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How to Host a Carnival Birthday Party: Free Printable Invites and Giveaway
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NOTE: There is a giveaway at the end of this post. Please read to the end for details
As I mentioned the other day when I shared Madeline’s Birthday Cupcakes – Vanilla Bean Sour Cream Cupcake – we had an adorable Carnival themed birthday party for her last weekend. Madeline hasn’t had a special birthday party since she turned 1, so I was extra proud of how this turned out and wanted to take a minute to share how I put the party together.
I’ll try my best to document all my sources should you wish to replicate anything from this party, however if I miss something please don’t hesitate to ask!
How to Host a Carnival Birthday Party
The Carnival Birthday Party Invitations
I designed our carnival birthday party invitations myself using an adorable carousel image that I found and purchased. I knew I wanted a horse theme, but one thing lead to another and soon we had the idea for the Carnival Party.
click image to download the FREE PRINTABLE invitation, then right click > save to your computer
Using Illustrator I changed the color scheme of the carousel to fit what I thought was a Carnival color scheme: Yellow, Red, and Turquoise. Originally it was pink and purple and very pretty but not quite what I had in mind for this party.
I’m offering up a generic FREE printable version of the carnival birthday party invitations that we used (name, address, party date and time removed) as well as a FREE printable matching thank you card. These cards both fit perfectly in these envelopes: 4-3/8″ x 5-3/4″ Greeting Card Envelopes.
click image to download the FREE PRINTABLE thank you, then right click > save to your computer
Disclaimer: Copyright GoodLife Eats. For personal use only. These Carnival Birthday Party invitations and thank you notes are shareable, however I ask that you please credit appropriately and link directly to this post – not the printable file. Thank you for understanding!
Carnival Party Decorations
Decorations were kept pretty simple. The food tables were draped with a cute Circus print fabric and an inexpensive solid turquoise fabric that I found at one of our fabric stores.
We had a balloon bouquet in red, yellow and turquoise tied to a wooden circus train car (found at Michael’s and then painted) with a toy giraffe in it.
I purchased a Happy Birthday banner from Meringue Designs on Etsy that I had been wanting for a while – something I can reuse over and over that matches our home deocr – and hung that above the sliding door that heads to the back door.
The Carnival Party Food
I kept things simple with the food and selected items that most 3-5 year olds would be guaranteed to eat, but also good enough for the parents to enjoy since at this age some parents still choose to stay at the party with their child.
Easy Carnival Lunch
The party was 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm so we served a light lunch that consisted of:
- Hebrew National Hot Dogs with the usual fixings
- Sliced Watermelon Wedges
- Apples – red and green
- Fresh, Raw Vegetables – broccoli, mini bell peppers, and grape tomatoes
- IZZE Sparkling Pomegranate Juice – kept cool with ice in a Galvanized Steel Beverage Tub
- Ice Cold Lemon Water
Tip: I purchased the IZZE on Amazon using the Subscribe & Save option to receive an extra 15% off my order, plus received free shipping with Amazon Prime.
This kicked an additional $3.50 off the price and saved me a trip to the store. I selected 1 case every 6 months as my delivery option. After the party, cancel the subscription to the item.
The Sweets & Treats Table
I set up a table with a few post-lunch treats and included goodie bags so the kids could take a bag of treats home after the party. In addition to the cupcakes, I chose a few other treats that in my eyes felt like they belonged at a carnival sweet stand.
- Orange Gumballs – Purchased at Party City
- Blue and Clear Rock Candy – Purchased at Party City
- Twizzlers – pictured in 1-Gallon Apothecary Jar
- Salt Water Taffy – pictured in 3-Quart Apothecary Jar
- Popcorn – pictured in West Bend 2.5 Ounce Theater Popper
- Vanilla Bean Sour Cream Cupcake – pictured on Adjustable Tiered Tower
I already had the tiered cupcake tower and have been wanting to purchase a couple of apothecary jars to use for party purposes or storing things like cookies, etc. I thought these worked out great and were sturdy, thick glass options that should last a while.
Carnival Party Activities
Again, things were kept relatively simple. These are mostly preschool aged kids after all and they didn’t need a ton of games to have fun playing.
They played in the back yard on the swing set, and with crouquet and ring toss on the grass. The real surprise were the ponies. I rented 2 ponies from Lazy River Pony to come to the party.
Madeline is beyond obsessed with horses and while I certainly don’t have the money, space, or energy to purchase her a horse of her own I could budget to rent her two ponies to ride at her birthday party.
This was so much more memorable of a gift from Mommy and Daddy than a few new toys. She will remember this experience for the rest of her life. Not to mention, more memorable for the party guests than a bag of treats and dollar store junk that would likely get thrown away within a week.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when she saw the ponies. I think she was actually a bit stunned. I imagined based on the look on her adorable face that she must have been thinking “This can’t possibly be happening. Am I asleep? Or is this real?” The birthday girl was in pony heaven!
All of her other little friends caught on to the what was about to happen. We had kept it a surprise from her and only Eric, Logan, and I knew but somehow the word spread. It was so cute how giddy everyone one was and how clueless Madeline was.
She was shy at first when she say the ponies. But once she got on she was all smiles and waves!
Giveaway Prize (1 winner):
West Bend is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year on September 25th at Washington County Fair Park. In conjunction with this celebration, they are offering a popcorn popper to one GoodLife Eats reader. Please see giveaway details below.
1 winner will receive a 82512 – Stir Crazy® Theater Popper, 2.5 oz. (value $119)
Giveaway Requirements:
- Answer the following: What is your favorite carnival memory or treat?
- Contest ends October 1, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. PST.
- Contest open to US States only.
- Winners will be chosen via random.org and will have 3 days to respond before disqualified and a new winner chosen.
Optional Extra Entries:
Additional entries can be earned by doing any of the following, giving you a total of 5 extra entries. Leave a separate comment for each of your entries.
1. Follow goodlifeeats on Twitter and ReTweet the following message: I entered to win a West Bend Stir Crazy Theater Popcorn Popper from @goodlifeeats http://su.pr/2RYECb #giveaway
2. Add this post to Pinterest: Pin It
About the Author:
Katie’s lifelong interest in cooking good food has shown her that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. She is: Writer. Photographer. Recipe Developer. Website Founder. Lover of all things good in life. Wife & Mom. A mix of great recipes, family memories, and yummy photography is what Katie serves up each week at GoodLife Eats™. Katie resides in Colorado with her husband and two children.
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Hello! I'm Katie Goodman, author of GoodLife Eats Etc. where I share what I find in my life. A mix of great recipes, family memories, adventures, good reads, and anything else that I love is what you will discover here.
Oh my, those are such great ideas! And I really need to try the cupcake recipe for sure!
The invites are also very cute, thanks for sharing.
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My favorite carnival treat would definitely be cotton candy! I have a giant sweet tooth, this is my all time favorite treat!
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You are so creative. What great ideas for a special birthday party!
I loved the carnival food – all of it.
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Love the carnival food!!! It was fun to eat all the foods you normally couldn’t have! Yum
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LOVE cotton candy! and very cute party.
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my favorite carnival memory is watching the local bands play and eating elephant ears!
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What an incredibly adorable party! And the pony looks like it was such a fun surprise!!
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What an adorable party! My favorite carnival food is anything with ice cream.
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So cute! I wish my birthday parties were as cool as that! I always loved getting rainbow slushies and fried cheese curds (I grew up in MN) at carnivals.
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Funnel Cake is my absolute favorite carnival treat. The carnival themed party is a great idea!
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I pinned this in pinterest!
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Cotton Candy & Fairies Wheel
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I am having a carnival themed party for my daughter on October 1st! I wish I could get the popcorn popper by then!
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I forgot to mention that my favorite treat at a carnival when I was a kid was cotton candy, but now I don’t like it.
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I love corn dogs! They taste better at the Texas State Fair than anywhere else on earth!
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My favorite carnival treat are funnel cakes and cotton candy. Love the idea and the invites are so cute!
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Oh goodness….loved riding the elephants and eating cotton candy!!!!!
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Funnel cake, for sure!
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Funnel cake!
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My favorite carnival foods are corndogs and cotton candy. Thanks for the giveaway!
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Popcorn is definitely my favorite treat!
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Funnel cake! Yum!
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Definitely Elephant ears!
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cotton candy!
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Cotton candy, for sure!
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Favorite carnival food: gotta love those Funnel Cakes!
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Elephant Ears!
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and remember those giant pickles they kept in huge glass jars? They put them on a stick and we walked around eating a giant dill pickle. (why in the world would we think that was fun? LOL)
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I remember when the state fair served fresh corn on the cob (on a stick). It was kept warm in a giant vat of butter!
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I distinctly remember riding a camel at a carnival when I was a little kid. My parents don’t remember it and I don’t know where it was, but if it was a dream it was a very vivid one! That’s my favorite carnival “memory,” half baked as it may be.
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Deep Fried Snickers!
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I loved the cotton candy and the carousel!
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The Cotton Candy!!!! Btw, Very cute party ideas!
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Popcorn!!
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oh my favorite has to be the caramel apples and the games for sure !!
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Cinnamon Rolls, so gooey I still look forward to them.
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My favorite memory of a carnival is seeing my kids just light up at the prospect of getting to ride everything! That my two littles (3 & 5) rode everything they were big enough for, and then some, was the icing on the cake! As far as treats go, it’s caramel apples hands down!
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I love the popcorn! bydubois10@yahoo.com
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I pinned this post in pinterest! (Great alliterative comment!)
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We just had our company picnic and it was a carnival theme – I was on the committee and it went over so well. We had so much fun and I had the best time playing carnie all day.
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Funnel cakes were always a delicious part of carnivals!
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Some of the best memories I have were going to the local fair with my family. It was always just after school started and cooler weather was setting in. My favorite memory was a roller coaster for kids, it scared me to death but I would ride it over and over again. Then we were always treated to the huge corn dogs.. Great memories!
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Such a precious party. We had a carnival party for my son’s 2nd birthday and everyone’s favorite were the ponies!
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My favorite carnival memory was getting to ride an elephant as a little girl:)
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I pinned this post on Pinterest:)
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Favorite carnival memory….riding the carousel, eating cotton candy and popcorn!!
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I follow goodlifeeats on Twitter and tweeted about the giveaway:)
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I added this post to Pinterest
http://pinterest.com/bonniejintn/pins/
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I tweeted this giveaway on Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/bonniejonestn
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My favorite part of carnivals were always the petting zoos!
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We didn’t get to eat a lot of the carnival food, so I’m just remembering the cotton candy and probably an apple fritter. I loved the pig races! Happy Birthday to your daughter!
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I linked u on my pintrest! thank you for the great opportunity to win
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my favorite memory is our local Interstate Fair when I was a kid. Seeing all the lights and neon of the carnival…and the smell of the food vendors…grease and sugar….cotton candy and carmel apples
yum!!
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I am all about the funnel cakes.
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I follow on Twitter and tweeted about the giveaway.
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My favorite is funnel cakes!
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Follow on twitter and tweeted: https://twitter.com/marieimy/status/116676220288122881
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Love funnel cakes!
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Funnel cakes and candy apples. Yum!
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My favorite carnival food is funnel cake, but with only powdered sugar. I like it simple.
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Favorite Carnival Treat is Funnel Cake! Yum, Yum, yum! Thanks so much for the give-away! Spectacular Party!
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I tweeted about this give-away! Thanks so much for the give-away!
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I love love love the party and everything about it! I am helping my sister plan my niece’s carnival birthday party next month!!
My favorite thing about carnivals was the funnel cakes! And all the fun rides!
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When I was really little, I rode an elephant my dad trained in the circus when he was young – crazy. Treatwise? Carmel corn and funnel cake!!
I totally want to do a carnival party for my daughter’s next birthday! What a fun theme.
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My favorite carnival memory is from growing up in New Orleans. Catholic school fairs are a big thing in New Orleans. They are usually 2 to 2 1/2 day events and the kids from the school perform through out the fair. One year, I was probably in 6th grade me my sister and 2 friends choreographed a dance to the song Rockin Robin. We work the same shorts and tank tops that we put a record decal on. We then did the dance at the fair.
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So many memories so much fun. My favorite carnival memory is from growing up in New Orleans. Catholic school fairs are a big thing in New Orleans. They are usually 2 to 2 1/2 day events and the kids from the school perform through out the fair. One year, I was probably in 6th grade me my sister and 2 friends choreographed a dance to the song Rockin Robin. We work the same shorts and tank tops that we put a record decal on. We then did the dance at the fair.
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I now follow @goodlifeeats on Twitter
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I retweeted
JamieG63 Jamie Gibbs
RT “I entered to win a West Bend Stir Crazy Theater Popcorn Popper from @goodlifeeats su.pr/2RYECb #giveaway”
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What a wonderful giveaway! My best carnival memory was with my best friend who visited from Canada. We had an amazing time and enjoyed the carnival so much especially the cherros. Now whenever I came across cherros or something cinnamon-y, I thought of my best friend and the great time we had together.
amy [at] utry [dot] it
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my favorite carnival treat was always cotton candy – what a sugar rush!
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My favorite carnival memory is the carnival that came to our military base a few days before my husband deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. Our boys had such a great time riding kiddie rides with their daddy, and I savored our joyful time together! Thanks for the fun giveaway!
I absolutely loved your party ideas and photos! It’s something I could imagine featured in Martha Stewart’s Living or another magazine!
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My favorite carnival memory was when me and my sister’s would eat the candied apples together! We always went crazy excited for those things and there was no way a carnival would have felt complete without eating those sticky delights!
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What an adorable party! I love the color scheme you chose. Adorable!! My favorite carnival treat is definitely the COTTON CANDY!! Love that stuff.
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My favorite carnival treat was always cotton candy! And as I got older I always had to get either funnel cake or fried oreos
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I don’t do well on rides. I remember once going on a ride three times to try to overcome my fears, didn’t work. My husband got me to go on a ride once and he regretted it because I screamed all the way through it, it was the pirate ship, I guess it’s a baby ride but it scared me.
I still go to places with rides for my family. I just sit and wait for them to finish their ride and walk to the next one. I love to see them happy.
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Hand-dipped corn dogs, cotton candy, and kettle corn!!
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Looks like such a fun time! I have to admit… I love cotton candy!
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Shaved ice!
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I loved snow cones.
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My favorite carnival treat is cotton candy!
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Definitely the corn dogs, with lots of mustard
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I follow goodlifeeats on Twitter and tweeted
about this giveaway.
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Mini donuts!
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I tweeted!
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I love corn dogs or funnel cakes/elephant ears because you can’t make it the same way at home.
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My favorite memory is cotton candy (yum!) and the smells of the animals (not my favorite part)!
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Tweeted @mrschef05!
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I Pin’d on Pinterest!
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I am now following on Twitter!
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the big brick of fries!
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My favorite treat use to always be the cotton candy! I don’t think I could stomach it now… those were the days
I would love to win a popcorn machine, we’re throwing a circus party for halloween!
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My favorite carnival treat is Kettle Corn and a Soft Pretzel!! YUM!
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I love caramel apples and elephant ears. Mmm.
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Definitely elephant ears!
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Funnel Cakes ! Yum.
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My favorite carnival treat is funnel cake. Anytime the carnies come to town I am right there for funnel cake. I also always loved going just to play the darts with balloons and shooting water into the clowns mouth to pop the balloon.
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Twittered the contest too!
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My favorite carnival treat is without a doubt the cotton candy. It is a must every time!
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My favorite carnival snack is cotton candy! Mmmmm. Melt in your mouth goodness.
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hi love the Carnival theme so sweet…. My favorite Carnival memory hands down is Kettle Corn hot and fresh mmmmm mmmmmm good…..
Thanks for the awesome giveaway…..
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My favorite carnival snack is funnel cake.
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My favorite carnival memory is feeding elephants peanuts and standing under the big top … it was simply amazing at my age (at the time…
) – I have always wanted to throw a bday part at a carnival, but it never happened… maybe one day I can do the same for my daughter? 
your party looked amazing!!!
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I love carnival’s and the fun – the bright colors and especially at dusk. Favorite treat are the funnel cakes.
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My favorite was always the elephant ears…big fried pieces of sweet dough covered in cinnamon sugar…definitely fair or carnival food.
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I love funnel cakes at the carnival – hot andso, so sweet! The only time of year we used to be able to eat them was summer carnival time.
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I love fresh grilled corn on the cob dipped in melted butter.
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My favorite carnival memory is when I was in elementary school and my school had a carnival each year– we got to go on all the rides and play all the games for free during recess!
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I love corn on the cob!
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Kettle corn always makes me think of carnivals!!!
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I love kettle corn!
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I absolutely LOVE caramel corn!
It’s definitely my favorite carnival treat!
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What a FUN party!! My favorite carnival memory is seeing the elephants
They looked GYNORMOUS to me when I was a kid!
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My favorite carnival food has to be cotton candy. I will admit, however, that I’ve read about deep fried frito pies and will probably stuff my face silly if I ever see one.
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My favorite carnival memory is when they had elephants there & we got a chance to ride one. Favorite carnival treat cotton candy. thanks for the chance!
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Cotton Candy, please!
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Love the Carnival b-day party idea! I’m filing that away for future use!
My favorite carnival treat is definitely funnel cake!!!!
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I love cotton candy. Always something I get at a carnival!
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I also pinned it!
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My favorite treats were the funnel cakes… piping hot with melting powdered sugar. Yummm.
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Cute party ideas! Definitely going to look into that cupcake recipe. My favorite carnival treat was the homemade fry stand and drizzling them with yummy malt vinegar. My mouth is watering…
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wow SO cool!! Love the ideas!!
My fave carnival treats are cotton candy & candied apples lol:)
Thanks for the chance to win!!
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
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Love the mini doughnuts!
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Following you on twitter @JoeyfromSC and tweeted:
http://twitter.com/#!/JoeyfromSC/status/117341826943418368
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
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Added the post to my pinterest(addictive site lol)
JoeyfromSC
ajoebloe(at)gmail(dot)com
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Love the party idea! My favorite part of a carnival has always been the homemade corn dogs and the petting zoo.
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Corndogs!:)
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I love all the carnival food.
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Love the party and thanks for the freebies! I grew up in Australia where they don’t do carnivals like you have here, but I loved cotton candy, or fairy floss as we call it there.
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My favourite memory is easy! I’m not a big carnival person – I have lots of allergies (so most of he food is out) and I get sick on twirly rides (so, that’s that). But I spent one year as an exchange student in Denmark and you can’t visit Copenhagen without at least stopping by Tivoli! It was great – huge and so much more than just rides. I went on a a kind of ferris wheel with three other students, and even though we told the operator not to, he spun the twirly part of our carriage. We were able to stop it by grabbing the central pole, but the way the Japanese student cussed him out (in Japanese, of course) once the ride was over was priceless – highly amusing to the folks lined up to get into the carriage we’d just vacated. My favourite treat was something I can’t remember the name of (I didn’t speak Danish at that point), but it was thick ice cream and stewed cherries with almonds. The four of us had to split it it was so rich!
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My favorite carnival treat is funnel cake!!! Love the carnival birthday party! The popcorn machine would be a wonderful addition to my home theater.
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I have to admit that the salty popcorn only comes second to the the elephant ears
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cotton candy!!
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I love Kettle Corn and funnel cakes. Yum!
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FUNNEL CAKE!! = D & THANK YOU!! I am having my daughters 5th b-day at the end of Oct. I believe she will LOVE the carnival theme!! So, once again THANK YOU for the wonderful ideas!!!
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I loved eating funnel cake when we went to the carnival!
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I’m also now following you on Twitter! YAY! And I’ve tweeted about the giveaway
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And how could I not repin this fantastic party?!?
Thanks so much for sharing!!!
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Thank you sooo much for creating and sharing this invitation template. It has been so hard to find something suitable! This will be perfect for my 6yr olds carnival party – especially as she is having a carousel cake!! Thanks again, Bec from Australia
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Where did you get the fabric that the cupcake is setting on?
Betsy Connolly
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Katie replied: — February 8th, 2012 @ 8:07 PM
I got it at Hancock Fabrics.
Thanks for the info. I received ten yards of this fabric today.
Thanks Again
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