Last week, the new live-action Dumbo came out on Blu-ray and we had a special movie night to celebrate! Disney sent us some fun themed items and I picked up a few extra to have a fun circus-themed backyard party with the boys before we watched the movie!
Whether you’re having a Dumbo family movie night or you’re looking for ideas for a circus birthday party, here’s how we set up our mini circus party:
Activities
This one’s an easy one- we played some carnival games! This set has several games in one, including a ring toss, a ball toss, and more. The kids can take turns playing just for fun- or even for prizes! This would be a great way for kids to earn little trinkets to take home as their party favors.
Snacks
What’s a circus without peanuts? Whether you opt for actual peanuts or allergy-friendly circus peanuts candy, it’s definitely a classic. Of course, you definitely need popcorn too- and these Circus Animal Cookies literally have the word Circus in the name! These adorable circus tent sippers really finish off the snack table perfectly!
I also bought a cotton candy maker to add a little extra sweetness to the party! {This is the one I bought but it is definitely not fast enough for a party. It works for fun after-dinner treats, though.}
Decorations
We kept our decorations super low key since this was just a fun little celebration for our movie night, but you can find circus party supplies on Amazon or at your local party store. I also LOVED this pop-up circus tent from IKEA- it was adorable as a decoration, but also doubled as a fun activity for the kids as they played in it. {2023 Update: This tent is no longer available, but find a similar one here.} Bonus: This lasted way longer than the celebration and we can use it for months to come!
This adorable Dumbo plush totally made the set up extra cute! It’s the one they sell IN the film, too, so the kids really loved pointing that out while we were watching the movie. Grab one here!
Entertainment
In addition to the games and the tent to play with, we had one major source of entertainment- watching Dumbo, of course!
The live action re-imagining of Dumbo is on Blu-ray NOW and we loved watching it. We recently rewatched the original, animated version to remind ourselves of the whole story and had fun after watching the new one talking about what was the same and what was different.
I absolutely loved how much more story was added to the live action film. I also loved how much more awe-inspiring Dumbo’s flying is- instead of just waking up in a tree, Dumbo is shown actually soaring and it’s absolutely amazing!
There are a lot more human characters in the new film, and it allowed a different kind of narration about Dumbo’s story. A main character from the original is missing in the film, and I have to say I kind of missed him, but the new one works without him. The humans in the film kind of filled in the role he played, and added a lot more perspective, too.
There were a lot of lessons to be learned from the re-imagining too, and I appreciated that even though the movie was still set in the past, it definitely felt more of our time. And yes, Casey Jr. is still there!
If you want to pick up your own copy of Dumbo on Blu-ray, you can find one right here on Amazon.
Giveaway
TWO lucky readers will win their own copy of the new live-action Dumbo! Just enter using the simple form below. Good luck!
Leave a Reply