold, dramatic, and deeply satisfying to style.
- Dressed circus animals, custom matchboxes, and chocolate "cigarettes" are the kind of details guests talk about for weeks.
- Everything from decor, food, and atmosphere all works together to create a complete experience, not just a pretty table!
Jump to:
There's something genuinely magical about the circus. The drama, the spectacle, the feeling that anything could happen.
For February's dinner party, we took all of that energy and brought it to the dinner table with a few serious upgrades. Think gourmet hot dogs with a buffet of toppings, cotton candy and sparkling wine, truffle popcorn instead of buttered, and funnel cake with strawberry compote and ice cream.
And it wasn't just the food that got a sophisticated makeover, our circus decor included our very own magical big top tent right in our dining room, roses, candles and more.
This was February's gathering in our Year of Gathering series, where we're hosting a different themed party each month all year long. If you love a great party, you're going to want to follow along.
The circus has always been a place where everyone belongs, where difference is celebrated, and we loved bringing that spirit of inclusivity and joy to the table.
If you love hosting themed dinner parties, you might also love our Pasta Bar Dinner Party, Toast Themed Dinner Party -where all the food was toast and amazing savoury and sweet toppings, Fondue Dinner Party, or Make Your Own Pizza Party.
Circus Party Decor
The decor was where this party really came to life, and honestly, where we had the most fun. Our circus decorations include a tent, loads of strips in our party colors of pink and red, lots of stars, and Circus animals!
The Big Top Tent Ceiling
The centrepiece of the whole party was our DIY circus tent ceiling, and we are still not over it. I absolutely love how it turned out.
Making the dining room into a tent was the first idea I had once I decided on the party theme. I researched different materials and here's why tulle won:
Why not fabric? Too expensive and difficult to hang without damaging walls.
Why not plastic tablecloths? Too juvenile looking and creates landfill waste.
Why not ribbon? Would need massive amounts and be too expensive.
Why not crepe paper? Too time consuming for a large room and expensive.
Tulle worked perfectly. Lightweight, easy to work with, affordable, and completely reusable.
What You'll Need:
- 4-5 hours + a helper
- 12" wide tulle rolls in your colors (we used 4 x 100 yard rolls = 400 yards total)
- Command hooks (more than you think!)
- Clear fishing line
- Ladder
- Anti-static spray
- Elastic hair tie or rubber band
- Scissors
The Method:
- Measure and cut strips. Measure from your ceiling center point (light fixture) to the edge of the ceiling, and then add enough to make it drape nicely, then down to the floor. Ours were about 18 feet -with our 10 feet ceilings. Cut all strips to this length.
- Install fishing line perimeter. Use Command hooks to run clear fishing line around the entire top of your ceiling/walls.
- Gather at center point. Start at the light fixture. Gather each tulle strip together and secure with an elastic at the ceiling center, adding as you go.
- Drape outward. Take each strip from the center, drape it across the ceiling to the wall edge, loop it over the fishing line, and let it hang down the wall to the floor.
- Alternate colors. We alternated red and pink strips to create the striped circus tent effect.
- Adjust for evenness. Once all strips are hung, rearrange so the ceiling drapes hang at similar lengths.
- Trim to floor. Cut the bottom of each strip so it just meets the floor and hangs nicely.
Pro Tips:
- Static cling problem? We used anti-static spray when pieces kept clinging to walls and each other.
- Time commitment: 4-5 hours with two people. Not difficult, just time consuming.
- Don't skimp on Command hooks. You'll need more than you think.
- Patience required. The adjusting and evening out takes time, but it's worth it.
Because we went with tulle, it was very easy to work with because it's such light weight. We had no fear of it falling. It is quite transparent and see through, but it created this beautiful, magical effect that I loved!
The Buffet Backdrop
The hot dog buffet wall was styled against a backdrop of layered red and gold tinsel fringe garlands, draped in a V shape with cascading gold star garlands. Pink tulle streamed down the walls behind it.
The result looked like something straight out of a vintage circus poster, and it cost surprisingly little to put together.
We added our "Step Right Up" lightbox sign to anchor the left side of the buffet, and lit the whole thing with our vintage brass candelabra holding striped pink and white candles.
The Dining Table
The table was styled on a red and pink striped tablecloth that set the whole circus tone immediately.
Down the centre we placed an eclectic mix of brass candlesticks in varying heights holding red, pink, and red and white striped candles. I couldn't find any striped candles, so I made my own. I used dollar store candles and then used some pink acylic craft paint, and painted the strips by hand. The strips are a little wonky, which I liked. If you wanted them perfectly straight you could use some tape to get the lines perfect. The stripes needed a few coats to cover. I loved how they turned out, and they burned fine, just like regular candles.
Hot pink and red roses in simple glass vases were tucked between the candlesticks, and gold star garlands cascaded down from the chandelier above.
Our favourite detail? The dressed circus animals scattered down the table. A giraffe in a red ruffled dress and pink pom pom hat. A lion in a gold party hat and tulle bow. They were such a hit with guests and added exactly the playful, whimsical touch a circus party needs.
I used ribbon, tulle, some gem stones, and pom poms to dress them up and they looked so cute.
Each place setting included our scalloped white plates layered with black and white striped napkins, gold cutlery, and a pink circus menu card printed with the evening's courses.
The Welcome Vignette
Guests were greeted at the entry console by a framed "Welcome to the Circus" print in pink and red, flanked by a vintage marquee star light and a small lamp. A swallow and glitter star garland swept above it.
On the tray beside the print we placed our custom "Life is More Fun at the Circus" matchboxes. These were a fun DIY party favor. I bought some mini matchboxes, and then printed our custom covers on sticker paper and added them. Such a fun detail for guests to discover.
Vintage suitcases were tucked underneath the console, adding to the travelling circus atmosphere.
The Circus Candy Cart
No circus is complete without a candy cart, and ours did not disappoint.
We styled a vintage rolling cart with tall glass apothecary jars filled with oversized circus lollipops, and sweets. Circus tent shaped candy boxes, star garlands, and a string of fairy lights made the whole thing glow. You can grab the free printable for the Jelly Bean boxes in our Harry Potter Christmas Tree post, we used them in our Honeydukes candy cart set up.
We made matching custom stickers to fit our circus theme, and added them to striped paper bags so our guests could help themselves and take some candy home -as a "sweet" memory of the night.
The Sideshow Coffee Table Welcome
I love the circus for all the color and fun and excitment that the theme brings, but I also wanted to embrace the darker side of the circus a little too. Think carnes with tattos, smoking, drinking and playing cards are their breaktime.
Faux Tattos: I invited all my guests to dress up in "circus chic" attire for the party if they wanted to, but I wasn't sure if everyone would embrace the challenge. So incase they needed to add a little circus fun to their look for the night, I setup a little temporary tatoo station, with lots of fun tatoo sheets for my guests to help themselves to.
Truffle Popcorn: Since we were doing circus I knew I wanted to offer traditional circus foods, but an elevated version. Instead of regular popcorn, we served truffle popcorn. We poped it fresh and served it hot as soon as our guests arrived. Find our easy Truffle Popcorn Recipe here. I served it in a large bowl, and used some traditonal popcorn boxes so guests could help themselves.
Chocolate Cigarettes Recipe: I also had some fun chocolate cigerettes. These were a cheeky little snack.
What You'll Need:
- Pretzel rods
- White chocolate melting wafers
- Red chocolate melting wafers
- Coarse white sanding sugar
- Black food coloring
- Crystal ashtray (thrift store find)
The Method:
- Melt white chocolate and dip pretzel rods to coat, leaving half an Inch, to resemble a real brown and white cigarette. Make some full-size and some shorter, with various lengths. Be sure to dip the broken end into the chocolate. Let set.
- Dip just the tips of the white end in melted red chocolate to create "lit" effect
- Make "ashes": Mix some white sanding sugar with black food coloring to create grey with black flecks, then add in some white to create some variation.
- While red tip is wet, dip into sugar "ashes".
- Let set on parchment paper
- Serve in crystal ashtray, with more sugar "ashes" in the bottom.
Why they're addictive: That sweet-salty pretzel-chocolate combo is irresistible.
Welcome Drink
It's always fun to kick off an evening like this with a themed cocktail or mocktail. I wanted to incorporate cotton candy -another traditional circus delight, into the menu and used it in our welcome circus party drinks.
Find our recipe for cotton candy non-alcoholic mocktails here, and for the alcoholic cocktail version, we used sparkling wine. They were sweet and delicious.
Circus Party Menu
These circus food ideas were all about taking classic carnival foods and giving them a serious upgrade. You can find the menu in our Free Resource Library as a free printable.
Soft Pretzels with Beer Cheese
As a starter to the meal, we served warm, homemade soft pretzels with a beer cheese sauce. We used this beer cheese dip recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction and it was a crowd favourite, and the perfect start of the meal.
Gourmet Hotdog Buffet
You can't really do the circus without serving hotdogs.
But we wanted an elevated version. We stared out with all beef jumbo hotdogs, cooked on the bbq. We served these on fresh bakery buns -we had to custom order because we neeeded jumbo.
We made a buffet of all the best hotdog toppings we could think of, there was:
- ketchup
- mustard
- grainy dijon mustard
- truffle mustard
- garlic mayo
- shredded cheese
- real bacon bits
- hot peppers
- sauerkraut
- pickles
- fried onions
- chopped red onions
- tomatoes
- zucchini relish
Fresh Cut Fries
Hotdogs just have to be served with fries, don't you think?
About a month before the party I made a batch in my home deep fryer, and I was really disappointed. They tasted great, but they just weren't very crispy. So I started researching how to make a really crispy french fry. I'm not kidding when I say that I must of made 5 different batches testing out different methods -but we got there in the end!
Here's the method I landed on after my tests:
The Method:
- Start with russet potatoes. Peel and slice (don't make them too large).
- Soak cut fries in cold water in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
- Drain, rinse, pat dry, then coat in cornstarch.
- First fry at 325°F for 5-6 minutes to blanch.
- Chill blanched fries in fridge overnight (or up to 3 days).
- Second fry at 375°F until golden brown, and then salt.
- Keep finished batches warm in a 325°F oven on a baking sheet.
It's always a little tricky to make fried food for a crowd and get it served while it's still hot and crispy, but this method worked perfectly. And my guests raved about how good they were.
Salad
I wanted to have at least one fresh vegetable. I thought a tangy salad was perfect. We had a simple arugula salad with green onions, shaved parmesan cheese, and homemade lemon vinaigrette.
Funnel Cake with Strawberry Compote
Dessert was individual servings of funnel cake topped with vanilla ice cream and warm strawberry compote.
The funnel cake was crispy, sweet, and dusted with powdered sugar. The strawberry compote added a sophisticated touch that took this classic carnival treat to the next level. Find our Homemade Funnel Cake recipe here.
Circus Playlist
Music sets the entire mood for a themed party, and for our circus night we wanted something that felt playful, vintage, and just a little bit dramatic. Grab our Circus Dinner Party Playlist here.
Free Circus Party Printables
We created a set of custom printables to make styling this circus party easier, and we're sharing them with you for free.
What's included:
- Circus party invitations in pink and red
- Menu cards
- Custom matchbox covers ("Life is More Fun at the Circus")
- Candy bag labels
- Lollipop stickers
All printables are designed to match the pink, red, and gold color palette, and they're sized to print at home on standard letter paper or cardstock.
Get the free printables: Subscribe to our email list below and you'll get instant access to the full printable pack, plus party ideas and seasonal inspiration delivered to your inbox.
The printables made pulling together the finishing touches so much easier, and guests loved the cohesive look they created throughout the party.
What Made This Party Special
When we sent invitations, we encouraged guests to dress in 'circus chic' attire. One guest showed up in a full red ringmaster costume with gold trim and a tall black hat, another was a strong man in a muscle costume with bar bell, there four top hats, there was even a ring toss, sword swallowing act by one couple.
Here's what we realized planning and hosting this circus dinner party.
The circus has always been a place where everyone belongs. Where difference is celebrated, where performers of all kinds find their place under the big top, where the strange and spectacular come together to create something magical.
That spirit of inclusivity and playfulness was exactly what we wanted to bring to the table, and it worked.
Guests embraced the theme. They showed up dressed up and ready to have a great night. There was something about giving everyone permission to be playful, to be a little extra, to embrace the spectacle that made the whole evening feel joyful in a way that's hard to describe. The joy of the circus atmosphere infected us all. From seeing our dining room transformed into the big top as soon as they arrived, to sipping on cotton candy cocktails as their welcome, the stage was set for fun!
This wasn't just a pretty table. It was a night where everyone felt welcome to show up exactly as they were, dress up, play along with the theme at whatever level felt right, and just enjoy being together.
That's what the circus has always done best. And that's what made this dinner party one of our favorites ever.
Frequently Asked Questions
A circus party is a themed celebration inspired by the circus, featuring carnival-inspired food, big top decorations, playful activities, and often a red, pink, and gold color palette. Circus parties can be adapted for both children's birthdays and sophisticated adult dinner parties.
For our dining room we used 400 yards of tulle (4 rolls of 100 yards each) which cost around $80-100 total. The exact cost depends on where you buy your tulle and the size of your room. You'll also need Command hooks (budget $10) and fishing line ($5). Total cost for the tent ceiling was under $115, which is surprisingly affordable for such a dramatic effect.
Plan for 4-5 hours with two people working together. It's not difficult, just time consuming. You'll need a ladder, patience, and more Command hooks than you think. The measuring and cutting takes about an hour, and the hanging and adjusting takes the rest of the time.
Yes! Because tulle is lightweight and doesn't crease badly, you can carefully take it down, fold it, and store it for future parties. We're planning to reuse ours for other celebrations.
You can still create the tent effect with a regular ceiling. Instead of draping to the edge of a tray, drape the tulle directly to the walls. The key is having a central gathering point (like a light fixture or ceiling hook) and enough length to reach from center to walls and down to the floor.
The plastic circus animals came from the dollar store and thrift stores. We bought plain animals and dressed them up ourselves using ribbon, tulle scraps, pom poms, and gem stones in our party colors. It was an easy DIY that made them feel custom and special.
Thrift stores are your best source for large vintage apothecary jars. Check regularly because inventory changes constantly. For smaller jars, dollar stores and HomeGoods carry affordable options. You can also find them at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, or online.
The pretzels can be shaped and frozen up to a week ahead, then baked day of. The beer cheese can be made 2-3 days ahead and reheated. Fries can be blanched and refrigerated up to 3 days before the final fry. The funnel cake batter can be prepped the morning of. Make the strawberry compote up to 3 days ahead. Hot dog toppings can be chopped the day before.
Serve elevated carnival classics like gourmet hot dogs with a toppings bar, soft pretzels with beer cheese, truffle popcorn, french fries, and funnel cake for dessert. The key is taking traditional circus foods and giving them a sophisticated upgrade. Add a cotton candy cocktail or mocktail as a welcome drink to set the playful tone.
More Party Ideas
If you use any of these Circus Party Ideas please let us know in the comments how it went. Thanks for visiting Life is a Party today!
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