Amy Hammon of Max and Duke celebrated the sixth birthday of her son, Max during lockdown. Using her event planning skills, Amy brings a circus themed party to life by getting creative with things around the home. Amy and Max show us that you can still create something special, repurposing items already at home to make an ‘iso party’ fun and entertaining. Prepare to be amazed!
SO TELL US ABOUT THE BIRTHDAY BOY!
“Max turned 6 years old in May – right in the middle of lockdown. We weren’t going to let all the restrictions dampen our party spirit!”
WHAT WAS THE BRIEF FOR THE PARTY?
“The request was for ‘a circus party… with a sloth hanging from a pinata’…”
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION?
“We used mostly items from around the house as many stores were closed due to lockdown. Max rifled through his collection of MiniZoo animals and found some ideal for a circus theme. Our Kmart Market Stall was repurposed into a circus booth to display his presents and later in the day, our party food.”
WHAT WAS THE BIRTHDAY BOY’S FAVOURITE PART OF THE DAY?
Max: “The Sprinkle Pup cookies!!” Made by local Inner West Mum (and part time baker), Lauren Rutherford of Love Lauren. Max isn’t a big fan of cake so he opted for his favourite cookies and we had a simple $4 Woolworths cake that we decorated with his Zilvi cake topper from his 1st birthday cake.
Mum: “My favourite part was seeing Max excitedly get into the party decorating. It was a real dual effort this year. The Event Planner in me was singing inside!”
TELL US ABOUT THE DIY ELEMENTS OF THE PARTY
“We transformed our Kmart Market Stall into a circus booth by adding cardboard signage. The animals wore tiny colourful hats with pom poms (I deeply underestimated how fiddly this would be!). A large bag of mandarins were transformed into lions by using a marker to draw faces on them! We fashioned an old wire coat hanger into a ‘ring of fire’ with streamers and a lion toy from the toy box. For games and entertainment we had a game of knockdown using red cups and some icecream bubbles from the Reject Shop which doubled as decoration, too.”
HOW DID YOU MAKE THE DAY SPECIAL DESPITE BEING IN ISO?
“I remembered seeing a circus mural painted on a garage in Newtown 3 years ago and had my fingers crossed it was still there… It was!! We took a little drive with some dress-ups (Stormtrooper Max chose my fun costume pieces) and we had a few photos by the zebra wall which was super fun. Then we Skyped Max’s Grandparents in NZ in the afternoon.”
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 3 INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS FOR PARTY INSPO OR GENERAL INSPO?
@jessiikawilson – for non-apologetic Mum-life, content creation & photography inspo
@senaenelson – mother of 5, American expat exploring England. I love following their travels
@jesspartyof5 – home life, mum life, learning through play
GET THE LOOK
Cookies – Sprinkle Pup by Love Lauren, Circus Signage – The Party People, Market Stall – Kmart, Animals – Mini Zoo, Cake Topper – Zilvi
For more party inspo on the blog click here
